YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Gift of
Prof. E. Hershey Sneath

St. Teresa of Jesus
I: :
of the Order of Our Ladv of Carmel

EMBRACING

The Life, Relations, Maxims and Foundations
Written by the Saint

A History of St. Teresa's Journeys and Foun
dations, with Map and Illustrations

INTRODUCTION BY WALTER ELLIOTT, C. S. P.
EDITED BY JOHN J. BURKE. C.S.P
in 2 Vols.
Vol: 2

NEW YORK
THE COLUMBUS PRESS
130-123 West Sixtieth Street
1911

Copyright 191K
Tbb Missionary Society op St. Paul tbb Apostle
in thb State of New York.

THE RELATIONS OR MANIFESTATIONS

OF HER

SPIRITUAL STATE

WHICH

S. TERESA SUBMITTED TO HER CONFESSORS.

THE RELATIONS

RELATION I.
SENT TO S. PETER OF ALCANTARA IN 1560 FROM THE MONAS
TERY OF THE INCARNATION, AVILA.1
I. The method of prayer I observe at present is^ this:
when I am in prayer, it is very rarely that I can use the
understanding, because the soul becomes at once recollected,
remains in repose, or falls into a trance, so that I cannot in
* Fra Anton, de San Joseph, in his notes on this Relation,, usually
published among the letters of the Saint, ed. Doblado, vol. ii. letter 11,
says it was written for S. Peter of Alcantara when he came to Avila in
1560, at the time when the Saint was so severely tried by her confess
ors and the others who examined her spirit, and were convinced that
her prayer was a delusion of Satan: see the Life, ch. xxv. § 18. The
following notes were discovered among the papers of the Saint in the
monastery of the Incarnation, and are supposed to refer to this
Relation. The Chronicler of the Order, Fra Francis de Santa' Maria,
is inclined to the belief that they were written by S. Peter of Alcan
tara, to whom the Relation is addressed, and the more so because
Ribera does not claim them for any member of the Society, notwith
standing the reference to them in §§ 22, 28.
"1. The end God has in view is the drawing a soul, to Himself;
that of the devil is the withdrawing it from God. Our Lord never
does any thing, whereby any one may be separated from Him, and the
devil does nothing whereby any one may' be made to draw near unta
God. All the visions and the other operations in the soul of this
person draw her nearer unto God,, and make hec more humble and
obedient. "2. It is the teaching of S. Thomas that an angel of light may be
recognised by the peace and quietness he leaves in the soul. She is-
never visited in. this way, but she afterwards abides in peace and joy;
so much so, that all the pleasures of earth, together are not compar
able to one of. these visitations.
(337)

338 S. TERESA'S RELATIONS [REL r-
any way have the use of the faculties and the senses,— so
much so, that the hearing alone is left; but then it does not
help me to understand any thing.
''3. She never commits a fault, nor falls into an imperfection,- with
out being instantly rebuked by Him who speaks interiorly to her.
"4. She has never prayed for nor wished for them; all she wishes
for is to do the will of God our Lord in all things.
"5. Every thing herein is consistent with the Scriptures and the
teaching of the Church, and most true, according to the most rigor
ous principles of scholastic theology.
"6. This soul is most pure and sincere, with the most fervent de
sires of being pleasing unto God, and of trampling on every earthly
thing. "7. She has been told that whatever she shall ask. of God, being
good, she shall have. She has asked much, and things not convenient
to put on paper lest it should be wearisome; all of which our Lord
has granted.'S.. When these operations are from God, they are always directed
to the good of the recipient, to that of the community, or of some
other. That she has profited by them she knows by experience, and
she knows it, too, of other persons also.
"9. No one converses with her, if he be not in evil dispositions,
who is not moved thereby to devotion, even though she says nothing
about it.
"10. She is growing daily in the perfection of virtues, and learns
by these things the way of a higher perfection. And thus, during the
whole time in which she had visions, she was making progress, accord
ing to the doctrine of S. Thomas.
"11. The spirit that speaks to her soul never tells her any thing in
the way of news, or what is unbecoming, but only that which tends
to edification. "12. She has been told of some persons that they were full of
devils; but this was for the purpose of enabling her to understand
the state of a soul which has sinned mortally against our Lord.
"13. The devil's method is, when he attempts to deceive a soul,
to advise that soul never to speak of what he says to it; but the
spirit that speaks to this soul warns her to be open with learned
men, servants of our Lord, and that the devil may deceive her if she
should conceal any thing through shame.
"14. So great is the progress of her soul in this way, and the edi
fication she ministers in the good example given, that more than
forty nuns in her monastery practise great recollection.
"IS. These supernatural things occur after long praying, when she
is absorbed in God, on fire with His love, or at Communion.
"16. They kindle in her a most earnest desire to be on the right
road, and to escape the delusions of Satan.
"17. They are in her the cause of the deepest humility; she under
stands that what she receives comes to her from the hand of our Lord,
and how little worth she is herself.

KEL. 1.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 339
2. It often happens, when I am not even thinking of
the things of God, but engaged in other matters, and when
prayer seems to be beyond my power, whatever efforts I
might make, because of the great aridity I am in, bodily
pains contributing thereto, that this recollection or elevation
"18. When they are withheld, any thing that occurs is wont to pain
and distress her; but when she is in this state, she remembers nothing;
all she is conscious of is a great longing for suffering, and so great is
it that she is amazed at it.
"19. They are to her sources of joy and consolation in her
troubles, when people speak ill of her, and in her infirmities, — and she
has fearful pains about the heart, sicknesses, and many other afflic
tions, all of which leave her when she has these visions.
"20. With all this, she undergoes great penances, fasting, the dis
cipline, and mortifications.
"21. All that on earth may give her any pleasure, and her trials,
which are many, she bears with equal tranquility of mind, without
losing the peace and quiet of her soul.
"22. Her resolution never to offend our Lord is so earnest that
she has made a vow never to leave undone what she knows herself,
or is told by those who understand the matter better, to be the more
perfect. And though she holds the members of the Society to be
saints, and believes that our Lord made use of them to bestow on
her graces so great, she told me that, if she knew it would be more
perfect to have nothing more to do with them, she would never speak
to them again, nor see them, notwithstanding the fact that it was
through them that her mind had been quieted and directed in these
things. "23. The sweetnesses she commonly receives, her sense of God,
her languishing with love, are certainly marvellous, and through these
she is wont to be enraptured the whole day long.
"24. She frequently falls into a trance when she hears God spoken
of with devotion and earnestness, and cannot resist the rapture, do
what she can; and in that state her appearance is such that she
excites very great devotion.
"25. She cannot bear to be directed by any one who will not tell
her of her faults, and rebuke her; all that she accepts with great
humility. "26. Moreover, she cannot endure people who are in a state of
perfection, if they do not labour to become perfect, according to the
spirit of their rule.
"27. She is most detached from her kindred, has no desire to con
verse with people, and loves solitude. She. has a great devotion to
the saints, and on their feasts, and on the days on which the Church
celebrates the mysteries of the faith, is filled with most fervent affec
tions for our Lord.
"28. If all the members of the Society, and all the servants of God
upon earth, tell her that her state is an effect of the operations of

340 s. Teresa's relations [rel. l
of spirit comes upon me so suddenly that I cannot with
stand it, and the fruits and blessings it brings with it are
in a moment mine: and this, without my having had a vision,
or heard any thing, or knowing where I am, except that
when the soul seems to be lost I see it make great progress,
which I could not have made if I had laboured for a whole
year, so great is my gain.
3. At other times certain excessive impetuosities occur,
accompanied with a certain fainting away of the soul for
God, so that I have no control over myself;1 my life seems
to have come to an end, and so it makes me cry out and
call upon God ; and this comes upon me with great vehemence.
Sometimes I cannot remain sitting, so great is the oppres
sion of the heart; and this pain comes on without my doing
any thing to cause it, and the nature of it is such that my
soul would be glad never to be without it while I live.
And the longings I have are longings not to live; and they
come on because it seems as if I must live on without
being able to find any relief, for relief comes from the vision
of God, which comes by death, and death is what I cannot
take; and with all this my soul thinks that all except itself
are filled with consolations, and that all find help in their
Satan, or were to say so, she is in fear and trembling before the
visions occur; but as soon as she is in prayer, and recollected, she
cannot be persuaded, were they to tear her into a thousand pieces,
that it is any other than God who is working in her and speaking to
her. "29. God has given her a most wonderfully strong and valiant
spirit: she was once timid; now she tramples on all the evil spirits.
She has put far away from herself all the littleness and silliness of
women; she is singularly free from scruples, and most sincere.
"30. Besides, our Lord has given her the gift of most sweet tears,
great compassion for her neighbours, the knowledge of her own faults
a great reverence for good people, and self-abasement; and I am
certain that she has done good to many, of whom I am one.
"31. She is continually reminding herself of God, and has a sense
of His presence. All the locutions have been verified, and every one
of them accomplished; and this is a very great test.
"32. Her visions are a source of great clearness in her understand
ing, and an admirable illumination in the things of God.
"33. It was said to her that she should lead those who were tryino-
her spirit to look into the Scriptures, and that they would not find
that any soul desirous of pleasing God had been so long deceived."
i See Life, ch. xxix. §§ 9-13.

KEL. I.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 341
troubles, but not itself. The distress thus occasioned is so
intense that, if our Lord did not relieve it by throwing it
into a trance, whereby all is made calm, and the soul rests
in great quiet and is satisfied, now by seeing something of
that which it desires, now by hearing other things, it would
seem to be impossible for it to be delivered from this pain.
4. At other times there come upon me certain desires
to serve God, with a vehemence so great that I cannot de
scribe it, and accompanied with a certain pain at seeing
how unprofitable I am. It seems to me then that there is
nothing in the world, neither death nor martyrdom, that I
could not easily endure. This conviction, too, is not the
result of any reflection, but comes in a moment. I am wholly
changed, and I know not whence cometh such great courage.
I think I should like to raise my voice, and publish to all
the world how important it is for men not to be satisfied
with the common way, and how great the good is that God
will give us if we prepare ourselves to receive it. I say it
again, these desires are such that I am melted away in my
self, for I seem to desire what I cannot have. The body
seems to me to hold me in prison, through its inability to
serve God and my state1 in any thing; for if it were not
for the body, I might do very great things, so far as my
strength would allow; and thus, because I see myself with
out any power whatever to serve God, I feel this pain in
a way wholly indescribable; the issue is delight, recollec
tion, and the consolation of God.
5. Again, it has happened, when these longings to serve
Him come upon me, that I wish to do penance, but I am
not able. It would be a great relief to me, and it does relieve
and cheer me, though what I do is almost nothing, because
of my bodily weakness; and yet, if I were to give way to
these my longings, I believe I should observe no moderation.
6. Sometimes, if I have to speak to any one, I am
greatly distressed, and I suffer so much that it makes me
weep abundantly; for my whole desire is to be alone, and
solitude comforts me, though at times I neither pray nor
read, and conversation — particularly of kindred and connec
tions^ — seems oppressive, and myself to be as a slave, except
when I speak to those whose conversation is of prayer and
1 De la Fuente thinks she means the religious state.

342 S. TERESA'S RELATIONS [KEL. T.
matters of the soul, — in these I find comfort and joy;1 yet
these occasionally are too much for me, and I would rather
not see them, but go where I might be alone: though this
is not often the case, for those especially who direct my
conscience always console me.
7. At other times it gives me much pain that I must
eat and sleep, and that I see I cannot forego these things,
being less able to do so than any one. I submit that I may
serve God, and thus I offer up those actions to Him. Time
seems to me too short, and that I have not enough for my
prayer, for I should never be tired of being alone. I am
always wishing I had time for reading, for I have been
always fond of reading. I read veiy little, for when I take
up a book I become recollected through the pleasure it gives
me, and thus my reading is turned into prayer: and it is
but rarely, for I have many occupations; and though they
are good, they do not give me the pleasure which reading
would give. And thus I am always wishing for more time,
and every thing becomes disagreeable, so I believe, because
I see I cannot do what I wish and desire.
8. All these desires, with an increase in virtue, have
been given me by our Lord since He raised me to this prayer
of quiet, and sent these raptures. I find myself so improved
that I look on myself as being a mass of perdition before
this. These raptures and visions leave me in possession of
the blessings I shall now speak of; and I maintain that, if
there be any good in me, they are the occasions of it.
9. I have made a very strong resolution never to offend
God, not even venially. I would rather die a thousand deaths
than do any thing of the kind knowingly. I am resolved
never to leave undone any thing I may consider to be the
more perfect, or more for the honour of our Lord, if he who
has the care of my soul and directs me, tells me I may do it.
Cost me what pain it might, I would not leave such an act
undone for all the treasure of the world. If I were to do
so, I do not think I could have the face to ask any thing
of God our Lord, or to make my prayer; and yet, for all
this, I have many faults and imperfections. I am obedient
to my confessor,2 though imperfectly; but if I know that
he wishes or commands any thing I would not leave that
* See Life, ch. xxiv. § 8, and ch. xxxi. § 22.
* See Life, ch. xxiii. § 19.

REL. I.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 343
undone, so far as I understand it; if I did so, I should think
myself under a grievous delusion.
10. I have a longing for poverty, though not free from
imperfection ; however, I believe, if I had wealth, I would
not reserve any revenue, nor hoard money for myself, nor
do I care for it; I wish to have only what is necessary.
Nevertheless, I feel that I am very defective in this virtue;
for, though I desire nothing for myself, I should like to
have something to give away : still, I desire no revenue, nor
any thing for myself.1
11. In almost all the visions I have had, I have found
good, if it be not a delusion of Satan ; herein I submit my
self to the judgment of my confessors.
12. As to fine and beautiful things, such as water, fields,
perfume, music, &c, I think I would rather not have them,
so great is the difference between them and what I am in
the habit of seeing, and so all pleasure in them is gone from
me.2 Hence it is that I care not for them, unless it be at
the first sight: they never make any further impression; to
me they seem but dirt.
13. If I speak or converse with people in the world —
for I cannot help it — even about prayer, and if the conversa
tion be long, though to pass away the time, I am. under
great constraint if it be not necessary, for it gives me much
pain. 14. Amusements, of which I used to be fond, and worldly
things, are all disagreeable to me now, and I cannot look
at them. 15. The longings, which I said I have,3 of loving and
serving and seeing God, are not helped by any reflections,
as formerly, when I thought I was very devout, and shed
many tears; but they flow out of a certain fire and heat so
excessive that, I repeat it, if God did not relieve them by
throwing me into a trance, wherein the soul seems to find
itself satisfied, I believe my life would come to an end at
once. 16. When I see persons making great progress, and
thus resolved, detached, and courageous, I love them much ;
and I should like to have my conversation with such persons.
and I think they help me on. People who are afraid, and
1 See Life, ch. xxxv. § 2. 2 See Life, ch. ix. § 6, and ch. xiv. § 7.
' See § 3, above.

344 S. TERESA'S RELATIONS [REL. I.
seemingly cautious in those things, the doing of which is
perfectly reasonable here, seem to vex me, and drive me
to pray to God and the saints to make them undertake such
things as these which now frighten us. Not that I am good
for any thing myself, but because I believe that God helps
those who, for His sake, apply themselves to great things, and
that He never abandons any one who puts his trust in Him
only. And I should like to find any one who would help me
to believe so, and to be without thought about food and
raiment, but leave it all in the hands of God.1
17. This leaving in the hands of God the supply of all
I need is not to be understood as excluding all labour on
my part, but merely solicitude — I mean, the solicitude of
care. And since I have attained to this liberty, it goes well
with me, and I labour to forget myself as much as I can. I do
not think it is a year ago since our Lord gave me this liberty.
18. Vain-glory2 — glory be to God! — so far as I know,
there is no reason why I should have any; for I see plainly
that in these things which God sends me I have no part
myself: on the contrary, God makes me conscious of my own
wretchedness; for whatever reflections I might be able to
make, I could never come to the knowledge of such deep
truths as I attain to in a single rapture.
19. When I speak of these things a few days after, they
seem to me as if they had happened to another person. Previ
ously, I thought it a wrong to me that they should be
known to others; but I see now that I am not therefore any
the better, but rather worse, seeing that I make so little
progress after receiving mercies so great. And certainly, in
every way, it seems to me that there was not in the world
any body worse than myself; and so the virtues of others
seem to me much more meritorious than mine, and that I
do nothing myself but receive graces, and that God must
give to others at once all that He is now giving unto me;
and I pray Him not to reward me in this life ; and so I be
lieve that God has led me along this way because I am
weak and wicked.
20. When I am in prayer, and even almost always when I
am able to reflect at all, I cannot, even if I tried, pray to God
for rest, or desire it ; for I see that His life was one of suffer-
' S. Matt. vi. 31. * See Life, ch. vii. § 2.

REL- T] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 345
ing, and that I ask Him to send me, giving me first the
grace to bear it.
21. Every thing of this kind, and of the highest per
fection, seems to make so deep an impression on me in prayer,
that I am amazed at the sight of truths so great and so
clear that the things of the world seem to be folly; and
so it is necessary for me to take pains to reflect on the way
I demeaned myself formerly in the things of the world,
for it seems to me folly to feel for deaths and the troubles
of the world, — at least, that sorrow for, or love of, kindred
and friends should last long. I say I have to take pains
when I am considering what I was, and what I used to
feel. 22. If I see people do any thing which clearly seems
to be sin, I cannot make up my mind that they have offended
God; and if I dwell upon this at all, — which happens rarely
or never, — I never can make up my mind, though I see it
plainly enough. It seems to me that every body is as
anxious to serve God as I am. And herein God has been
very gracious unto me, for I never dwell on an evil deed,
to remember it afterwards; and if I do remember it, I see
some virtue or other in that person. In this way these things
never weary me, except generally: but heresies do, they dis
tress me very often, and almost always when I think of them
they seem to me to be the only trouble which should be felt.
And also I feel, when I see people who used to give them
selves to prayer fall away; this gives me pain, but not much,
because I strive not to dwell upon it.
23. I find, also, that I am improved in the matter of
that excessive neatness which I was wont to observe,1 though
not wholly delivered from it. I do not discern that I am
always mortified in this ; sometimes, however, I do.
24. All this I have described, together with a very con
stant dwelling in thought on God, is the ordinary state of
my soul, so far as I can understand it. And if I must be
busy about something else, without my seeking it, as I said
before,2 I know not who makes me awake, — and this not
always, only when I am busy with things of importance ;
and such — glory be to God! — only at intervals demand my
attention, and do not occupy me at all times.
1 See Life, ch. ii. § 2. * § 2, above.

346 s. teresa's relations [rel. i.
25. For some days — (hey are not many, however — for
three, or four, or five, all my good and fervent thoughts, and
my visions, seem to be withdrawn, yea, even forgotten, so
that, if I were to seek for it, I know of no good that can ever
have been in me. It seems to have been all a dream, or, at
least, I can call nothing to mind. Bodily pains at the same
time distress me. My understanding is troubled, so that I
cannot think at all about God, neither do I know under what
law I live. If I read any thing, I do not understand it; I
seem to be full of faults, and without any resolution what
ever to practise virtue; and the great resolution I used to
have is come to this, that I seem to be unable to resist the
least temptation or slander of the world. It suggests itself
to me then that I am good for nothing, if any one would
have me undertake more than the common duties. I give
way to sadness, thinking I have deceived all those who trusted
me at all. I should like to hide myself where nobody could
see me ; but my desire for solitude arises from want of courage,
not from love of virtue. It seems to me that I should like
to dispute with all who contradict me; I am under the in
fluence of these impressions, only God has been so gracious
unto me, that I do not offend more frequently than I was
wont to do, nor do I ask Him to deliver me from them, but
only, if it be His will I should always suffer thus, to keep
me from offending Him; and I submit myself to His will
with my whole heart, and I see that it is a very great grace
bestowed upon me that He does not keep me constantly in
this state.
26. One thing astonishes me; it is that, while I am in
this state, through a single word of those I am in the habit
of hearing, or a single vision, or a little self-recollection,
lasting but an Ave Maria, or through my drawing near to
communicate, I find my soul and body so calm, so sound,
the understanding so clear, and myself possessing all the
strength and all the good desires I usually have. And this
I have had experience of very often — at least, when I go to
Communion ; it is more than six months ago that I felt a clear
improvement in my bodily health,1 and that occasionally
brought about through raptures, and I find it lasts sometimes
more than three hours, at other times I am much stronger for
a whole day; and I do not think it is fancy, for I have con-
1 See Life, ch. xx. § 29.

REL. I.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 347
sidered the matter, and reflected on it. Accordingly, when I
am thus recollected, I fear no illness. The truth is, that when
I pray, as I was accustomed to do before, I feel no improve
ment. 27. All these things of which I am speaking make me
believe that it comes from God; for when I see what I once
was, that I was in the way of being lost, and that soon, my
soul certainly is astonished at these things, without knowing
whence these virtues came to me; I did not know myself,
and saw that all was a gift, and not the fruit of my labours.
I understand in all truthfulness and sincerity, and see that
I am not deluded, that it has been not only the means of
drawing me to God in His service, but of saving me also from
hell. This my confessors know, who have heard my general
confession. 28. Also, when I see any one who knows any thing
about me, I wish to let him know my whole life,1 because
my honour seems to me to consist in the honour of our Lord,
and I care for nothing else. This He knows well, or I am
very blind; for neither honour, nor life, nor praise, nor good
either of body or of soul, can interest me, nor do I seek or
desire any advantage, only His glory. I cannot believe that
Satan has sought so many means of making my soul advance,
in order to lose it after all. I do not hold him to be so foolish.
Nor can I believe it of God, though I have deserved to fall
into delusions because of my sins, that He has left unheeded
so many prayers of so many good people for two years,
and I do nothing else but ask every body to pray to our
Lord that He would show me if this be for His glory, or
lead me by another way.2 I do not believe that these things
would have been permitted by His Majesty to be always
going on if they were not His work. These considerations,
and the reasons of so many saintly men, give me courage
when I am under the pressure of fear that they are not
from God, I being so wicked myself. But when I am in
prayer, and during those days when I am in repose, and my
thoughts fixed on God, if all the learned and holy men in the
world came together and put me to all conceivable tortures,
and I, too, desirous of agreeing with them, they could not
make me believe that this is the work of Satan, for I cannot.
And when they would have had me believe it, I was afraid,
1 See Life, ch. xxxi. § 17. * See Life, ch. xxv. § 20.

348 S. TERESA'S RELATIONS [SEL.. T.
seeing who it was that said so; and I thought that they must
be saying what was true, and that I, being what 1 was, must
have been deluded. But all they had said to me was destroyed
by the first word or recollection, or vision that came and I
was able to resist no longer, and believed it was from God.1
29. However, I can think that Satan now and then may
intermeddle here, and so it is, as I have seen and said; but
he produces different results, nor can he, as it seems to me,
deceive any one possessed of any experience. Nevertheless,
I say that, though I do certainly believe this to be from
God, I would never do any thing, for any consideration what
ever, that is not judged by him who has the charge, of my
soul to be for the better service of our Lord, and I never
had any intention but to obey without concealing any thing,
for that is my duty. I am very often rebuked for my faults,
and that in such a way as to pierce me to the very quick;
and I am warned when there is, or when there may be, any
danger in what I am doing. These rebukes and warnings
have done me much good, in often reminding me of my
former sins, which make me exceedingly sorry.
30. I have been very long, but this is the truth, — that,
when I rise from my prayer, I see that I have received
blessings which seem too briefly described. Afterwards I
fall into many imperfections, and am unprofitable and very
wicked. And perhaps I have no perception of what is good,
but am deluded ; still, the difference in my life is notorious,
and compels me to think over all I have said — I mean, that
which I verily believe I have felt. These are the perfections
which I feel our Lord has wrought in me, who am so
wicked and so imperfect. I refer it all to your judgment,
my father, for you know the whole state of my soul.
* See Life, ch. xxv. § 18.

REL. II.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 349

RELATION II.
to one of her confessors, from the house of dona luisa
de la cerda, in 1562. 1
Jesus.
I think it is more than a year since this was written ; God
has all this time protected me with His hand, so that I have
not become worse; on the contrary, I see a great change for
the better in all I have to say : may He be praised for it all !
1. The visions and revelations have not ceased, but they
are of a much higher kind. Our Lord has taught me a way
of prayer, wherein I find myself far more advanced, more
detached from the things of this life, more courageous, and
more free.2 I fall into a trance more frequently, for these
ecstasies at times come upon me with great violence, and
in such a way as to be outwardly visible, I having no power
to resist them; and even when I am with others — for they
come in such a way as admits of no disguising them, unless
it be by letting people suppose that, as I am subject to disease
of the heart, they are fainting-fits; I take great pains, how
ever, to resist them when they are coming on — sometimes I
cannot do it.
2. As to poverty, God seems to have wrought great
things in me; for I would willingly be without even what
is necessary, unless given me as an alms; and therefore my
longing is extreme that I may be in such a state as .to de
pend on alms alone for my food. It seems to me that to
live, when I am certain of food and raiment without fail,
is not so complete an observance of my vow or of the
counsel of Christ as it would be to live where no revenue
is possessed, and I should be in -want at times; and as to
the blessings that come with true poverty, they seem to me
to be great, and I would not miss them. Many times do I
find myself with such great faith, that I do not think God
will ever fail those who serve Him, and without any doubt
1 Addressed, it is believed, to her confessor, F. Pedro Ibafiez. This
Relation corresponds with ch. xxxiv. of the Life (De la Fuente).
* See Life, ch. xxvii.

350 s. teresa's relations [rel. ii.
whatever that there is, or can be, any time in which His
words are not fulfilled: I cannot persuade myself to the con
trary, nor can I have any fear; and so, when they advise me
to accept an endowment, I feel it keenly, and betake myself
unto God.
3. I think I am much more compassionate towards the
poor than I used to be, having a great pity for them and a
desire to help them; for if I regarded only my good will,
I should give them even the habit I wear. I am not fastidious
with respect to them, even if I had to do with them or touched
them with my hands, — and this I now see is a gift of God;
for though I used to give alms for His love, I had no
natural compassion. I am conscious of a distinct improve
ment herein.
4. As to the evil speaking directed against me, — which
is considerable, and highly injurious to me, and done by
many, — I find myself herein also very much the better. I
think that what they say makes scarcely any more impres
sion upon me than it would upon an idiot. I think at times,
and nearly always, that it is just. I feel it so little, that I
see nothing in it that I might offer to God, as I learn by
experience that my soul gains greatly thereby; on the con
trary, the evil speaking seems to be a favour. And thus,
the first time I go to prayer, I have no ill-feeling against
them; the first time I hear it, it creates in me a little resist
ance, but it neither disturbs nor moves me; on the contrary,
when I see others occasionally disturbed, I am sorry for them.
So it is, I put myself out of the question ; for all the wrongs of
this life seem to me so light, that it is not possible to feel them,
because I imagine myself to be dreaming, and see that all
this will be nothing when I am awake.
5. God is giving me more earnest desires, a greater love
of solitude, a much greater detachment, as I said, with the
visions; by these He has made me know what all that is,
even if I gave up all the friends I have, both men and women
and kindred. This is the least part of it: my kindred are
rather a very great weariness to me; I leave them in all
freedom and joy, provided it be to render the least service
unto God; and thus on every side I find peace.
6. Certain things, about which I have been warned in
prayer, have been perfectly verified. Thus, considering the
graces received from God, I find myself very much better-

REL. II.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 351
but, considering my service to Him in return, I am exceed
ingly worthless, for I have received greater consolation than
I have given, though sometimes that gives me grievous pain.
My penance is very scanty, the respect shown me great, much
against my will very often.1 However, in a word, I see that
I live an easy, not a penitential, life ; God help me, as He can !
7. It is now nine months, more or less, since I wrote
this with mine own hand; since then I have not turned my
back on the graces which God has given me; I think I have
received, so far as I can see, a much greater liberty of late.
Hitherto I thought I had need of others, and I had more
reliance on worldly helps. Now I clearly understand that
all men are bunches of dried rosemary, and that there is
no safety in leaning on them, for if they are pressed by
contradictions or evil speaking they break down. And so
I know by experience that the only way not to fall is to
cling to the cross, and put our trust in Him who was nailed
thereto. I find Him a real Friend, and with Him I find my
self endowed with such might that, God never failing me, I
think I should be able to withstand the whole world if it were
against me.
8. Having a clear knowledge of this truth, I used to
be very fond of being loved by others; now I do not care
for that, yea, rather, their love seems to weary me in some
measure, excepting theirs who take care of my soul, or theirs
to whom I think I do good. Of the former I wish to be
loved, in order that they may bear with me; and of the
latter, that they may be more inclined to believe me when
I tell them that all is vanity.
9. In the very grievous trials, persecutions, and contradic
tions of these months,2 God gave me great courage; and the
more grievous they were, the greater the courage, without
weariness in suffering. Not only had I no ill-feeling against
those who spoke evil of me, but I had, I believe, conceived
a deeper affection for them. I know not how it was ; certainly
it was a gift from the hand of our Lord.
10. When I desire any thing, I am accustomed naturally
to desire it with some vehemence; now my desires are so
calm, that I do not even feel that I am pleased when I see
1 See Life, ch. xxxi. § 15.
2 The Saint is supposed to refer to the troubles she endured during
the foundation of the monastery of S. Joseph.

352 S. TERESA'S RELATIONS fllEL. II.
them fulfilled. Sorrow and joy, excepting in that which re
lates to prayer, are so moderated, that I seem to be without
sense, and in' that state I remain for some days.
11. The vehement longings to do penance which come,
and have come, upon me are great; and if I do any penance,
I feel it to be so slight in comparison with that longing,
that I regard it sometimes, and almost always, as a special
consolation; however, I do but little, because of my great
weakness. 12. It is a very great pain to me very often, and at
this moment most grievous, that I must take food, particu
larly if I am in prayer. It must be very great, for it makes
me weep much, and speak the language of affliction, almost
without being aware of it, and that is what I am not in the
habit of doing, for I do not remember that I ever did so in
the very heaviest trials of my life: I am not a woman in
these things, for I have a hard heart.
13. I feel in myself a very earnest desire, more so than
usual, that God may find those who will serve Him, particu
larly learned men, in all detachment, and who will not cleave
to any thing of this world, for I see it is all a mockery; for
when I see the great needs of the Church, I look upon it
as a mockery to be distressed about aught else. I do
nothing but pray to God for such men, because I see that
one person, who is wholly perfect in the true fervour of
the love of God, will do more good than many who are
lukewarm. 14.. In matters concerning the faith, my courage seems
to me much greater. I think I could go forth alone by
myself against all the Lutherans, and convince them of their
errors. I feel very keenly the loss of so many souls. I
see many persons making great progress; I see clearly it
was the pleasure of God that such progress should have been
helped by me; and I perceive that my soul, of His goodness,
grows daily more and more in His love. * r
15. I think I could not be led away by vain-glory, even
if I seriously tried, and I do not see how I could imagine
any one of my virtues to be mine, for it is not long since. I
was for many years without any at all ; and now, so far as I
am concerned, I do nothing but receive graces, without render
ing any service in return, being the most worthless creature in
the world. And so it is that I consider at times how all,

REL. II.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 353
except myself, make progress; I am good for nothing in my
self. This is not humility only, but the simple truth; and the
knowledge of my being so worthless makes me sometimes
think with fear that I must be under some delusion. Thus
I see clearly that all my gain has come through the revelations
and the raptures, in which I am nothing myself, and do no
more to effect them than the canvas does for the picture
painted on it. This makes me feel secure and be at rest;
and I place myself in the hands of God, and trust my desires ;
for I know for certain that my desires are to die for Him,
and to lose all ease, and that whatever may happen.
16. There are days wherein I remember times without
number the words of S. Paul,1 — though certainly they are
not true of me, — that I have neither life, nor speech, nor
will of my own, but that there is One in me by whom I am
directed and made strong; and I am, as it were, beside
myself, and thus life is a very grievous burden to me. And
the greatest oblation I make to God, as the highest service
on my part, is that I, when I feel it so painfully to be absent
from Him, am willing to live on for the love of Him. I would
have my life also full of great tribulations and persecutions;
now that I am unprofitable, I should like to suffer; and I
would endure all the tribulations in the world to gain ever
so little more merit — I mean, by a more perfect doing of
His will.
17. Every thing that I have learnt in prayer, though
it may be two years previously, I have seen fulfilled. What
I see and understand of the grandeurs of God, and of the way
He has shown thern, is so high, that I scarcely ever begin
to think of them but my understanding fails me, — for I
am as one that sees things far higher than I can understand,
— and I become recollected.
18. God so keeps me from offending Him, that I am
verily amazed at times. I think I discern the great care He
takes of me, without my taking scarcely any .care at all,
being, as I was, before these things happened to me, a sea
of wickedness and sins, and without a thought that I was
mistress enough of myself to leave them undone. And the
reason why I would have this known is that the greater
power of God might be made manifest. Unto Him be praise
for ever and ever ! Amen. 1 Gal. ii. 20.

354 s. teresa's relations [rel. hi.
Jesus.
This Relation here set forth, not in my handwriting, is one
that I gave to my confessor, and which he with his own hand
copied, without adding or diminishing a word. He was a
most spiritual man and a theologian: I discussed the state of
my soul with him, and he with other learned men, among
whom was Father Mancio.1 They found nothing in it that is
not in perfect agreement with the holy writings. This makes
me calm now, though, while God is leading me by this way, I
feel that it is necessary for me to put no trust whatever in my
self. And so I have always done, though it is painful enough.
You, my father, will be careful that all this goes under the
seal of confession, according to my request.

RELATION III.
of various graces granted to the saint from the
year 1568 to 1571 inclusive.
1. When I was in the monastery of Toledo, and some
people were advising me not to allow any but noble persons
to be buried there,2 our Lord said to me: "Thou wilt be
very inconsistent, My daughter, if thou regardest the laws
of the world. Look at Me, poor and despised of men: are
the great people of the world likely to be great in My eyes?
or is it descent or virtue that is to make you esteemed?"
2. After Communion, the second day of Lent, in S.
Joseph of Malagon, our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to me
in an imaginary vision, as He is wont to do; and when I
was looking upon Him I saw that He had on His head, in
stead of the crown of thorns, a crown of great splendour,
over the part where the wounds of that crown must have
been. And as I have a great devotion to the crowning with
thorns, I was exceedingly consoled, and began to think how
1 A celebrated Dominican, professor of theology in Salamanca
(Bouix). 1 Alonzo Ramirez wished to have the right of burial in the new
monastery, but the nobles of Toledo looked on his request as un
reasonable. See Foundations, chs. xiv. and xv.

REL. III.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 355
great the pain must have been because of the many wounds,
and to be sorrowful. Our Lord told me not to be sad be
cause of those wounds, but for the many wounds which men
inflict upon Him now. I asked Him what I could do by way
of reparation ; for I was resolved to do any thing. He replied :
"This is not the time for rest;" that I must hasten on the
foundations, for He would take His rest with the souls which
entered the monasteries; that I must admit all who offered
themselves, because there were many souls that did not
serve Him because they had no place wherein to do it ;
that those monasteries which were to be founded in small
towns should be like this; that the merit of those in them
would be as great, if they only desired to do that which
was done in the other houses; that I must contrive to put
them all under the jurisdiction of one superior,1 and take
care that anxieties about means of bodily maintenance did
not destroy interior peace, for He would help us, so that we
should never be in want of food. Especial care was to be
had of the sick sisters; the prioress who did not provide for
and comfort the sick was like the friends of Job : He sent
them sickness for the good of their souls, and careless su
periors risked the patience of their nuns. I was to write the
history of the foundation of the monasteries. I was thinking
how there was nothing to write about in reference to the
foundation of Medina, when He asked me, what more did I
want to see than that the foundation there was miraculous?
By this He meant to say that He alone had done it, when it
seemed impossible.2 I resolved to execute His commands.
3. Our Lord told me something I was to tell another, and
as I was considering how I did not understand it at all, —
though I prayed to Him, and was thinking it might be from
Satan, — He said to me that it was not, and that He Himself
would warn me when the time came.
4. Once, when I was thinking how much more purely
they live who withdraw themselves from all business, and
how ill it goes with me, and how many faults I must be
guilty of, when I have business to transact, I heard this : "It
cannot be otherwise, My daughter; but strive thou always
after a good intention in all things, and detachment; lift up
1 See Way of Perfection, ch. viii.; but ch. v. of the previous editions.
' See Book of the Foundations, ch. iii.

356 s. teresa's relations [rel. hi.
thine eyes to Me, and see that all thine actions may resemble
Mine." 5. Thinking how it was that I scarcely ever fell into
a trance of late in public, I heard this: "It is not necessary
now; thou art sufficiently esteemed for My purpose; we are
considering the weakness of the wicked."
6. One Tuesday after the Ascension,1 having prayed for
a while after Communion in great distress, because I was
so distracted that I could fix my mind on nothing, I com
plained of our poor nature to our Lord. The fire began to
kindle in my soul, and I saw, as it seemed to me, the most
Holy Trinity2 distinctly present in an intellectual vision,
whereby my soul understood through a certain representa
tion, as a figure of the truth, so far as my dulness could
understand, how God is Three and One; and thus it seemed
to me that all the Three Persons spoke to me, that They
were distinctly present in my soul, saying unto me, "that
from that day forth I should see that my soul had grown better
in three ways, and that each one of the Three Persons had
bestowed on me a distinct grace, — in charity, in suffering joy
fully, in a sense of that charity in my soul, accompanied with
fervour." I learnt the meaning of those words of our Lord,
that the Three Divine Persons will dwell in the soul that is in
a state of grace.3 Afterwards giving thanks to our Lord for
so great a mercy, and finding myself utterly unworthy of it,
I asked His Majesty with great earnestness how it was that
He, after showing such mercies to me, let me go out of His
hand, and allowed me to become so wicked; for on the pre
vious day I had been in great distress on account of my sins,
which I had set before me. I saw clearly then how much our
Lord on His part had done, ever since my infancy, to draw me
to Himself by means most effectual, and yet that all had
failed. Then I had a clear preception of the surpassing love of
God for us, in that He forgives us all this when we turn to
Him, and for me more than for any other, for many reasons.
The vision of the Three Divine Persons — one God — made so
profound an impression on my soul, that if it had continued it
would have been impossible for me not to be recollected in so
1 In the copy kept in Toledo, the day is Tuesday after the As
sumption (De la Fuente).
' Ch. xxvii. § 10. • S. John xiv. 23.

REL. III.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 357
divine a company. What I saw and heard besides is beyond
my power to describe.
7. Once, when I was about to communicate, — it was
shortly before I had this vision, — the Host being still in the
ciborium, for it had not yet been given me, I saw something
like a dove, which moved its wings with a sound. It dis
turbed me so much, and so carried me away out of myself,
that is was with the utmost difficulty I received the Host.
All this took place in S. Joseph of Avila. It was Father
Francis Salcedo who was giving me the most Holy Sacra
ment. Hearing Mass another day, I saw our Lord glorious
in the Host; Fie said to me that his sacrifice was acceptable
unto Him.
8. I heard this once : "The time will come when many
miracles will be wrought in this church ; it will be called the
holy church." It was in S. Joseph of Avila, in the year 1571.
9. I retain to this day, which is the commemoration of
S. Paul, the presence* of the Three Persons of which I spoke in
the beginning.1 They are present almost continually in my
soul. I, being accustomed to the presence of Jesus Christ only,
always thought that the vision of the Three Persons was in
some degree a hindrance, though I know the Three Persons
are but One God. To-day, while thinking of this, our Lord
said to me "that I was wrong in imagining that those things
which are peculiar to the soul can be represented by those of
the body ; I was to understand that they were very different,
and that the soul had a capacity for great fruition." It seemed
to me as if this were shown to me thus: as water pene
trates and is drunk in by the sponge, so, it seemed to me,
did the Divinity fill my soul, which in a certain sense had
the fruition and possession of the Three Persons. And I
heard Him say also: "Labour thou not to hold Me within
thyself enclosed, but enclose thou thyself within Me." It
seemed to me that I saw the Three Persons within my soul,
and communicating Themselves to all creatures abundantly
without ceasing to be with me.
10. A few days after this, thinking whether they were
right who disapproved 'of my going out to make new founda
tions, and whether it would not be better for me if I occupied
myself always with prayer, I heard this : "During this life, the
true gain consists not in striving after greater joy in Me, but
1 See § 6.

358 S. TERESA'S RELATIONS [REL. III.
in doing My will." It seemed to me, considering what S.
Paul says about women, how they should stay at home,1
— people reminded me lately of this, and, indeed, I had heard
it before, — it might be the will of God I should do so too.
He said to me: "Tell them they are not to follow one part
of Scripture by itself, without looking to the other parts
also ; perhaps, if they could, they would like to tie My hands."
11. One day after the Octave of the Visitation, in one
of the hermitages of Mount Carmel, praying to God for one
of my brothers, I said to our Lord, — I do not know whether
it was only in thought or not, for my brother was in a place
where his salvation was in peril, — "If I saw one of Thy
brethren, O Lord, in this danger, what would 1 not do to
help him!" It seemed to me there was nothing that I could
do which I would not have done. Our Lord said to me:
"O daughter, daughter! the nuns of the Incarnation are thy
sisters, and thou holdest back. Take courage, then. Behold,
this is what I would have thee do: it is not so difficult as
it seems; and though it seems to thee that by going thither
thy foundations will be ruined, yet it is by thy going that
both these and the monastery of the Incarnation will gain;
resist not, for My power is great."2
12. Once, when thinking of the great penance practised
by Doha Catalina de Cardona,s and how I might have done
more, considering the desires which our Lord had given
me at times, if it had not been for my obedience to my con
fessors, I asked myself whether it would not be as well if I
disobeyed them for the future in this matter. Our Lord said
to me: "No my daughter; thou art on the sound and safe
road. Seest thou all her penance? I think more of thy
obedience." 13. Once, when I was in prayer, He showed me by a cer
tain kind of intellectual vision the condition of a soul in a
state of grace ; in its company I saw by intellectual vision the
most Holy Trinity, from whose companionship the soul de
rived a power which was a dominion over the whole earth.
' Tit. ii. 5.
2 This took place in 1571, when the Saint had been appointed
prioress of the monastery of the Incarnation at Avila; the very house
she had left in order to found that of S. Joseph, to keep the rule in
its integrity. ' See Book of the Foundations, ch. xxviii.

REL. III.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 359
I understood the meaning of those words in the Canticle :
'Let my Beloved come into His garden and eat."1 He showed
me also the condition of a soul in sin, utterly powerless,
like a person tied and bound and blindfold, who, though
anxious to see, yet cannot, being unable to walk or to hear,
and in grievous obscurity. I was so exceedingly sorry for
such souls, that, to deliver only one, any trouble seemed to me
light. I thought it impossible for any one who saw this as I
saw it, — and I can hardly explain it, — willingly to forfeit so
great a good or continue in so evil a state.
14. One day, in very great distress about the state of the
Order, and casting about for means to succour it, our Lord
said to me: "Do thou what is in thy power, and leave Me
to Myself, and be not disquieted by any thing; rejoice in
the blessing thou hast received, for it is a very great one.
My Father is pleased with thee, and the Holy Ghost loves
thee." 15. "Thou art ever desiring trials, and, on the other
hand, declining them. I order things according to what I
know thy will is, and not according to thy sensuality and
weakness. Be strong, for thou seest how I help thee; I
have wished thee to gain this crown. Thou shalt see the
Order of the Virgin greatly advanced in thy days." I heard
this from our Lord about the middle of February, 1571.
16. On the eve of S. Sebastian, the first year of my
being in the monastery of the Incarnation2 as prioress there,
at the beginning of the Salve, I saw the Mother of God de
scend with a multitude of angels to the stall of the prioress,
where the image of our Lady is, and sit there herself. I
think I did not see the image thea, but only our Lady.
She seemed to be like that picture of her which the Countess3
gave me; but I had no time to ascertain this, because I
fell at once into a trance. Multitudes of angels seemed to
me to be above the canopies of the stalls, and on the desks in
front of them; but I saw no bodily forms, for the vision was
intellectual. She remained there during the Salve, and said to
me : "Thou hast done well to place me here ; I will be present
when the sisters sing the praises of my Son, and will offer
them to Him." After this I remained in that prayer which I
1 Cant. v. 1. 'a. d. 1572.
s Maria de Velasco and Aragon, Countess of Osorno (Ribera, lib.
iii. c. 1).

360. S. TERESA'S RELATIONS [REL. III.
still practise, and which is that of keeping my soul in the
company of the most Holy Trinity ; and it seemed to me that
the Person of the Father drew me to Himself, and spoke to
me most comfortable words. Among them were these, while
showing how He loved me : "I give thee My Son, and the
Holy Ghost, and the Virgin: what canst thou give Me?"1
17. On the Octave of the Floly Ghost, our Lord was
gracious unto me, and gave me hopes of this house,2 that it
would go on improving — I mean the souls that are in it.
18. On the Feast of the Magdalene, our Lord again con
firmed a grace I had received in Toledo, electing me, in the
absence of a certain person, in her place.
19. In the monastery of the Incarnation, and in the
second year of my being prioress there, on the Octave of
S. Martin, when I was going to Communion, the Father
Fr. John of the Cross,'' — it was he who was giving me the
most Holy Sacrament, — divided the Host between rne and
another sister. I thought it was done, not because there
was any want of Hosts, but that he wished to mortify me
because I had told him how much I delighted in Hosts of
a large size. Yet I was not ignorant that the size of the
Host is of no moment; for I knew that our Lord is whole
and entire in the smallest particle. His Majesty said to me:
"Have no fear, My daughter; for no one will be able to
separate thee from Me," — giving me to understand that the
size of the Host mattered not.
20. Then appearing to me, as on other occasions, in
an imaginary vision, most interiorly, Fie held out His right
hand and said : "Behold this nail ! it is the pledge of thy
being My bride from this day forth. Until now thou hadst
not merited it; from henceforth thou shalt regard my honour,
not only as of one who is Thy Creator, King, and God, but
as thine, My veritable bride; My honour is thine, and thine
is Mine." This grace had such an effect on me, that I
could not contain myself: I became as one that is foolish,
and said to our Lord: "Either ennoble my vileness or cease
* See Relation, iv. § 2.
* The monastery of the Incarnation, Avila (De la Fuente).
' S. John of the Cross, at the instance of the Saint, was sent to
Avila, with another father of the reformed Carmelites, to be confessor
of the nuns of the Incarnation, who then disliked the observance of
the primitive rule.

REL. III.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 361
to bestow such mercies on me, for certainly I do not think
that nature can bear them." I remained thus the whole day,
as one utterly beside herself. Afterwards I became con
scious of great progress, and greater shame and distress to
see that I did nothing in return for graces so great.
21. Our Lord said this to me one day: "Thinkest thou,
My daughter, that meriting lies in fruition? No; merit lies
only in doing, in suffering, and in loving. You never heard
that S. Paul had the fruition of heavenly joys more than
once; while he was often in sufferings.1 Thou seest how
My whole life was full of dolors, and only on Mount Tabor
hast thou heard of Me in glory.2 Do not suppose, when thou
seest My Mother hold Me in her arms, that she had that joy
unmixed with heavy sorrows. From the time that Simeon
spoke to her, My Father made her see in clear light all I had
to suffer. The grand Saints of the desert, as they were led by
God, so also did they undergo heavy penances; besides, they
waged serious war with the devil and with themselves, and
much of their time passed away without any spiritual con
solation whatever. Believe me, My daughter, his trials are
the heaviest whom My Father loves most; trials are the
measure of His love. How can I show My love for thee
better than by desiring for thee what I desired for Myself?
Consider My wounds; thy pains will never reach to them.
This is the way of truth; thus shalt thou help Me to weep
over the ruin of those who are in the world, for thou knowest
how all their desires, anxieties, and thoughts tend the other
way." When I began my prayer that day, my headache
was so violent that I thought I could not possibly go on.
Our Lord said to me: "Behold, now, the reward of suffering.
As thou, on account of thy health, wert unable to speak to
Me, I spoke to thee and comforted thee." Certainly, so it
was; for the time of my recollection lasted about an hour
and a half, more or less. It was then that He spoke to me
the words I have just related, together with all the others.
I was not able to distract myself, neither knew I where I
was ; my joy was so great as to be indescribable ; my headache
was gone, and I was amazed, and I had a longing for suffer
ing. He also told me to keep in mind the words He said to
His Apostles : "The servant is not greater than his lord."3
* 2 Cor. xi. 27. ' S. Matt. xvii. 2. * S. John xiii. 16.

s. Teresa's relations [rel. iv.

RELATION IV.
OF THE GRACES THE SAINT RECEIVED IN SALAMANCA AT THE
END OF LENT 1571.
1. I found myself the whole of yesterday in great desola
tion, and, except at Communion, did not feel that it was the
day of the Resurrection. Last night, being with the com
munity, I heard one1 of them singing how hard it is to be
living away from God. As I was then suffering, the effect
of that singing on me was such that a numbness began in
my hands, and no efforts of mine could hinder it; but as I
go out of myself in raptures of joy, so then my soul was
thrown into a trance through the excessive pain, and re
mained entranced; and until this day I had not felt this. A
few days previously I thought that the vehement impulses
were not so great as they used to be, and now it seems to me
that the reason is what I have described ; I know not if it is so.
Hitherto the pain had not gone so far as to make me beside
myself; and as it is so unendurable, and as I retained the
control of my senses, it made me utter loud cries beyond my
power to restrain. Now that it has grown, it has reached this
point of piercing me ; and I understand more of that piercing
which our Lady suffered; for until to-day, as I have just said,
I never knew what that piercing was. My body was so
bruised, that I suffer even now when I am writing this ; for
my hands are as if the joints were loosed, and in pain.2 You,
my father, will tell me when you see me whether this trance
be the effect of suffering, or whether I felt it, or whether
I am deceived.
2. I was in this great pain till this morning; and, being in
prayer, I tell into a profound trance ; and it seemed to me that
our Lord had taken me up in spirit to His Father, and said to
Him: "Whom Thou hast given, to Me, I give to Thee;"3 and
He seemed to draw me near to Himself. This is not an
1 Isabel of Jesus, born in Segovia, and whose family name was
Jimenas, told Ribera (vide lib. iv. c. x.) that she was the singer, being
then a novice in Salamanca.
* See Fortress of the Soul, vi. ch. xi.
• See Relation iii. § 16.

REL. IV.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 363
imaginary vision, but one most certain, and so spiritually
subtile that it cannot be explained. He spoke certain words
to me which I do not remember. Some of them referred to
His grace, which He bestows on me. He kept me by Him
for some time.
3. As you, my father, went away yesterday so soon,
and I consider the many affairs which detain you, so that
it is impossible for me to have recourse to you for comfort
even when necessary, — for I see that your occupations are
most urgent, — I was for some time in pain and sadness. As
I was then in desolation, — as I said before,— that helped me ;
and as nothing on earth, I thought, had any attractions for me,
I had a scruple, and feared I was beginning to lose that
liberty. This took place last night; and to-day our Lord
answered my doubt, and said to me "that I was not to be
surprised; for as men seek for companions with whom they
may speak of their sensual satisfactions, so the soul — when
there is any one who understands it — seeks those to whom
it may communicate its pleasures and its pains, and is sad
and mourns when it can find none." He said to me : "Thou
art prosperous now, and thy works please Me." As He re
mained with me for some time, I remembered that I had
told you, my father, that these visions pass quickly away;
He said to me "that there was a difference between these
and the imaginary visions, and that there could not be an
invariable law concerning the graces He bestowed on us ;
for it was expedient to give them now in one way, now in
another." 4. After Communion, I saw our Lord most distinctly
close beside me; and He began to comfort me with great
sweetness, and said to me, among other things : "Thou be-
holdest Me present, my daughter, — it is I. Show Me thy
hands." And to me He seemed to take them and to put
them to His side, and said: "Behold My wounds; thou art
not without Me. Finish the short course of thy life." By
some things He said to me, I understood that, after His
Ascension, He never came down to the earth except in the
most Holy Sacrament to communicate Himself to any one.
He said to me, that when He rose again He showed Himself
to our Lady, because she was in great trouble ; for sorrow had
so pierced her soul that she did not even recover herself at
once in order to have the fruition of that joy. By this I saw

364 s. teresa's relations [rel. iv.
how different was my piercing.1 But what must that of the
Virgin have been? He remained long with her then because
it was necessary to console her.
5. On Palm Sunday, at Communion, I was in a deep
trance, — so much so, that I was not able even to swallow
the Host; and, still having It in my mouth, when I had
come a little to myself, I verily believed that my mouth was
all filled with Blood; and my face and my whole body seemed
to be covered with It, as if our Lord had been shedding It
at that moment. I thought It was warm, and the sweetness
I then felt was exceedingly great; and our Lord said to
me: "Daughter, My will is that My Blood should profit thee;
and be not thou afraid that My compassion will fail thee.
I shed It in much suffering, and, as thou seest, thou hast
the fruition of It in great joy. I reward thee well for the
pleasure thou gavest Me to-day." He said this because I
have been in the habit of going to Communion, if possible,
on this day for more than thirty years, and of labouring to
prepare my soul to be the host of our Lord; for I considered
the cruelty of the Jews to be very great, after giving Him
so grand a reception, in letting Him go so far for supper; and
I used to picture Him as remaining with me, and truly in
a poor lodging, as I see now. And thus I used to have such
foolish thoughts — they must have been acceptable to our
Lord, for this was one of the visions which I regard as most
certain ; and, accordingly, it has been a great blessing to
me in the matter of Communion.
6. Previous to this, I had been, I believe, for three
days in that great pain, which I feel sometimes more than
at others, because I am away from God; and during those
days it had been very great, and seemingly more than I
could bear. Being thus exceedingly wearied by it, I saw it
was late to take my collation, nor could I do so, — for if I do
not take it a little earlier, it occasions great weakness be
cause of my sickness; and then, doing violence to myself, I
took up some bread to prepare for collation, and on the in
stant Christ appeared, and seemed to be breaking the bread
and putting it into my mouth. He said to me: "Eat, My
daughter, and bear it as well as thou canst. I condole with
thee in thy suffering; but it is good for thee now." My pain
was gone, and I was comforted; for He seemed to be really
1 See above, § 1.

REL. V.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 365
with me then, and the whole of the next day; and with this
my desires were then satisfied. The word "condole" made
me strong ; for now I do not think I am suffering at all.

RELATION V.
OBSERVATIONS ON CERTAIN POINTS OF SPIRITUALITY.
1. "What is it that distresses thee, little sinner? x\m
I not thy God? Dost thou not see how ill I am treated here?
If thou lovest Ale, why art thou not sorry for Me? Daughter,
light is very different from darkness. I am faithful; no one
will be lost without knowing it. He must be deceiving him
self who relies on spiritual sweetnesses; the true safety
lies in the witness of a good conscience.1 But let no one
think that of himself he can abide in the light, any more
than he can hinder the natural night from coming on ; for
that depends on My grace. The best means he can have
for retaining the light is the conviction in his soul that he
can do nothing of himself, and that it comes from Me; for,
even if he were in the light, the instant I withdraw, night will
come. True humility is this: the soul's knowing what itself
can do, and what I can do. Do not neglect to write down
the counsels I give thee, that thou mayest not forget them.
Thou seekest to have the counsels of men in writing; why,
then, thinkest thou that thou art wasting time in writing
down those I give thee? The time will come when thou
shalt require them all."
On Union.
2. "Do not suppose, My daughter, that to be near to Me
is union; for they who sin against Me are near Me, though
they do not wish it. Nor is union the joys and comforts of
union,2 though they be of the very highest kind, and though
they come from Me. These very often are means of winning
souls, even if they are not in a state of grace." When I
heard this, I was in a high degree lifted up in spirit. Our
' 2 Cor. i. 12.
1 See S. John of the Cross, Mount Carmel, bk. ii. ch. v.

366 S. TERESA'S RELATIONS [REL. V.
Lord showed me what the spirit was, and what the state
of the soul was then, and the meaning of those words of the
Magnificat, "My spirit rejoices." He showed me that the
spirit was the higher part of the will.
3. To return to union; I understood it to be a spirit,
pure, and raised up above all the things of earth, with nothing
remaining in it that would swerve from the will of God,
being a spirit and a will resigned to His will, and in de
tachment from all things, occupied in God in such a way as
to leave no trace of any love of self, or of any created thing
whatever.1 Thereupon, I considered that, if this be union,
it comes to this, that as my soul is always abiding in this
resolution, we can say of it that it is always in this prayer
of union; and yet it is true that the union lasts but a very
short time. It was suggested to me that, as to living in
justice, meriting and making progress, it will be so; but it
cannot be said that the soul is in union, as it is when in
contemplation ; and I thought I understood, yet not by words
heard, that the dust of our wretchedness, faults, and imper
fections, wherein we bury ourselves, is so great,'that it is
not possible to live in such pureness as the spirit is in when
in union with God, raised up and out of our wretched misery.
And I think, if it be union to have our will and spirit in
union with the will and Spirit of God, that it is not possible
for any one not in a state of grace to attain thereto; and I
have been told so. Accordingly, I believe it is very difficult
to know when the soul is in union; to have that knowledge
is a special grace of God, because nobody can tell whether he
is in a state of grace or not.2
4. You will show me in writing, my father, what you
think of this, and how I am in the wrong, and send me this
paper back.
5. I had read in a book that it was an imperfection to
possess pictures well painted, — and I would not, therefore,
retain in my cell one that I had; and also, before I had read
this, I thought that it was poverty to possess none, except
those made of paper, — and, as I read this afterwards, I would
not have any of any other material. I learnt from our Lord,
when I was not thinking at all about this, what I am going
to say: "that this mortification was not right. Which is
better, poverty or charity? But as love was the better, what-
1 See Foundations, ch. v. § 2. - ' Eccl. ix. 1.

REL. V.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 367
ever kindled love in me, that I must not give up, nor take
away from my nuns; for the book spoke of much adorning
and curious devices — not of pictures.1 What Satan was doing
among the Lutherans was the taking away from them all
those means by which their love might be the more quickened ;
and thus they were going to perdition. Those who are loyal
to Me, My daughter, must now, more than ever, do the very
reverse of what they do." I understood that I was under
great obligations to serve our Lady and S. Joseph, because,
when I was utterly lost, God, through their prayers, came
and saved me.
6. One day, after the Feast of S. Matthew,2 I was as is
usual with me, after seeing in a vision the most Holy Trinity,
and how It is present in a soul in a state of grace.3 I under
stood the mystery most clearly, in such a way that, after
a certain fashion and comparisons, I saw It in an imaginary
vision. And though at other times I have seen the most
Holy Trinity in an intellectual vision, for some days after
the truth of it did not rest with me, — as it does now, I mean,
— so. that I could dwell upon it. I see now that it is just
as learned men told me ; and I did not understand it as I
do now, though I believed them without the least hesitation;
for I never had any temptations against the faith.
7. It seems to us ignorant women that the Persons of
the most Holy Trinity are all Three, as we see Them painted
in one Person, after the manner of those pictures which
represent a body with three faces; and thus it causes such
astonishment in us that we look on it as impossible, and so
there is nobody who dares to think of it; for the understand
ing is perplexed, is afraid it may come to doubt the truth,
and that robs us of a great blessing.
8. What I have seen is this: Three distinct Persons,
each one by Himself visible, and by Himself speaking.4 And
afterwards I have been thinking that the Son alone took
1 See S. John of the Cross, Mount Carmel, bk. iii. ch. xxxiv.
1 The §§ 6, 7, and 8 are the thirteenth letter of the second volume,
ed. Doblado. * See Relation iii. § 13.
4 Antonio de San Joseph, in his notes' on this passage, is anxious
to save the Thomist doctrine that one of the Divine Persons cannot be
seen without the other, and so he says that the Saint speaks of the
Three Persons as she saw Them — not as They are in Themselves.

368 s. teresa's relations |>el. v-
human flesh, whereby this truth is known. The Persons
love, communicate, and know Themselves. Then, if each
one is by Himself, how can we say that the Three are one
Essence, and so believe? That is a most deep truth, and I
would die for it a thousand times. In the Three Persons
there is but one will and one power and one might; neither
can One be without Another: so that of all created things
there is but one sole Creator. Could the Son create an ant
without the Father? No; because the power is all one. The
same is to be said of the Holy Ghost. Thus, there is one
God Almighty, and the Three Persons are one Majesty. Is
it possible to love the Father without loving the Son and
the Holy Ghost? No; for he who shall please One of the
Three pleases the Three Persons; and he who shall offend
One offends AJL Can the Father be without the Son and
without the Holy Ghost? No; for They are one substance,
and where One is there are the Three; for They cannot be
divided. How, then, is it that we see the Three Persons
distinct? and how is it that the Son, not the Father, nor the
Holy Ghost, took human flesh? This is what I have never
understood; theologians know it. I know well that the
Three were there when that marvellous work was done, and
I do not busy myself with much thinking thereon. All my
thinking thereon comes at once to this: that I see God is
almighty, that He has done what He would, and so can do
what He will. The less I understand it, the more I believe
it, and the greater the devotion it excites in me. May He be
blessed for ever! Amen.
9. If our Lord had not been so gracious with me as
He has been, I do not think I should have had the courage
to do what has been done, nor strength to undergo the labours
endured, with the contradictions and the opinions of men.
And accordingly, since the beginning of the foundations, I
have lost the fears I formerly had, thinking that I was under
delusions, — and I had a conviction that it was the work of
God:. having this, I ventured upon difficult things though
always with advice and under obedience. I see in this that
when our Lord willed to make a beginning of the Order, and
of His mercy made use of me, His Majesty had to supply all
that I was deficient in, which was every thing, in order that
the work might be effected, and that His greatness micrht be
the more clearly revealed in one so wicked.

REL- V.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 369
10. Antiochus was unendurable to himself, and to those
who were about him, because of the stench of his many
sins.1 11. Confession is for faults and sins, and not for virtues,
nor for any thing of the kind relating to prayer. These
things are to be treated of out of confession with one who
understands the matter, — and let the prioress see to this;
and the nun must explain the straits she is in, in order
that the proper helps may be found for her; for Cassian says
that he who does not know the fact, as well as he who has
never seen or learnt, that men can swim, will think, when
he sees people throw themselves into the river, that they
will all be drowned.2
12. Our Lord would have Joseph tell the vision to his
brethren, and have it known, though it was to cost Joseph so
much. 13. How the soul has a sense of fear when God is about to
bestow any great grace upon it; that sense is the worship
of the spirit, as that of the four3 elders spoken of in Scripture.
14. How, when the faculties are suspended, it is to be
understood that certain matters are suggested to the soul, to be
by it recommended to God; that an angel suggests them, of
whom it is said in the Scriptures that he was burning incense
and offering up the prayers of the saints.4
15. How there are no sins where there is no knowledge;
and thus our Lord did not permit the king to sin with the
wife of Abraham, for he thought that she was his sister, not
his wife.
1 2 Maccab. ix. 10, 12.
' Cassian. Collat. vii. cap. iv. p. 311: "Nee enim si quis ignarus
natandi, sciens pondus corporis sui ferre aquarum liquorem non posse,
experimento suae voluerit impentiaa definire, neminem penitus posse
liquidis elementis solida came circumdatum sustineri."
* Antonio de San Joseph says that the Saint meant to write four-
and-twenty, in allusion to Apoc. iv.
4 Apoc. viii. 4.

370 S. TERESA'S RELATIONS [REL. VI.

RELATION VI.
THE VOW OF OBEDIENCE TO FATHER GRATIAN WHICH THE SAINT
MADE IN 1575.
1. In the year 1575, in the month of April, when I was
founding the monastery of Veas, Fra Jerome of the Mother
of God Gratian happened to come thither.1 I began to go to
confession to him from time to time, though not looking
upon him as filling the place of the other confessors I had,
so as to be wholly directed by him. One day, when I was
taking food, but without any interior recollection whatever,
my soul began to be recollected in such a way that I thought
I must fall into a trance; and I had a vision, that passed away
with the usual swiftness, like a meteor. I seemed to see
close beside me Jesus Christ our Lord, in the form wherein
His Majesty is wont to reveal Himself, with F. Gratian on
His right. Our Lord took his nght^ajid_and.. mine, jand^
joining them togetHer, Taid-to_me that He._would_have- me -
ac"cept-him"in~His~-pIac"e~for my whole life,, and _tha.t_we_.were
both ' to-have one mmdJuTall things, for so it yyas fitting.^ I
was profoundly convinced that this was the work of God,
though I remembered with regret two of my confessors whom
I frequented in turn for a long time, and to whom I owed
much; that one for whom I have a great affection especially
caused a terrible resistance. Nevertheless, not being able
to persuade myself that the vision was a delusion, because
it had a great power and influence over me, and also because
it was said to me on two other occasions that I was not to
be afraid, that He washed this, — the words were different,
— I made up my mind at last to act upon them, understand
ing it to be our Lord's will, and to follow that counsel so
long as I should live. I had never before so acted with any
one, though I had consulted many persons of great learn
ing and holiness, and who watched over my soul with great
care, — but neither had I received any such direction as that
I should make no change; for as to my confessors, of some
I understood that they would be profitable to me, and so also
of these. 1 See Foundations, ch. xxii.

REL. VI.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 371
2. When I had resolved on this, I found myself in peace
and comfort so great that I was amazed, and assured of our
Lord's will ; for I do not think that Satan could fill the soul
with peace and comfort such as this: and so, whenever I
think of it, I praise our Lord and remember the words,
"He hath made peace within thy borders,"1 and I wish I could
wear myself out in the praises of God.
3. It must have been about a month after this my resolve
was made, on the second day after Pentecost, when I was
going to found the monastery in Seville, that we heard
Mass in a hermitage in Ecija, and rested there during the
hottest part of the day. Those who were with me remained
in the hermitage while I was by myself in the sacristy be
longing to it. I began to think of one great grace which I
received of the Holy Ghost, on one of the vigils of His
feast,2 and a great desire arose within me of doing Him
some most special service, and I found nothing that was not
already done, — at least, resolved upon, — for all I do must
be faulty; and I remembered that, though I had already
made a vow of obedience, it might be made in greater per
fection, and I had an impression it would be pleasing unto
Him if I promised that which I was already resolved upon,
to live under obedience to the Father-Master Fr. Jerome.
On the one hand, I seemed to be doing nothing, because 1
was already bent on doing it; on the other hand, it would
be a very serious thing, considering that our interior state
is not made known to the superiors who receive our vows,
and that they change, and that, if one is not doing his work
well, another comes in his place; and I believed I should
have none of my liberty all my life long, either outwardly
or inwardly, and this constrained me greatly to abstain from
making the vow. This repugnance of the will made me
ashamed, and I saw that, now I had something I could do
for God, I was not doing it; it was a sad thing for my reso
lution to serve Him. The fact is, that the objection so pressed
me, that I do not think I ever did any thing in my life that
was so hard — not even my profession — unless it be that of
my leaving my father's house to become a nun.3 The reason
1 Ps. cxlvii. 3.
* Perhaps the Saint refers to what she has written in her Life, ch.
xxxviii. §§ H, 12.
* Life, ch. iv. § 1.

372 s. teresa's relations [rel. vi.
of this was that I had forgotten my affection for him, and
his gifts for directing me; yea, rather, I was looking on
it then as a strange thing, which has surprised me; feeling
nothing but a great fear whether the vow would be for the
service of God or not: and my natural self — which is fond
of liberty — must have been doing its work, though for years
now I have no pleasure in it. But it seemed to me a far
other matter to give up that liberty by a vow, as in truth
it is. After a protracted struggle, our Lord gave me great
confidence; and I saw it was the better course, the more
I felt about it: if I made this promise in honour of the Holy
Ghost, He would be bound to give him light for the direction
of my soul ; and I remembered at the same time that our Lord
had given him to me as my guide. Thereupon I fell upon my
knees, and, to render this tribute of service to the Holy Ghost,
made a promise to do whatever he should bid me do while I
lived, provided nothing were required of me contrary to the
law of God and the commands of superiors whom I am more
bound to obey. I adverted to this, that the obligation did
not extend to things of little importance, — as if I were to
be importunate with him about any thing, and he bade me
cease, and I neglected his advice and repeated my request,
— nor to things relating to my convenience. In a word, his
commands were not to be about trifles, done without reflec
tion ; and I was not knowingly to conceal from him my faults
and sins, or my interior state; and this, too, is more than we
allow to superiors. In a word, I promised to regard him
as in the place of God, outwardly and inwardly. I know
not if it be so, but I seemed to have done a great thing in
honour of the Holy Ghost— at least, it was all I could do,
and very little it was in comparison with what I owe Him.
4. I give God thanks, who has created one capable of
this work: I have the greatest confidence that His Majesty
will bestow on him great graces ; and I myself am so happy
and joyous, that I seem to be in every way free from myself;
and though I thought that my obedience would be a burden,
I have attained to the greatest freedom. May our Lord be
praised for ever !

REL. VII.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 373

RELATION VII.
MADE FOR RODRIGO ALVAREZ, S. J., IN THE YEAR 1575, ACCORD
ING TO DON VICENTE DE LA FUENTE; BUT IN 1576, ACCORD
ING TO THE BOLLANDISTS AND F. BOUIX.
1. This nun took the habit forty years ago, and from the
first began to reflect on the mysteries of the Passion of Christ
our Lord, and on her own sins, for some time every day with
out thinking at all of any thing supernatural, but only of
created things, or of such subjects as suggested to her how
soon the end of all things must come, discerning in creatures
the greatness of God and His love for us.
2. This made her much more willing to serve Him: she
was never under the influence of fear, and made no account of
it, but had always a great desire to see God honoured and His
glory increased. To that end were all her prayers directed,
without making any for herself; for she thought that it mat
tered little if she had to suffer in purgatory in exchange for
the increase of His glory even in the slightest degree.
3. In this she spent about two-and-twenty years in great
aridities, and never did it enter into her thoughts to desire any
thing else; for she regarded herself as one who, she thought,
did not deserve even to think about God, except that His
Majesty was very merciful to her in allowing her to remain in
His presence, saying her prayers, reading also in good books.
4. It must be about eighteen years since she began to
arrange about the first monastery of Barefooted Carmelites
which she founded. It was in Avila, three or two years
before, — I believe it is three, — she began to think that she
occasionally heard interior locutions, and had visions and
revelations interiorly. She saw with the eyes of the soul, for
she never saw any thing with her bodily eyes, nor heard any
thing with her bodily ears: twice, she thinks, she heard a
voice, but she understood not what was said. It was a sort of
making things present when she saw these things interiorly;
they passed away like a meteor most frequently. The vision,
however, remained so impressed on her mind, and produced
such effects, that it was as if she saw those things with her
bodily eyes, and more.

374 S. TERESA'S RELATIONS [REL. VII.
5. She was then by nature so very timid, that she would
not dare to be alone even by day, at times. And as she
could not escape from these visitations, though she tried with
all her might, she went about in very great distress, afraid
that it was a delusion of Satan, and began to consult spiritual
men of the Society of Jesus about it, among whom were
Father Araoz, who was Commissary of the Society, and
who happened to go to that place, and Father Francis, who
was Duke of Gandia, — him she consulted twice;1 also a
Provincial, now in Rome, called Gil Gonzalez, and him also
who is now Provincial of Castille, — this latter, however, not
so often,— Father Baltasar Alvarez, who is now Rector in
Salamanca; and he heard her confession for six years at this
time; also the present Rector of Cuenca, Salazar by name;
the Rector of Segovia, called Santander; the Rector of Burgos,
whose name is Ripalda, — and he thought very ill of her when
he heard of these things, till after he had conversed with her;
the Doctor Paul Hernandez in Toledo, who was a Consultor
of the Inquisition, him who was Rector in Salamanca when
she talked to him; the Doctor Gutierrez, and other fathers,
some of the Society, whom she knew to be spiritual men,
these she sought out, if any were in those places where she
went to found monasteries.
6. With the Father Fra Peter of Alcantara, who was
a holy man of the Barefooted Friars of S. Francis, she had
many communications, and he it was who insisted so much
upon it that her spirit should be regarded as good. They
were more than six years trying her spirit minutely, as it is
already described at very great length,2 as will be shown
hereafter: and she herself in tears and deep affliction; for
the more they tried her, the more she fell into raptures, and
into trances very often,— not, however, deprived of her
senses. 7. Many prayers were made, and many Masses were
said, that our Lord would lead her by another way,3 for her
fear was very great when she was not in prayer; though in
every thing relating to the state of her soul she was very
much better, and a great difference was visible, there was
no vam-glory, nor had she any temptation thereto, nor to
pride; on the contrary, she was very much ashamed and
1 See Life, ch. xxiv. § 4. * See Life, ch. xxv. jj 18.
' See Life, ch. xxv. § 20, and ch. xxvii. § 1.

REL. VII.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 375
confounded when she saw that people knew of her state,
and except with her confessors, or any one who would give
her light, she never spoke of these things, and it was more
painful to speak of them than if they had been grave sins;
for it seemed to her that people must laugh at her,1 and that
these things were womanish imaginations, which she had
always heard of with disgust.
8. About thirteen years ago, more or less, after the
house of S. Joseph was founded, into which she had. gone
from the other monastery, came the present Bishop of
Salamanca, Inquisitor, I think, of Toledo, previously of Seville,
Soto by name.2 She contrived to have a conference with him
for her greater security, and told him every thing. He re
plied, that there was nothing in all this that concerned his
office, because every thing that she saw and heard confirmed
her the more in the Catholic faith, in which she always was,
and is firm, with most earnest desires for the honour of God
and the good of souls, willing to suffer death many times for
one of them.
9. He told her, when he saw how distressed she was,
to give an account of it all, and of her whole life, without
omitting any thing, to the Master Avila, who was a man of
great learning in the way of prayer, and to rest content with
1 See Life, ch. xxvi. § 5.
* Don Francisco de Soto y Salazar was a native of Bonilla de la
Sierra, and Vicar-General of the Bishops of Astorga and Avila, and
Canon of Avila; Inquisitor of Cordova, Seville, and Toledo; Bishop,
successively, of Albarracin, Segorve, and Salamanca. He died at
Merida in 1576, poisoned, it was suspected, by the sect of the Illumi-
nati, who were alarmed at his faithful zeal and holy life (Palafox, note
to letter 19, vol. i. ed. Doblado). "She went to the Inquisitor Don
Francisco Soto de Salazar — he was afterwards Bishop of Salamanca —
and said to him: 'My lord, I am subject to certain extraordinary pro
cesses in prayer, such as ecstasies, raptures, and revelations, and do
not wish to be deluded or deceived by Satan, or to do any thing that
is not absolutely safe. I give myself up to the Inquisition to try me
and examine my ways of going on, submitting myself to its orders.'
The Inquisitor replied: 'SeRora, the business of the Inquisition is not
to try the spirits, nor to examine ways of prayer, but to correct here
tics. Do you, then, commit your experience to writing, in all sim
plicity and truth, and send it to the Father-Master Avila, who is a
man of great spirituality and learning, and extremely conversant with
matters of prayer; and when you shall have his answer, you may be
sure there is nothing to be afraid of,' " (Jerome Gratian, Lucidario, cap.
iii.).

376 s. teresa's relations [rel. vii.
the answer he should give. She did so, and described her
sins and her life. He wrote to her and comforted her, giving
her great security. The account I gave was such that all
those learned men who saw it — they were my confessors —
said that it was very profitable for instruction in spiritual
things; and they commanded her to make copies of it, and
write another little book1 for her daughters, — she was prioress,
— wherein she might give them some instructions.
10. Notwithstanding all this, she was not without fears
at times, for she thought that spiritual men also might be
deceived like herself. She told her confessor that he might
discuss these things with certain learned men, though they
were not much given to prayer, for she had no other desire
but that of knowing whether what she experienced was in
conformity with the sacred writings or not. Now and then
she took comfort in thinking that — though she herself, be
cause of her sins, deserved to fall into delusions — our Lord
would not suffer so many good men, anxious to give her
light, to be led into error.
11. Having this in view, she began to communicate with
fathers of the Order of the glorious S. Dominic, to which,
before these things took place, she had been to confession,
— she does not say to them, but to the Order.2 These are
they with whom she afterwards had relations. The . Father
Fra Vicente Barron, at that time Consultor of the Holy
Office, heard her confessions for eighteen months in Toledo,
and he had done so very many years before these things began.
He was a very learned man. He reassured her greatly, as did
also the fathers of the Society spoken of before. All used to
say, If she does not sin against God, and acknowledges her
own misery, what has she to be afraid of? She confessed to
the Father Fra Pedro Ibahez, who was Reader in Avila; to
the Father-Master Fra Dominic Banes, who is now in Valla-
dolid as rector of the college of S. Gregory, I confessed for
six years, and whenever I had occasion to do so communi
cated with him by letter ; also to the Master Chaves ; to the
1 This book is the Way of Perfection, written by direction of F.
Banes. * The Saint had such great affection for the Order of S. Dominic,
that she used to say of herself, "Yo soy la Dominica in passione,"
meaning thereby that she was in her heart a Dominicaness, and a child
of the Order (Palafox, note to letter 16, vol. i. ed. Doblado).

REL. VII.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 377
Father-Master Fra Bartholomew of Medina, professor in
Salamanca, of whom she knew that he thought ill of her;
for she, having heard this, thought that he, better than any-
other, could tell her if she was deceived, because he had so
little confidence in her. This was more than two years ago.
She contrived to go to confession to him, and gave him a
full account of every thing while she remained there ; and
he saw what she had written,1 for the purpose of attaining
to a better understanding of the matter. He reassured her
so much, and more than all the rest, and remained her very
good friend.
12. She went to confession also to Fra Philip de Meneses,
when she founded the monastery of Valladolid, for he was
rector of the college of S. Gregory. He having before that
heard of her state, had gone to Avila, that he might speak to
her, — it was an act of great charity, — being desirous of ascer
taining whether she was deluded, so that he might enlighten
her, and, if she was not, defend her when he heard her spoken
against; and he was much satisfied.
13. She also conferred particularly with Salinas, Domini
can Provincial, a man of great spirituality; with another licen
tiate named Lunar, who was prior of S. Thomas of Avila ; and,
in Segovia, with a Reader, Fra Diego de Yangiies.
14. Of these Dominicans some never failed to give them
selves greatly to prayer, and perhaps all did. Some others
also she consulted; for in so many years, and because of the
fear she was in, she had opportunities of doing so, especially
as she went about founding monasteries in so many places.
Her spirit was tried enough, for every body wished to be able
to enlighten her, and thereby reassured her and themselves.
She always, at all times, wished to submit herself to whatever
they enjoined her, and she was therefore distressed when, as
to these spiritual things, she could not obey them. Both her
own prayer, and that of the nuns she has established, are
always carefully directed towards the propagation of the faith ;
and it was for that purpose, and for the good of her Order,
that she began her first monastery.
15. She used to say that, if any of these things tended
to lead her against the Catholic faith and the law of God,
1 When this father had read the Life, he had it copied, with the
assent of F. Gratian, and gave the copy thus made to the Duchess of
Alba (De la Fuente).

378 S. TERESA'S RELATIONS [REL. VII.
she would not need to seek for learned men nor tests, be
cause she would see at once that they came from Satan. She
never undertook any thing merely because it came to her in
prayer; on the contrary, when her confessors bade her do the
reverse, she did so without being in the least troubled thereat,
and she always told them every thing. For all that they told
her that these things came from God, she never so thoroughly
believed them that she could swear to it herself, though it did
seem to her that they were spiritually safe, because of the
effects thereof, and of the great graces which she at times
received; but she always desired virtues more than any thing
else; and this it is that she has charged her nuns to desire,
saying to them that the most humble and mortified will be the
most spiritual.
16. All that is told and written she communicated to the
Father-Master Fra Dominic Banes, who is now in Valla-
dolid, and who is the person with whom she has had, and has
still, the most frequent communications. He sent her writings
to the Holy Office in Madrid, so it is said. In all this she
submits herself to the Catholic faith and the Roman Church.
Nobody has found fault with them, because these things
are not in the power of any man, and our Lord does not
require what is impossible.
17. The reason why so much is known about her is that,
as she was in fear about herself, and described her state to so
many-, these talked to one another on the subject, and also the
accident that happened to what she had written.1 This has
been to her a very grievous torment and cross, and has cost
her many tears. She says that this distress is not the effect of
humility, but of the causes already mentioned. Our Lord
seems to have given permission2 for this torture; for if one
spoke more harshly of her than others, by little and little he
spoke more kindly of her.
18. She took the greatest pains not to submit the state of
her soul to any one who she thought would believe that these
things came from God, for she was instantly afraid that the
devil would deceive them both. If she saw any one timid
about these things, to him she laid bare her secrets with the
greater joy ; though also it gave her pain when, for the pur
pose of trying her, these things were treated with contempt,
for she thought some were really from God, and she would not
1 See Foundations, ch. xvii. § 12, note. ' Life, ch. xxiii. § 15.

REL. VII.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 379
have people, even if they had good cause, condemn them so ab
solutely; neither would she have them believe that all were
from God ; and because she knew perfectly well that delusion
was possible, therefore it was that she never thought herself
altogether safe in a matter wherein there might be danger.
19. She used to strive with all her might never in any way
to offend God, and was always obedient; and by these means
she thought she might obtain her deliverance, by the help of
God, even if Satan were the cause.
20. Ever since she became subject to these supernatural
visitations, her spirit is always inclined to seek after that which
is most perfect, and she had almost always a great desire to
suffer; and in the persecutions she underwent, and they were
many, she was comforted, and had a particular affection for
her persecutors. She had a great desire to be poor and lonely,
and to depart out of this land of exile in order to see God.
Through these effects, and others like them, she began to find
peace, thinking that a spirit which could leave her with these
virtues could not be an evil one, and they who had the charge
of her soul said so; but it was a peace that came from dimin
ished weariness, not from the cessation of fear.
21. The spirit she is of never urged her to make any
of these things known, but to be always obedient.1 As it
has been said already,2 she never saw any thing with her
bodily eyes, but in a way so subtile and so intellectual that
at first she sometimes thought that all was the effect of
imagination; at other times she could not think so. These
things were not continual, but occurred for the most part when
she was in some trouble : as on one occasion, when for some
days she had to bear unendurable interior pains, and a restless
ness of soul arising out of the fear that she was deluded by
Satan, as it is described at length in the account she has given
of it,3 and where her sins, for they have been so public, are
mentioned with the rest; for the fear she was in made her
forget her own good name.
22. Being thus in distress such as cannot be described, at
the mere hearing interiorly these words,4 "It is I, be not
afraid," her soul became so calm, courageous, and confident.
that she could not understand whence so great a blessing had
come ; for her confessor had not been able — and many learned
1 Life, ch. xxvi. § 6. '§4.
* Life, ch. xxv. § 19. * Life, ch. xxv. § 22.

380 S. TERESA'S RELATIONS [REL. VII.
men, with many words, had not been able — to give her that
peace and rest which this one word had given her. And thus
at other times, some vision gave her strength, for without that
she could not have borne such great trials and contradictions,
together with infirmities without number, and which she still
has to bear, though they are not so many, — for she is never free
from some suffering or other, more or less intense. Her ordi
nary state is constant pain, with many other infirmities,
though since she became a nun they are more troublesome,
if she is doing any thing in the service of our Lord. And
the mercies He shows her pass quickly out of memory, though
she often dwells on those mercies, — but she is not able to dwell
so long upon these as upon her sins; these are always a tor
ment to her, most commonly as filth smelling foully.
23. That her sins are so many, and her service of God so
scanty, must be the reason why she is not tempted to vain
glory. There never was any thing in any of these spiritual
visitations that was not wholly pure and clean, nor does she
think it can be otherwise if the spirit be .good and the visions
supernatural, for she utterly neglects the body and never
thinks of it, being wholly intent upon God.
24. She is also living in great fear about sinning against
God, and doing Flis will in all things; this is her continual
prayer. And she is, she thinks, so determined never to swerve
from this, that there is nothing her confessors might enjoin
her, which she considers to be for the greater honour of our
Lord, that she would not undertake and perform, by the help
of our Lord. And confident that His Majesty helps those who
have resolved to advance His service and glory, she thinks no
more of her self and of her own progress, in comparison with
that, than if she did not exist, so far as she knows herself,
and her confessors think so too.
25. All that is written in this paper is the simple truth,
and they, and all others who have had any thing to do with
her for these twenty years, can justify it. Most frequently her
spirit urged her to praise God, and she wished that all the
world gave itself up to that, even though it should cost her ex
ceedingly. Hence the desire she has for the good of souls ; and
from considering how vile are the things of this world, and
how precious are interior things, with which nothing can be
compared, she has attained to a contempt of the world.
26. As for the vision about which you, my father, wish to

REL. VIII.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 381
know something, it is of this kind : she sees nothing either out
wardly or inwardly, for the vision is not imaginary ; but, with
out seeing any thing, she understands what it is, and where it
is, more clearly than if she saw it, only nothing in particular
presents itself to her. She is like a person who feels that
another is close beside her; but because she is in the dark she
sees him not, yet is certain that he is there present. Still, this
comparison is not exact ; for he who is in the dark, in some way
or other, through hearing a noise or having seen that person
before, knows he is there, or knew it before ; but here there is
nothing of the kind, for without a word, inward or outward,
the soul clearly perceives who it is, where he is, and occasion
ally what he means.1 Why, or how, she perceives it, she
knoweth not; but so it is; and while it lasts, she cannot help
being aware of it. And when it is over, — though she may
wish ever so much to retain the image thereof, — she cannot
do it, for it is then clear to her that it would be, in that
case, an act of the imagination, not the vision itself, — that is
not in her power; and so it is with the supernatural things.
And it is from this it comes to pass that he in whom God works
these graces despises himself, and becomes more humble than
he was ever before, for he sees that this is a gift of God, and
that he can neither add to it nor take from it. The love and the
desire become greater of serving our Lord, who is so mighty
that He can do that which is more than our imagination can
conceive here, as there are things which men, however learned
they may be, can never know. Blessed for ever and ever be
He who bestows this! Amen.

•RELATION VIII.
ADDRESSED TO F. RODRIGO ALVAREZ.
1. These interior things of the spirit are so difficult to
describe, and, still more, in such a way as to be understood, —
the more so as they pass quickly away, — that, if obedience did
not help me, it would be a chance if I succeeded, especially in
such difficult things. I implore you, my father, to take for
granted that it is not in my mind to think this to be correct,
1 See Life, ch. xxvii. § 5.

382 s. Teresa's relations [rel. viii.
for it may well be that I do not understand the matter; but
what I can assure you of is this, that I will speak of nothing I
have not had experience of at times, and, indeed, often.
2. I think it will please you, my father, if I begin by
discussing that which is at the root of supernatural things;
for that which relates to devotion, tenderness, tears, and medi
tations, which is in our power here to acquire by the help of
our Lord, is understood.
3. The first prayer of which I was conscious, — in my
opinion, supernatural, — so I call that which no skill or effort
of ours, however much we labour, can attain to, though we
should prepare ourselves for it, and that preparation must be
of great service, — is a certain interior recollection1 of which the
soul is sensible; the soul seems to have other senses within
itself then, which bear some likeness to the exterior senses it
possesses ; and thus the soul, withdrawing into itself, seeks to
go away from the tumult of its outward senses, and accord
ingly it drags them away with itself; for it closes the eyes on
purpose that it may neither see, nor hear, nor understand any
thing but that whereon the soul is then intent, which is to be
able to converse with God alone. In this prayer there is no
suspension of the faculties and powers of the soul; it retains
the full use of them ; but the use of them is retained that they
may be occupied with God. This will be easily understood by
him whom our Lord shall have raised to this state ; but by him
whom He has not, not ; at least, such a one will have need of
many words and illustrations.
4. Out of this recollection grow a certain quietude and
inward peace most full of comfort; for the soul is in such a
state that it does not seem to it that it wants any thing; for
even speaking wearies it, — I mean by this, vocal prayer and
meditation; it would do nothing but love. This lasts some
time, and even a long time.
5. Out of this prayer comes usually what is called a sleep
of the faculties ; but they are not so absorbed nor so suspended
as that it can be called a trance ; nor is it altogether union.
6. Sometimes, and even often, the soul is aware that the
will alone is in union; and this it sees very clearly, — that
is, it seems so to it. The will is wholly intent upon God, and
the soul sees that it has no power to rest on, or do, any thing
else; and at the same time the two other faculties are at
1 Inner Fortress, iv. ch. iii.

REL. VIII.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 383
liberty to attend to other matters of the service of God, — in a
word, Martha and Mary are together.1 I asked Father Francis2
if this was a delusion, for it made me stupid; and his reply
was, that it often happened.
7. When all the faculties of the soul are in union, it is
a very different state of things; for they can then do nothing
whatever, because the understanding is as it were surprised.
The will loves more than the understanding knows; but the
understanding does not know that the will loves, nor what it is
doing, so as to be able in any way to speak of it. As to the
memory, the soul, I think, has none then, nor any power of
thinking, nor are the senses awake, but rather as lost, so that
the soul may be the more occupied with the object of its
fruition: so it seems to me. They are lost but for a brief
interval ; it passes quickly away. By the wealth of humility,
and other virtues and desires, left in the soul after this may be
learnt how great the blessing is that flows from this grace,
but it cannot be told what it is; for, though the soul applies
itself to the understanding of it, it can neither understand nor
explain it. This, if it be real, is, in my opinion, the greatest
grace wrought by our Lord on this spiritual road, — at least,
it is one of the greatest.
8. Raptures and trance, in my opinion, are all one, only I
am in the habit of using the word trance instead of rapture
because the latter word frightens people; and, indeed, the
union of which I am speaking may also be called a trance.
The difference between union and trance is this, that the
latter lasts longer and is more visible outwardly, because the
breathing gradually diminishes, so that it becomes impossible
to speak or to open the eyes; and though this very thing occurs
when the soul is in union, there is more violence in a trance,
for the natural warmth vanishes, I know not how, when the
rapture is deep ; and in all these kinds of prayer there is more
or less of this. When it is deep, as I was saying, the hands
become cold, and sometimes stiff and straight as pieces of
wood ; as to the body, if the rapture comes on when it is stand
ing or kneeling; it remains so;3 and the soul is so full of the
joy of that which our Lord is setting before it, that it seems
to forget to animate the body, and abandons it. If the rap
ture lasts, the nerves are made to feel it.
' See Life, ch. xvii. § 5. * Compare Life, ch. xxiv. § 4.
' See Life, ch. xx. § 23.

384 s. teresa's relations [kel. viii.
9. It seems to me that our Lord will have the soul know
more of that, the fruition of which it has, in a trance than in
union, and accordingly in a rapture the soul receives most
commonly certain revelations of His Majesty, and the effects
thereof on the soul are great, — a forgetfulness of self, through
the longing it has that God our Lord; who is so high, may be
known and praised. In my opinion, if the rapture be from
God, the joul cannot fail to obtain a deep conviction of its
own helplessness, and of its wretchedness and ingratitude, in
that it has not served Flim who, of His own goodness only,
bestows upon it graces so great; for the feeling and the
sweetness are so high above all things that may be compared
therewith that, if the recollection of them did not pass away,
all the satisfactions of earth would be always loathsome to it;
and hence comes the contempt for all the things of the world.
10. The difference between trance and transport1 is this,
— in a trance the soul gradually dies to outward things, losing
the senses and living unto God. A transport comes on by one
sole act of His Majesty, wrought in the innermost part of
the soul with such swiftness that it is as if the higher part
thereof were carried away, and the soul leaving the body.
Accordingly it requires courage at first to throw itself into
the arms of our Lord, that He may take it whithersoever He
will; for, until His Majesty establishes it in peace there
whither He is pleased to take it — by take it I mean the ad
mitting of it to the knowledge of deep things — it certainly
requires in the beginning to be firmly resolved to die for Him,
because the poor soul does not know what this means — that is,
at first. The virtues, as it seems to me, remain stronger after,
this, for there is a growth in detachment, and the power of
God, who is so mighty, is the more known, so that the soul
loves and fears Him. For so it is, He carries away the soul,
no longer in our power, as the true Lord thereof, which is
filled with a deep sorrow for having offended Him, and aston
ishment that it ever dared to offend a Majesty so great, with
an exceedingly earnest desire that none may henceforth of
fend Him, and that all may praise Him. This, I think, must
be the source of those very fervent desires for the salvation
of souls, and for some share therein, and for the due praising
of God. ' "Arrobamiento y arrebatamiento."

REL. VIII.] . OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 385
11. The flight of the spirit — I know not how to call it —
is a rising upwards from the very depths of the soul. I
remember only this comparison, and I made use of it before, as
you know, my father, in that writing where these and other
ways of prayer are explained at length,1 and such is my
memory that I forget things at once. It seems to me that
soul and spirit are one and the same thing; but only as a fire,
if it is great and ready for burning; so, like fire burning
rapidly, the soul, in that preparation of itself which is the
work of God, sends up a flame, — the flame ascends on high,
but the fire thereof is the same as that below, nor does the
flame cease to be fire because it ascends: so here, in the soul,
something so subtile and so swift seems to issue from it,
that ascends to the higher part, and goes thither whither our
Lord wills. I cannot go further with the explanation; it
seems a flight, and I know of nothing else wherewith to com
pare it: I know that it cannot be mistaken, for it is most
evident when it occurs, and that it cannot be hindered.
12. This little bird of the spirit seems to have escaped
out of this wretchedness of the flesh, out of the prison of this
body, and now, disentangled therefrom, is able to be the more
intent on that which our Lord is giving it. The flight of the
spirit is something so fine, of such inestimable worth, as the
soul perceives it, that all delusion therein seems impossible, or
any thing of the kind, when it occurs. It was afterwards
that fear arose, because she who received this grace was so
wicked; for she saw what good reasons she had to be afraid
of every thing, though in her innermost soul there remained
an assurance and a confidence wherein she was able to live,
but not enough to make her cease from the anxiety she was in
not to be deceived.
13. By impetus I mean that desire which at times rushes
into the soul, without being preceded by prayer, and that
is most frequently the case; it is a sudden remembering that
the soul is away from God, or of a word it has heard to that
effect. This remembering is occasionally so strong and vehe
ment that the soul in a moment becomes as if the reason were
gone, just like a person who suddenly hears most painful
tidings of which he knew not before, or is surprised; such
a one seems deprived of the power of collecting his thoughts
for his own comfort, and is as one lost. So is it in this state,
1 See Life, chs. xx. and xxi.

386 s. teresa's relations [rel. vhi.
except that the suffering arises from this, that there abides in
the soul a conviction that it wrould be well worth dying in it.
It seems that whatever the soul then perceives does but
increase its sufferings, and that our Lord will have its whole
being find no comfort in any thing, nor remember that it is His
will that it should live : the soul seems to itself to be in great
and indescribable loneliness, and abandoned of all, because
the world, and all that is in it, gives it pain; and because it
finds no companionship in any created thing, the soul seeks
its Creator alone, and this it sees to be impossible unless it
dies ; and as it must not kill itself, it is dying to die, and there
is really a risk of death, and it sees itself hanging between
heaven and earth, not knowing what to do with itself. And
from time to time God gives it a certain knowledge of Himself,
that it may see what it loses, in a way so strange that no
explanation of it is possible; and there is no pain in the
world — at least, I have felt none — that is equal or like unto
this, for if it lasts but half an hour the whole body is out of
joint, and the bones so racked, that I am not able to write
with my hands : the pains I endure are most grievous.1
14. But nothing of all this is felt till the impetus shall
have passed away. He to whom it comes has enough to do
in enduring that which is going on within him, nor do I believe
that he would feel if he were grievously tortured: he is in
possession of all his senses, can speak, and even observe; walk
about he cannot, — the great blow of that love throws him
down to the ground. If we were to die to have this, it would
be of no use, for it cannot be except when God sends it. It
leaves great effects and blessings in the soul. Some learned
men say that it is this, others that it is that, but no one con
demns it. The Master-Father dAvila wrote to me and said
it was good, and so say all. The soul clearly understands
that it is a great grace from our Lord ; were it to occur more
frequently, life would not last long.
15. The ordinary impetus is, that this desire of serving
God comes on with a certain tenderness, accompanied with
tears, out of a longing to depart from this land of exile; but
as the soul retains its freedom, wherein it reflects that its living
on is according to our Lord's will, it takes comfort in that
thought, and offers its life to Him, beseeching Him that it may
last only for His glory. This done, it bears all.
* Life, ch. xx. § 16; Inner Fortress, vi. c. xi.

REL. VIII.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 387
16. Another prayer very common is a certain kind of
wounding;1 for it really seems to the soul as if an arrow-
were thrust through the heart, or through itself. Thus it
causes great suffering, which makes the soul complain; but
the suffering is so sweet, that it wishes it never would end.
The suffering is not one of sense, neither is the wound phy
sical; it is in the interior of the soul, without any appearance
of bodily pain; but as I cannot explain it except by com
paring it with other pains, I make use of these clumsy ex
pressions, — for such they are when applied to this suffering.
I cannot, however, explain it in any other way. It is, there
fore, neither to be written of nor spoken of, because it is
impossible for any one to understand it who has not had
experience of it, — I mean, how far the pain can go; for the
pains of the spirit are very different from those of earth. I
gather, therefore, from this, that the souls in hell and purga
tory suffer more than we can imagine, by considering these
pains of the body.
17. At other times, this wound of love seems to issue
from the inmost depth of the soul ; great are the effects of it ;
and when our Lord does not inflict it, there is no help for it,
whatever we may do to obtain it; nor can it be avoided when
it is His pleasure to inflict it. The effects of it are those
longings after God, so quick and so fine that they cannot
be described; and when the soul sees itself hindered and
kept back from entering, as it desires, on the fruition of
God, it conceives a great loathing for the body, on which it
looks as a thick wall which hinders it from that fruition
which it then seems to have entered upon within itself, and
unhindered by the body. It then comprehends the great
evil that has befallen us through the sin of Adam in robbing
us of this liberty.2
18. This prayer I had before the raptures and the great
impetuosities I have been speaking of. I forgot to say that
these great impetuosities scarcely ever leave me, except
through a trance or great sweetness in our Lord, whereby He
comforts the soul, and gives it courage to live on for His sake.
19. All this that I speak of cannot be the effect of the
imagination; and I have some reasons for saying this, but it
would be wearisome to enter on them : whether it be good or
1 See Life, ch, xxix. § 16.
* Life, ch. xvii. § 9.

38S . s. teresa's relations > [rel. vih.
not is known to our Lord. The effects thereof, and how it
profits the soul, pass all comprehension, as it seems to me.
20. I see clearly that the Persons are distinct, as I saw
it yesterday when you, my father, were talking to the Father-
Provincial; only I saw nothing, and heard nothing, as, my
father, I have already told you. But there is a strange cer
tainty about it, though the eyes of the soul see nothing;
and when the Presence is withdrawn, that withdrawal is felt.
How it is, I know not; but I do know very well that it is
not an imagination, because I cannot reproduce the vision
when it is over, even if I were to perish in the effort; but
I have tried to do so. So is it with all that I have spoken of
here, so far as I can see; for, as I have been in this state for
so many years, I have been able to observe, so that I can
say so with this confidence. The truth is, — and you, my father,
should attend to this, — that, as to the Person who always
speaks, I can certainly say which of Them He seems to me
to be; of the others I cannot say so much. One of Them I
know well has never spoken. I never knew why, nor do I busy
myself in asking more of God than He is pleased to give, be
cause in that case, I believe, I should be deluded by Satan
at once ; nor will I ask now, because of the fear I am in.
21. I think the First spoke to me at times ; but, as I do not
remember that very well now, nor what it was that He spoke,
I will not venture to say so.. It is all written, — you, my
father, know where, — and more at large than it is here; I
know not whether in the same words or not.1 Though the
Persons are distinct in a strange way, the soul knows One
only God.' I do not remember that our Lord ever seemed to
speak to me but in His Human Nature ; and — I say it again
— I can assure you that this is no imagination.
22. What, my father, you say about the water, I know
not ; nor have I heard where the earthly paradise is. I have
already said that I cannot but listen to what our Lord tells
me; I hear it because I cannot help myself; but, as for asking
His Majesty to reveal any thing to me, that is what I have
never done. In that case, I should immediately'think I was
imagining things, and that I must be in a delusion of Satan.
God be praised, I have never been curious about things, and
I do not care to know more than I do.2 What I have learnt,
' See Relation iii. § 6.
' See S. John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount Carmel, bk. ii. ch. xxii.

REL. IX.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 389
without seeking to learn, as I have just said, has been a
great trouble to me, though it has been the means, I believe
which our Lord made use of to save me, seeing that I was so
wicked; good people do not need so much to make them
serve His Majesty.
23. I remember another way of prayer which I had
before the one I mentioned first, — namely, a presence of
God, which is not a vision at all. It seems that any one. if
he recommends himself to His Majesty, even if he only prays
vocally, finds Him; every one, at all times, can do this, if
we except seasons of aridity. May Fie grant I may not by
my own fault lose mercies so great, and may He have com
passion on me !

RELATION IX.
OF CERTAIN SPIRITUAL GRACES SHE RECEIVED IN TOLEDO AND
AVILA IN THE YEARS 1576 AND 1577.
1. I had begun to go to confessicn to a certain person1
in the city wherein I am at present staying, when he, though
he had much good will towards me, and always has had
since he took upon himself the charge of my soul, ceased to
come here; and one night, when I was in prayer, and think
ing how he failed me, I understood that God kept him from
coming because it was expedient for me to treat of the affairs
of my soul with a certain person on the spot.2 I was dis
tressed because I had to form new relations^-it might be
he would not understand me, and would disturb me — and
because I had a great affection for him who did me this
charity, though I was always spiritually content when I saw
or heard the latter preach; also, I thought it would not do
because of his many occupations. Our Lord said to me: "I
will cause him to hear and understand thee. Make thyself
known unto him ; it will be some relief to thee irt thy troubles."
' F. Yepes, then prior of S. Jerome's, Toledo (De la Fuente).
* Don Alonzo Velasquez, canon of Toledo, to whom Relation xi.
is addressed. The Saint speaks of this in a letter to Fra Gratian in
1576. The letter is numbered 82 in the edition of Don Vicente, and 23
in the fourth volume of the edition of Doblado.

390 s. teresa's relations [rel. ix.
The latter part was addressed to me, I think, because I was
then so worn out by the absence of God. His Majesty also
said that He saw very well the trouble I was in; but it could
not be otherwise while I lived in this land of exile: all was
for my good. And he comforted me greatly. So it has been :
he comforts me, and seeks opportunities to do so; he has
understood me, and given me great relief; he is a most learned
and holy man.
2. One day,— it was the Feast of the Presentation, — I
was praying earnestly to God for a certain person, and think
ing that after all the possession of property and of freedom
was unfitting for that high sanctity which I wished him to
attain to; I reflected on his weak health, and on the spiritual
health which he communicated to souls; and I heard these
words: "He serves Me greatly; but the great thing is to
follow Me stripped of every thing, as I was on the cross.
Tell him to trust in Me." These last words were said be
cause I thought he could not, with his weak health, attain to
such perfection.
3. Once, when I was thinking of the pain it was to me
to take my food and do no penance, I understood that there
was at times more of self-love in that feeling than of a desire
for penance. 4. Once, when I was in great distress because of my
offences against God, He said to me: "All thy sins in My
sight are as if they were not. For the future, be strong; for
thy troubles are not over."
5. One day, in prayer, I felt my soul in God in such a
way that it seemed to me as if the world did not exist, I was
so absorbed in Him. He made me then understand that
verse of the Magnificat, "And my spirit rejoices," so that
I can never forget it.
6. Once, when I was thinking how people sought to
destroy this monastery of the Barefooted Carmelites, and
that they purposed, perhaps, to bring about the destruction
of them all by degrees, I heard : "They do purpose it ; never
theless, they will never see it done, but very much the reverse."
7. Once, in deep recollection, I was praying to God for
Eliseus;1 I heard this: "He is My true son; I will never fail
him," or to that effect; but I am not sure of the latter words.
' Fra Jerome Gratian (De la Fuente).

REL. IX.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 391
8. Having one day conversed with a person who had
given up much for God, and calling to mind that I had given
up nothing for Flim, and had never served Him in any
thing, as I was bound to do, and then considering the
many graces Fie had wrought in my soul, I began to be exceed
ingly weary; and our Lord said to me: "Thou knowest of
the bethrothal between thee and Myself, and therefore all
I have is thine; and so I give thee all the labours and sorrows
I endured, and thou canst therefore ask of My Father as if
they were thine." Though I have heard that we are partakers
therein,1 now it was in a way so different that it seemed as
if I had become possessed of a great principality; for the
affection with which Fie wrought this grace cannot be de
scribed. The Father seemed to ratify the gift; and from
that time forth I look at our Lord's Passion in a very different
light, as on something that belongs to me; and that gives
me great comfort.2
9. On the Feast of the Magdalene, when thinking of
the great love I am bound to have for our Lord, according
to the words He spoke to me in reference to this Saint, and
having great desires to imitate her, our Lord was very
gracious unto me, and said, I was to be henceforth strong;
for I had to serve Him more than I had hitherto done.3 He
filled me with a desire not to die so soon, that I might have
the time to occupy myself therein; and I remained with a
great resolution to suffer.
10. On one occasion, I understood how our Lord was in
all things, and how He was in the soul; and the illustration
of a sponge filled with water was suggested to me.
11. When my brothers came, — and I owe so much to
one of them,4 — I remained in conversation with him con
cerning his soul and his affairs, which wearied and distressed
me; and as I was offering this up to our Lord, and thinking
that I did it all because I was under obligations to him, I
1 1 S. Pet. iv. 13.
' This took place in 1575, when she was going to found her monas
tery in Seville (Ribera, iv. 10).
* See § 3, above.
* This was in 1575, when the Saint was founding the monastery of
Seville; and the brother was Don Lorenzo, returned from the Indies,
and who now placed himself under the direction of his sister (De la
Fuente).

392 s. teresa's relations- [rel. ix.
remembered that by our Constitutions1 we are commanded
to separate ourselves from our kindred, and I was set think
ing whether I was under any obligation, our Lord said to
me: "No, My daughter; the regulations of the Order must
be only in conformity with My law." The truth is, that
the end of the Constitutions is, that we are not to be attached
to our kindred; and to converse with them, as it seems to
me, is rather wearisome, and it is painful to have any thing
to do with them.
12. After Communion, on S. Augustine's Day, I under
stood, and, as it were, saw, — I cannot tell how, unless it was
by an intellectual vision which passed rapidly away, — how
the Three Persons of the most Holy Trinity, whom I have
always imprinted in my soul, are One. This was revealed in
a representation so strange, and in a light so clear, that the
impression made upon me was very different from that
which I have by faith. From that time forth I have never
been able to think of One of the Three Divine Persons with
out thinking of the Three; so that to-day, when I was con
sidering how, the Three being One, the Son alone took our
flesh upon Him, our Lord showed me how, though They are
One, They are also distinct. These are marvels which make
the soul desire anew to be rid of the hindrance which the
body interposes between it and the fruition of them. Though
this passes away in a moment, there remains a gain to the
soul incomparably greater than any it might have made by
meditation during many years; and all without knowing
how it happens.
13. I have a special joy on the Feast of our Lady's
Nativity. AVhen this day was come, I thought it would be
well to renew our vows; and thereupon I saw our Lady, by
an illuminative vision; and it seemed as if we made them
before her, and that they were pleasing unto her. I had
this vision constantly for some days, and our Lady was
by me on my left hand. One day, after Communion, it
seemed to me that my soul was really one with the most
Holy Body of our Lord, then present before me; and that
wrought a great work and blessing in me.
14. I was once thinking whether I was to be sent to

' In the chapter "De la Clausura," § 3: "De trater con deudos
se desvien lo mas que pudieren."

REL. IX.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 393
reform a certain monastery;1 and, distressed at it, I heard:
"What art thou afraid of? What canst thou lose? — only thy
life, which thou hast so often offered to Me. I will help thee."
This was in prayer, which was of such a nature as to ease
my soul exceedingly.
15. Once, having a desire to render some service to our
Lord, I considered that I could serve Him but poorly, and
said to myself: "Why, O Lord, dost Thou desire my works?"
And He answered : "To see thy good will, My child."
16. Once our Lord gave me light in a matter that I was
very glad to understand, and I immediately forgot it, so that
I was never able to call it again to mind; and so when I
was trying to remember it, I heard: "Thou knowest now
that I speak to thee from time to time. Do not omit to
write down what I say; for, though it may not profit thee,
it may be that it will profit others." As I was thinking
whether I, for my sins, had to be of use to others, and be
lost myself, He said to me: "Have no fear."
17. I was once recollected in that companionship which
I ever have in my soul, and it seemed to me that God was
present therein in such a way that I remembered how S.
Peter said: "Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God;"2
for the living God was in my soul. This is not like other
visions, for it overpowers faith; so that it is impossible to
doubt of the indwelling of the Trinity in our souls by pres
ence, power, and essence. To know this truth is of the very
highest gain ; and as I stood amazed to see His Majesty in
a thing so vile as my soul, I heard: "It is not vile, My child,
for it is made in my image."3 I also learnt something of
the reason why God delights in souls more than in any other
creatures: it is so subtile that, though the understanding
quickly comprehended it, I cannot tell it.
18. When I was in such distress, because of the troubles
of our father,4 that I had no rest, and after Communion one
clay was making most earnestly my petition to our Lord that,
* The monastery of Paterna, of the unreformed Carmelites. This
was in 1576 (De la Fuente).
* S. Matt. xvi. 16. * Gen. i. 26.
' Fra Jerome Gratian. This took place during the persecution that
fell on the reformed Carmelites at the end of the year 1575, and
during the following year. See the last paragraph of this Relation
(De la Fuente. See also Relation, vi. § 1.).

394 s. teresa's relations [rel. ix.
as Fie had given him to me, I might not lose him, Fie said to
me: "Have no fear."
19. Once, with that presence of the Three Persons which
I have in my soul, I was in light so clear that no doubt of the
presence of the true and living God was possible; and I then
came to the knowledge of things which afterwards I could
not speak of. One of these things was, how the person of
the Son only took human flesh. I cannot, as I have just
said, explain it at all; for some of these things were wrought
in the secret recesses of the soul, and the understanding seems
to grasp them only as one who in his sleep, or half awake,
thinks he comprehends what is told him. I was thinking
how hard it was to remain alive, seeing that it was living
on that robbed us of that marvellous companionship; and so
I said to myself: "O Lord, show me some way whereby I
may bear this life!" He said unto me: "Think, Aly child,
when life is over, thou canst not serve Me as thou art serving
Me now, and eat for Me, and sleep for Me. Whatsoever thou
doest, let it be done for Me as if thou wert no longer living,
but I; for that is what S. Paul said.''1
20. Once, after Communion, I saw how His Father within
our soul accepts the most Floly Body of Christ. I have under
stood and seen how the Divine Persons are there, and how
pleasing is this offering of His Son, because He has His joy
and delight in Him, so to speak, here on earth ; for it is not
the Humanity only that is with us in our souls, but the
Divinity as well, and thus is it so pleasing and acceptable
unto Him, and gives us graces so great. I understood also
that He accepts the sacrifice, though the priest be in sin; but
then the grace of it is not communicated to his soul as it is
to their souls who are in a state of grace : not that the in
flowings of grace, which proceed from this Communion
wherein the Father accepts the sacrifice, cease to flow in
their strength, but because of his fault who has to receive
them; as it is not the fault of the sun that it does not
illumine a lump of pitch, when its rays strike it, as it
illumines a globe of crystal. If I could now describe it, I
should be better understood; it is a great matter to know
this, because there are grand secrets within us when we are
at Communion. It is sad that these bodies of ours do not
allow us to have the fruition thereof.
' Galat. ii. 20.

REL. IX.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 395
21. During the Octave of All Saints,1 I had two or
three days of exceeding anguish, the result of my remem
brance of my great sins, and I was also in great dread of
persecutions, which had no foundation except that great
accusations were brought against me, and all my resolutions
to suffer any thing for God failed me: though I sought to
encourage myself, and made corresponding acts, and saw that
all would be a great gain for me, it was to little purpose, for
the fear never left me. It was a sharp warfare. I came
across a letter, in which my good father2 had written that
S. Paul said that God does not suffer us to be tempted beyond
our power to bear.3 This was a very great relief to me,
but was not enough; yea, rather, on the next day I was in
great distress at his absence, for I had no one to go to in
this trouble, for I seemed to be living in great loneliness.
And it added to my grief to see that I now find no one but
him who can comfort me, and he must be more than ever
away, which is a very sore trouble.
22. The next night after this, reading in a book, I found
another saying of S. Paul, with which I began to be com
forted; and being slightly recollected, I remained thinking
how I had our Lord before present within me, so that I
truly saw Him to be the living God. While thinking on this
He spoke to me, and I saw Him in my inmost being, as it
were beside my heart, in an intellectual vision; His words
were : "I am here, only I will have thee see how little thou
canst do without Me." I was on the instant reassured, and
all my fears left me; and while at Matins that very night our
Lord Himself, in an intellectual vision so clear as to seem
almost imaginary, laid Himself in my arms, as He is painted
in the pictures of our Lady of Anguish.4 The vision made
me very much afraid, for it was so clear, and so close to me,
that it made me think whether it was an illusion or not. He
said to me, "Be not afraid of it, for the union of My Father
with thy soul is incomparably closer than this." The vision
1 a. d. 1577 (De la Fuente). ' Jerome Gratian (id.).
* 1 Cor. x. 13.
* Don Vicente says, that here is a proof — if any were wanting —
that the Saint wrote this after her sojourn in Seville; because in
Avila and in Castile and Aragon the expression is, "our Lady of
Dolors;" while in Andalucia it is our Lady of Anguish — "Nuestra
Senora de las Angustias."

396 s. teresa's relations [rel.. ix.
has remained with me till now. What I have said of our
Lord continued more than a month : now it has left me.
23. I was one night in great distress, because it was then
a long time since I had heard any thing of my father;1 and,
moreover, he was not well the last time he wrote to me. How
ever, my distress was not so great as that I felt before, for I
had hopes, and distress like that I never was in since; but
still my anxiety hindered my prayer. He appeared to me on
the instant; it could not have been the effect of imagination,
for I saw a light within me, and himself coming by the way
joyous, with a face all fair. It must have been the light I
saw that made his face fair, for all the saints in heaven seem
so ; and I considered whether it be the light and splendour pro
ceeding from our Lord that renders them thus fair. I heard
this: "Tell him to begin at once without fear, for the victory
is his." 24. One day, after he came, when I was at night giving
thanks to our Lord for the many mercies He had given unto
me, He said to me: "O my child, what canst thou ask that
I have not done?"
25. Our Lord said to me one day, in the monastery of
Veas, that I was to present my petition to Him, for I was His
bride. He promised to grant whatever I might ask of Him,
and, as a pledge, gave me a very beautiful ring, with a stone
set in it like an amethyst, but of a brilliancy very unlike,
which He put on my finger. I write this to my own con
fusion, considering the goodness of God, and my wretched
life ; for I have deserved hell. Ah, my daughters, pray to God
for me, and be devout to S. Joseph, who can do much. This
folly I write  folly I write 
26. On the eve of S. Laurence, at Communion, I was so
distracted and dissipated in mind, that I had no power over it,
and began to envy those who dwell in desert places ; thinking
that, as they see and hear nothing, they are exempt from dis
tractions. I heard this: "Thou are greatly- deceived, My
daughter; on the contrary, the temptations of Satan are more
violent there. Have patience; while life lasts, it cannot be
helped." While dwelling on this, I became suddenly recol
lected, and I saw a great light within me, so that I thought I
was in another world, and my spirit found itself interiorly in a
forest and in a garden of delights, which made me remember
1 Fra Jerome Gratian.

REL. IX.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 397
those words of the Canticle :l "Let my beloved come into his
garden." I saw my Eliseus2 there, not at all swarthy, but in
strange beauty: around his head was a garland of precious
stones ; a multitude of damsels went before him with palms in
their hands, all singing hymns of praise unto God. I did
nothing but open my eyes, to see whether I could not distract
myself from the vision, but that failed to divert my attention ;
and I thought there was music also, — the singing of birds and
of angels, — which filled my soul with joy, though I did not
hear any. My soul was in joy, and did not consider that there
was nobody else there. I heard these words: "He has merited
to be among you, and all this rejoicing which thou beholdest
will take place on the day he shall set aside for the honour of
My Mother;3 and do thou make haste, if thou wouldst reach
the place where he is." This vision lasted more than an hour
and a half. In this respect — differently from my other visions
— I could not turn away from it, and it filled me with de
light. The effect of the vision was a great affection for
Eliseus, and a more frequent thinking of him in that beauty.
I have had a fear 6f its being a temptation, for work of the
imagination it could not possibly be.4
27. The day after the presentation of the Brief,5 as I was
in the most eager expectation, which utterly disturbed me, so
that I could not even pray, — for I had been told that our father
was in great straits because they would not let him come away,
and that there was a great tumult, — I heard these words :
"O woman of little faith, be quiet; every thing is going on
perfectly well." It was the Feast of the Presentation of our
Lady, in the year 1575. I resolved within myself, if our Lady
obtained from her Son that we might see ourselves and our
1 Cant. v. 1.
* This was the name given to Fra Jerome Gratian, when the
Saint was driven, by the persecution raised against her, to distinguish
her friends by other designations than those by which they were
usually known: this fragment cannot have been written before the
year 1578 (De la Fuente).
' See the last section,
' Don Vicente published §§ 25 and 26' as fragments separately (vol.
i. pp. 524-526) ; but, as they seem to form a part of the series of event?
spoken of in this Relation, they have been placed here.
* Fra Jerome Gratian exhibited the Brief which made him Visitor-
Apostolic to the unreformed Carmelites, who were very angry thereat,
and rude in their vexation.

398 s. teresa's relations f rel. x.
father free of these friars, to ask him to order the solemn
celebration of that feast every year in our monasteries of the
Barefooted Carmelites. When I made this resolution, I did
not remember what I had heard in a former vision, that he
would establish this solemnity. Now, in reading again this
little paper, I think this must be the feast referred to.1

RELATION X.
OF A REVELATION TO THE SAINT AT AVILA, 1579, AND OF
CERTAIN DIRECTIONS CONCERNING THE GOVERNMENT OF
THE ORDER.
In S. Joseph of Avila, on Pentecost eve, in the hermitage
of Nazareth, thinking of one of the greatest graces our Lord
had given me on that day some twenty years before,2 more or
less, my spirit was vehemently stirred and grew hot within
me,3 and I fell into a trance. In that profound recollection I
heard our Lord say what I am now going to tell : I was to say
to the Barefooted Fathers, as from Him, that they must
strive to observe four things; and that so long as they ob
served them, the Order would increase more and more; and
if they neglected them, they should know that they were
falling away from their first estate.
The first is, the superiors of the monasteries are to be of
one mind. The second, even if they have many monasteries, to have
but few friars in each.
The third, to converse little with people in the world,
and that only for the good of their souls.
The fourth, to teach more by works than by words.
This happened in the year 1579; and because it is a great
truth, I have put my name to it. Teresa De Jesus.
1 See § 26. " See Life, ch. xxxviii. § 1. * Ps. xxxix. 3.

REL. XI.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 399

RELATION XL
written from palencia in may 1581, and addressed to
don alonzo velasquez, bishop of osma, who had been,
when canon of toledo, one of the saint's confessors.1
Jesus.
1. Oh, that I could clearly explain to your Lordship the
peace and quiet my soul has found! for it has so great a cer
tainty of the fruition of God, that it seems to be as if already
in possession,2 though the joy is withheld. I am as one to
whom another has granted by deed a large revenue, into the
enjoyment and use of which he is to come at a certain time,
but until then has nothing but the right already given him
to the revenue. In gratitude for this, my soul would abstain
from the joy of it, because it has not deserved it; it wishes
only to serve Him, even if in great suffering, and at times
it thinks it would be very little if, till the end of the world,
it had to serve Him who has given it this right ; for, in truth, it
is in some measure no longer subject, as before, to the miseries
of this world; though it suffers more, it seems as if only
the habit were struck, for my soul is, as it were, in a fortress
with authority, and accordingly does not lose its peace. Still,
this confidence does not remove from it its great fear of
offending God, nor make it less careful to put away every
hindrance to Flis service, yea, rather, it is more careful than
before. But it is so forgetful of its own interests as to seem,
in some measure, to have lost itself, so forgetful of self is it
in this. Every thing is directed to the honour of God, to the
doing of His will more and more, and the advancement of
His glory.
2. Though this be so, yet, in all that relates to health and
the care of the body, it seems to me that I am more careful
1 This relation is usually printed among the letters of the Saint,
and Don Vicente did not change the practice, assigning as his reason
the Saint's reference in § 4 to certain transactions in which she was
engaged. The letter is the 333d, and the 4th of vol. ii. ed Doblado,
and is probably the latest account of the state of her soul, for she died
on October 4 in the following year.
1 See Inner Fortress, vii. ch. ii.

400 s. teresa's relations [rel. xi.
than I was, that I mortify myself less in my food, and do fewer
penances: it is not so with the desires I had; they seem to be
greater. All this is done that I may be the better able to
serve God in other things, for I offer to Him very often, as
a great sacrifice, the care I take of my body, and that wearies
me much, and I try it sometimes in acts of mortification;
but, after all, this cannot be done without losing health,
and I must not neglect what my superiors command. Herein,
and in the wish for health, much self-love also must insinuate
itself; but, as it seems to me, I feel that if it would give me
more pleasure, and it gave me more pleasure when I was
strong, to do penance, for, at least, I seemed to be doing
something, and was giving a good example, and I was free
from the vexation which arises out of the fact that I am not
serving God at all. Your Lordship will see what it will be
best to do in the matter.
3. The imaginary visions have ceased, but the intellectual
vision of the Three Persons and of the Sacred Humanity seems
ever present, and that, I believe, is a vision of a much higher
kind; and I understand now, so I think, that the visions I
had came from God, because they prepared my soul for its
present state ; they were given only because I was so wretched
and so weak: God led me by the way which He saw was
necessary; but they are, in my opinion, of great worth when
they come from God.
4. The interior locutions have not left me, for, whenever
it is necessary, our Lord gives me certain directions ; and now,
in Palencia, were it not for these, there would have been
committed a great blunder, though not a sin.1
5. The acts and desires do not seem tc be so vigorous as
they used to be, for, though they are great, I have one much
greater to see the will of God accomplished and His glory
increased; for as the soul is well aware that His Majesty
knoweth what is expedient herein, and is so far removed
from all self-seeking, these acts and desires quickly end, and,
as it seems to me, have no strength. Hence the fear I have
at times, though without disquietude and pain as formerly,
that my soul is dulled, and that I am doing nothing, because
I can do no penance; acts of desire for suffering, for mar
tyrdom, and of the vision of God, have no strength in them,
' This relates to the taking of the hermitage of our Lady de la
Calle in Palencia (De la Fuente). See Foundations, ch. xxix.

REL. XI.] OF HER SPIRITUAL STATE. 401
and, most frequently, I cannot make them. I seem to live
only for eating and drinking, and avoiding pain in every
thing; and yet this gives me none, except that sometimes,
as I said before, I am afraid that this is a delusion; but I
cannot believe it, because, so far as I can see, I am not under
the sway of any strong attachment to any created thing, not
even to all the bliss of heaven, but only to the love of God;
and this does not grow less, — on the contrary, I believe it is
growing, together with the longing that all men may serve
Flim. 6. But, for all this, one thing amazes me : I have not the
feelings I had formerly, so strong and so interior, which tor
mented me when I saw souls go to their ruin, and when I used
to think I had offended God. I cannot have these feelings
now, though I believe my desire that God be not sinned
against is not less than it was.
7. Your Lordship must consider that in all this, in my
present as well as in my previous state, I can do no more, and
that it is not in my power to serve Him better : I might do so,
if I were not so wicked. I may say," also, that if I were now to
make great efforts to wish to die, I could not, nor can I make
the acts I used to make, nor feel the pains I felt for having
offended God, nor the great fears I had for so many years
when I thought I was under a 'delusion: and accordingly I
have no need of learned men, or of speaking to any body at
all, only to satisfy myself that I am going the right road now,
and whether I can do any thing. I have consulted certain
persons on this point, with whom I had taken counsel on the
others, with Fra Dominic, the Master Medina, and certain
members of the Society. I will be satisfied with the answer
which you, my Lord, may give me, because of the great trust
I have in your Lordship. Consider it carefully, for the love
of God! Neither do I cease to learn that certain souls of
people connected with me when they died are in heaven :
of others I learn nothing. La soledad que me hace pensar no se
puede dar aquel sentido a el que mama los pechos de mi
madre, la ida de Egito!1
8. I am at peace within; and my likings and dislikings
have so little power to take from me th.e Presence of the Three
1 This passage, Don Vicente observes, was omitted in all editions
prior to his: he does not know what it means; and the translator can
give no corresponding English words.

402 S. TERESA'S RELATIONS [REL. XI.
Persons, of which, while it continues, it is so impossible to
doubt, that I seem clearly to know by experience what is re
corded by S. John, that God will make Flis dwelling in the
soul i1 and not only by grace, but because He will have the
soul feel that presence, and it brings with it so many blessings,
particularly this, that there is no need to run after reflections
to learn that God is there. This is almost always the state I
am in, except when my great infirmities oppress me. Some
times God will have me suffer without any inward comfort;
but my will never swerves — not even in its first movements —
from the will of God. This resignation to His will is so effi
cacious, that I desire neither life nor death, except for some
moments, when I long to see God; and then the Presence of
the Three Persons becomes so distinct as to relieve the pain of
the absence, and I wish to live — if such be His good pleasure
— to serve Him still longer. And if I might help, by my
prayers, to make but one soul love Him more, and praise Him,
and that only for a short time, I think that of more importance
than to dwell in glory.
The unworthy servant and daughter
of your Lordship, Teresa De Jesus.
* S. John xiv. 23.

BOOK

OF

THE FOUNDATIONS OF S. TERESA.
WRITTEN BY HERSELF.

BOOK

OF

THE FOUNDATIONS OF S. TERESA.
WRITTEN BY HERSELF.

PROLOGUE.

1. Experience has shown me — setting that aside which
I have read in many places — the great blessing it is for a soul
never to withdraw from under obedience. Herein lie, in my
opinion, growth in goodness and the gaining of humility.
Herein lies our security amidst the doubts whether we are not
straying from the heavenly road, which, as mortal men, it
is right we should have while we are living here on earth.
Herein is. found that rest which is so dear to souls desirous
of pleasing God; for, if they have really resigned themselves
to holy obedience, and have made their understanding cap
tive thereto, seeking no other will but that of their confessor,
and if religious that of their superior, Satan refrains from
assailing them with his continual suspicions, seeing that he
loses rather than gains thereby. Moreover, our restless move
ments, fond, of having their own way, and even of making
the reason subject to them in those things which can give us
pleasure, cease, being reminded that the will is definitely given
up to the will of God, through that subjection of self to him
who stands in His place. As His Majesty of His goodness has
given me light to see the great treasure hidden in this priceless
virtue, I have laboured, however weakly and imperfectly, to
possess myself of it, though the work is often irksome, because
of the little goodness I behold in myself; for I see that it does
not reach to some things which I have been commanded to do.
(405)

406 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS.
May His Divine Majesty supply my shortcomings in the work
now before me !
2. In the year 1562 — the very year in which this house
of S. Joseph in Avila was founded — I was ordered, when in
that house, by my confessor, the Dominican friar father Garcia
of Toledo, to write the history of the foundation of the monas
tery, together with other matters, which any one, if it is ever
published, may see. I am now in Salamanca^ in the year
1573 — eleven years have passed since then — and my confessor,
the master Ripalda, father rector of the Society, has ordered
me to write. He, having seen the book containing the story
of the first foundation,1 thought it would be a service done to
our Lord if I committed to writing the story of the other
seven2 monasteries which, by the goodness of our Lord, have
since that time been founded, and told at the same time how
the monasteries of the barefooted fathers of the primitive
rule began. While I was looking on it as a thing impossible
for me, because of the many things I had to do — I had letters
to write and matters to transact, from which I could not
release myself, because they were assigned me by the com
mandment of my superiors — and I was praying to God there
upon, and somewhat distressed, because I was able to do so
little, because my health was so weak — for even without this
additional labour I seemed very often, and I am naturally
worthless, unable to bear my burden, our Lord said to me,
"Child, obedience gives strength."3 May it please His Majesty
it may be so, and may He give me grace to enable me to
relate, to His glory, the great things He hath done for the
order in these foundations.
3. It may he held for certain that everything will be
truly told, without any exaggeration whatever, to the best
of my knowledge, exactly as it happened ; for in matters even
of the least importance I would not tell a lie for anything
on this earth.4 In this my writing — to the praise of our
1 The history of the foundation of the monastery of S. Joseph in
Avila begins with ch. xxxii. § 13, of the Life, p. 244.
* The seventh monastery was that of Alba de Tormes, and the
history of that foundation is given in ch. xx. But it is the seventh
including S. Joseph's, and the Saint may have been thinking of
Duruelo, the house of her friars.
* See Life, ch. xviii. § 10.
' Life. ch. xxviii. § 6.

PROLOGUE. 407
Lord — an untruth would be a heavy burden on my conscience,
and I should believe it to be not merely a wasting of time,
but a deceiving of others in the things of God, who would be
offended, not honoured, thereby : it would be an act of high
treason. May it please His Majesty not to abandon me, that
I may not fall into that evil.
4. Each foundation shall have its own story, and I shall
try to be brief if I can; but my style is so heavy, that even
against my will I fear I shall be tedious to others and to
myself. Flowever, my daughters, to whom it is to be given
when my days are ended, will be able to bear with it out of
the love they have for me. May our Lord grant, for I seek
nothing for myself, and have no right to do so, but only His
praise and glory — for there are many things to be written
here for which men should praise Him — that they who shall
read it may be very far from attributing anything I have done
to myself, for that would be against the truth ; let them rather
pray to His Majesty to forgive me who have profited so little
by all His mercies. My children have much more reason to
complain of me herein than they have to thank me for what I
have done. Let us give all our thanks, my children, to the
Divine Goodness for the many graces He has given us. I ask,
for the love of God, one Ave Maria of every one who shall
read this, that it may help me out of purgatory, and to arrive
at the vision of Jesus Christ our Lord, who with the Father
and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth for ever and ever.
Amen. 5. I believe much that is very important will be left
untold, because of the weakness of my memory ; and other
things will be told which may well be forgotten: in a word, it
will be all in keeping with my scanty abilities and dulness,
and also with my little leisure for writing.
6. They bid me also, if I have the opportunity, to speak
of prayer, and of the delusions incident thereto which keep
men of prayer from making progress. I submit myself in
everything to the teaching of the Holy Mother Church of
Rome, and am resolved that learned and spiritual men shall
see it before it shall reach your hands, my sisters and my
children. I begin in the name of our Lord, invoking the help of
His glorious Mother, whose habit I wear, though unworthy of
it, and of my glorious father and lord. S. Joseph, in whose

408 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS.
house I am : for this monastery of barefooted nuns is under
his protection, by whose prayers I am continually helped. In
the year mdlxxiii, the twenty-fourth day of August, the
feast of saint Lewis, king of France.
Praise be to God.

IriNEnAmufi
Sanctte. Ther:
hi suis fundalionil

CH. I.] MEDINA DEL CAMPO. 409

Seam iHHanj.
Here beginneth the Foundation of S. Joseph of the
Carmel of Medina del Campo.

CHAPTER I.
HOW THIS AND THE OTHER FOUNDATIONS CAME TO BE MADE.
1. I remained five years after its foundation in the
house of S. Joseph, Avila, and I believe, so far as I can see
at present, that they were the most tranquil years of my
life, the calm and rest of which my soul very often greatly
misses. During that time certain young persons entered it
as religious, whose years were not many, but whom the
world, as it seemed, had already made its own, if we might
judge of them by their outward manners and dress. Our
Lord very quickly set them free from their vanities, drew
them into His own house, and endowed them with a per
fection so great as to make me very much ashamed of myself.
We were thirteen in number, which is the number we had
resolved never to exceed.1 I took my delight in souls so pure
and holy, whose only anxiety was to praise and serve our
Lord. His Majesty sent us everything we had need of with
out our asking for it; and whenever we were in want, which
was very rarely, their joy was then the greater. I used to
praise our Lord at the sight of virtues so high, especially for
the disregard of everything but His service.2
2. I, who was prioress there, do not remember that I
ever had any thoughts about our necessities, for I was per
suaded that our Lord would never fail those who had no
other care but that of pleasing Him. And if now and then
there was not sufficient food for us all, on my saying that
what we had was for those who wanted it most, not one of
1 See Life, ch. xxxii. § 16, and ch. xxxvi. § 31.
* See Life, ch. xxxix. § 14.

410 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [Ctt. I.
them would think that she was in need ; and so it remained till
God sent enough for all. As for the virtue of obedience, for
which I have a very great attraction — though I knew not how
to observe it till these servants of God taught me, so that I
could not be ignorant of it if there had been any goodness
in me — I could tell much that I saw in them. One thing
I remember, which is this: once in the refectory we had
cucumbers given us for our portions, and to me a very small
one, rotten within. Pretending not to be aware of this, I
called a sister,1 one of the most able and sensible in the
house, and, to try her obedience, told her to go and plant
it in a little garden we had. She asked me whether it was
to be planted endways or sideways. I told her sideways.
She went and planted it, without thinking that it could not
possibly fail to die. The fact that she was acting under
obedience made her natural reason blind in the service of
Christ, so that she believed that what she did was perfectly
right. I happened also to charge another with six or seven
offices inconsistent with each other, all of which she accepted
without saying a word, thinking it possible for her to dis
charge them.
3. We had a well, the water in which was very bad
according to their account who tested it, out of which, because
it was very deep, it seemed impossible to make the water
flow. I sent for workmen to make a trial, who laughed at
me because I was going to throw money away. I said to
my sisters, "What think you of it?" One of them answered,
"Let us try. Our Lord must find some one to supply us
with water and give us food; now, it will cost His Majesty
less to find water for us in the house, and He will therefore
not fail to do it."2 Considering the great faith and resolu
tion with which she said this, I took it for granted it would
1 Maria Bautista, in the world Maria de Ocampo, the niece of the
Saint, who was with her in the monastery of the Incarnation, and who
offered a thousand ducats for the foundation of a house wherein
greater strictness might be observed (Life, ch. xxxii. § 13). She was
now a novice in S. Joseph's, and was afterwards prioress of Valladolid
(Reforma de los Descalcos, lib. i. ch. xxxv. § 6, and ch. Iii. § 9. See
also notes of Palafox on Letter 44, but Lett. 46, vol. i. ed. Doblado).
* Maria Bautista, mentioned in the preceding note. The miracu
lous water flowed for eight years, and then, when the city of Avila
¦supplied the monastery with water from another source, almost
cT«-d (Reforma, lib. i. ch. liii. § 1).

CH. I.] MEDINA DEL CAMPO. 411
be so, and had the work done, against the will of the well-
sinker, who had experience of water. Our Lord was pleased,
and we have a flow of water quite enough for us, and good
to drink, to this day. I do not count this as a miracle —
I could tell many other things — but I tell it to show the faith
of the sisters, for the facts occurred as I am describing them,
and because my chief purpose is not to praise the nuns of
these monasteries, all of whom, by the goodness of our Lord,
walk in the same path. It would be tedious to write of
these and many other things, yet not unprofitable, for those
who come in from time to time are hereby encouraged to
follow in their steps. However, if our Lord will have it
done, the superiors might order the prioresses to put them
in writing. 4. I, wretch that I am, was living among these angelic-
souls. I think they were nothing less, for they concealed
from me no fault, however interior; while the graces, the
high desires, and detachment which our Lord gave them, were
exceedingly great. Their joy was in being alone, and
they assured me they were never long enough alone; and
so they looked on it as a torment whenever any one came to
see them, even though it were a brother. She who had the
most opportunities of being alone in the hermitage considered
herself the happiest.
5. Very often, when thinking of the great worth of these
souls, and of the great courage — certainly a greater courage
than that of women — which God gave them that they might
bear suffering and serve Him, it would often strike me that
it was for some great end that He gave them this wealth.
But what came to pass afterwards never entered into my
mind, for then it seemed impossible, because there was no
reason in the world for imagining it; still, as time went on,
my desires to do something for the good of some soul or
other grew more and more, and very often I looked on my
self as on one who, having great treasures in her keeping,
wished all to have the benefit of it, but whose hands were
restrained from distributing it. Accordingly it seemed to
me that my soul was in bonds, for the graces our Lord gave
me during those years were very great, all of which seemed to
be wasted in me. I waited on our Lord always with my poor
prayers, and got my sisters to do the same, and to have a zeal
for the good of souls, and for the increase of the Church : they

412 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. I.
always edified every one who conversed with them, and herein
my great longings were satisfied.
6. After four years — I think a little more — there came
to see me a Franciscan friar, father Alonso Maldonado, a
great servant of God, having the same desires that I had for
the good of souls. He was able to carry his into effect, for
which I envied him enough. Fie had just returned from the
Indies. Fie began by telling me of the many millions of souls
there perishing through the want of instruction, and preached
us a sermon encouraging us to do penance, and then went
his way. I was so .distressed because so many souls were
perishing that I could not contain myself. I went to one of
the hermitages, weeping much, and cried unto our Lord,
beseeching Him to show me, when the devil was carrying
so many away, how I might do something to gain a soul for
His service, and how I might do something by prayer now
that I could do nothing else. I envied very much those who
for the love of our Lord could employ themselves in this
work for souls, though they might suffer a thousand deaths.
Thus, when I am reading in the lives of the saints how they
converted souls, I have more devotion, more tenderness and
envy, than when I read all the pains of martyrdom they under
went; for this is an attraction which our Lord has given me;
and I think He prizes one soul which of His mercy we have
gained for Him by our prayer and labour more than all the
service we may render Him.
7. During this great distress I was one night in prayer,
when our Lord appeared to me in His wonted manner, and
showed me great love, as if he wished to comfort; He then
said to me, "Wait a little, my child, and thou shalt see great
things." These words were so impressed on my heart that
I could not forget them ; and though I could not find out, after
long thinking over them, what they could mean, and did not
see any way even to imagine it, I was greatly comforted, and
fully persuaded that the words would be found true; but it
never entered my imagination how they could be. Another
six months went by — so I think and believe — and then that
happened which I will now relate.

CH. II. J MEDINA DEL CAMPO. 413

CHAPTER II.
THE GENERAL OF THE ORDER COMES TO AVILA — RESULTS OF
HIS VISIT.
1. Our generals always reside in Rome, none of whom
have been at any time in Spain,1 and it seemed impossible
they should come then; but, as there is nothing impossible
if our Lord wills it, Flis Majesty ordained that what had
never been done before should be done now. When I heard
of it I think I was troubled because, as it is said in the history
of the foundation of S. Joseph's, this house, for the reason
there given, is not under the jurisdiction of the friars.2 I
was afraid of two things: one was that the general might
be angry with me, and he had reason to be so,3 not knowing
how matters had come to pass; the other, that he might
send me back to the monastery of the Incarnation4 where the
mitigated rule is observed: that would have been a sore dis
comfort to me, for many reasons which I need not relate.5
One is enough : it would not have been possible for me to
1 Two generals had before this entered Spain and held chapters
of the order: Fra Juan Alerio in Barcelona in the year 1324, and
twenty years after, in 1354, Fra Raimundo de Grasa in Perpinan; but
these chapters were held only for the kingdom of Aragon, where the
order was widely spread. (De la Fuente.) . This was the first time the
general entered Castille, which is no doubt what the Saint, means
when she says that none of the generals ever came to Spain. (Reforma
de los Descal(os, lib. ii. ch. ii. § 3.)
2 See Life, ch. xxxvi. § 1.
¦ He was very angry certainly; not, however, with the Saint, but
with the provincial, who had refused to accept the monastery-
(Reforma, lib. ii. ch. ii. § 4.)
' The general asked for the brief by which the removal of the
Saint and two of her companions from the monastery of the Incar
nation to the new foundation was authorised, and offered the Saint,
when he saw the flaws in the process, to receive her back under
the obedience of the order; she, knowing nothing of the irregularities
that had been committed, willingly accepted the offer at once, and
the general received her, but allowed her to- remain in Saint Joseph's;
he would not send her back to her old home in the Incarnation, nor
would he ever allow any body to do so (Reforma, lib. ii ch. 2, § 5).
* See Life, ch. xxxii. § 12.

4-14 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. II.
keep the primitive rule in its rigour there, for the nuns were
more than a hundred and fifty in number, and there is more
quiet and concord always where the nuns are few. Our
Lord disposed it all far better than I thought, for the general
is so great a servant of God, so prudent and learned, that he
regarded it as a good work, and never showed me the least
displeasure. He is Fra Giovanni Battista Rossi da Ravenna,1
a man most distinguished in the order, and justly so.
2. When he arrived in Avila2 I contrived he should
come to S. Joseph's, and the bishop3 was pleased that all
reverence should be shown him as to himself in person. I
told him everything in all simplicity and truth, for my in
clination is to be simple and truthful with my superiors,
come what may, for they stand in the place of God. I am
so with my confessors,4 and if I were not I should not think
my soul was safe. And so I gave him an account of my soul,
and almost of my whole life, though it is very sad : he con
soled me greatly, and assured me that he would not order
me away. It cheered him to see our way of life, a picture,
however imperfect, of the commencement of our order, of the
observance in all rigour of the primitive rule, for in many
other monasteries throughout the whole order it is not our,
but only the mitigated, rule that is kept. He, being well
pleased that a work thus begun should be carried on, gave me
1 Fra Nicholas Audet, the general of the order, having died Dec.
7, 1562, Fra Giovanni Battista Rossi governed as vicar till he was
elected general, without a single dissentient voice, in the chapter held
in Rome on Whit-Sunday, May 21, 1564. He came to Spain at the
earnest request of Philip II., by order of the Pope St. Pius V., then
newly elected, and held a chapter in Seville, Sept. 20, 1566, at which
more than 200 friars assisted, when he made Fra Juan de la Quadra
provincial of Andalucia. The friars, disgusted with his efforts to
reform them, spoke ill of him to the king, whereupon Philip, who had
received him at first with the honours of a grandee of Spain, now, on
his return to Madrid, refused to see him. (Reforma, lib. ii. ch. ii.
§ 2, 3.)
* Though the king's mind had been poisoned against him, the
general went to Avila, where he held a chapter, and did what he
could for the reform of the order in the province of Castille, appoint
ing Fra Alonso Goncalez provincial, Fra Angel de Salazar remaining
prior of Avila. (De la Fuente.)
' Don Alvaro de Mendoza, bishop of Avila; he will be mentioned
again in the history of the Foundations. — See also the Life, ch. xxxiii.
§ 19. * See Life, ch. xxxviii. § 1.

CH. II.] MEDINA DEL CAMPO. 415
the fullest authority in writing to found more monasteries, and
denounced penalties against the provincial who should stay
my hand.1 I did not ask for this, only he understood by my
manner of prayer that I had great longings to help any soul
whatever to draw nearer unto God.
3. But the means for satisfying these longings I did not
seek myself; on the contrary, I thought it foolish to do so;
for a poor woman, so helpless as I am, saw clearly she could
do nothing; but when these longings take possession of the
soul it is not possible to. drive them away. The love of God
and faith make that possible which is not possible according
to natural reason, and so I, knowing how much our most
reverend general desired the founding of more monasteries,
thought I saw them already built. Remembering the words
our Lord had spoken to me,2 I descried always some begin
nings of those things which I could not understand hitherto.
When I saw our father general returning to Rome I was
much distressed; I had conceived a great affection for him,
and looked on myself as greatly forsaken. He had showed
me very great affection himself, and much kindness; and
whenever he was disengaged he used to come here to dis
course of spiritual things, for he was a person to whom our
Lord must have given great graces, and it was a comfort to us
to listen to him.
4. Yet before he went away the lord bishop, Don Alvaro
de Mendoza, who is extremely fond of helping those whom
he sees striving to serve God in greater perfection, obtained
his consent for the foundation in his diocese of monasteries
of barefooted friars of the primitive rule. Others also asked
the same of him; he wished it could be done, but he met
with opposition in the order, and therefore, not to disturb
the province, he refrained for the time.
5. When some days had passed by I considered, if there
were to be monasteries for nuns, how necessary it would be
to have friars under the same rule ; and seeing how very
few there were in the province, for they seemed to me to be
dying out, I put the matter earnestly before our Lord, and
wrote to our father general, begging him as well as I could
1 The new monasteries were to be subject to the general himself,
and the letters were given in Avila April 27, 1567 (Reforma. lib. ii. ch.
iii. § 2).
' See ch. i. § 7.

416 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. II.
to grant this, and giving as a reason that it would be greatly
for the service of God, showing also that the inconveniences
which might arise would not be a sufficient excuse for leav
ing undone so good a work, and reminding him what a
service he would thereby render to our Lady, to whom he
was very devout. She it was who did the work; for this
letter was delivered to him while he was in Valencia, and he
sent me thence — for he desired to see the strictest observance
of the rule practised in the order — his licence to found two
monasteries. That no difficulties might be raised, he referred
the matter to the provincial and his predecessor; their consent
was not easily to be had. But when I saw the chief part of
the work done I had hopes our Lord would do the rest; and
so it came to pass, for wilh the help of the lord bishop, who
considered the work as specially his own, the provincial and
his predecessor gave their consent
6. Yet, while I was comforted by having obtained the
licence, my anxiety grew the more, because there was not
a single friar in the province that I knew of who would
undertake the task, nor any secular person to make such a
beginning. I did nothing but implore our Lord to raise up
one at least for our work. Neither had I a house to offer
— not even the means to have one. There was I, a poor bare
footed nun, without any help whatever except in our Lord,
having nothing but the licence of the general and my good
desires, and with no means whatever of carrying them into
effect. Neither courage nor hope failed me, for as our Lord
had given one thing He would also send the other. Every
thing seemed to me possible now, and so I began the work.
7. Oh, the greatness of God! How Thou dost manifest
Thy power in giving courage to an ant! Now, O my Lord
the fault is not Thine that those who love Thee do not do
great things, but in our cowardice and littleness of mind!
Flow we never make good resolutions without being filled
with a thousand fears and considerations of human prudence!
so, then, that is the reason, O my God, why Thou dost not
show Thy greatness and Thy wonders. Is there any one
more willing to give to any one that will receive, or to accept
services tendered at his own cost, than Thou art? May it
please Thy Majesty that I may have rendered Thee some
service, and that I may not have a heavier debt still to pay
for the many things I have received! Amen..

CH. III.] MEDINA DEL CAMPO. 417

CHAPTER III.
HOW THE MONASTERY OF S. JOSEPH IN MEDINA DEL CAMPO
WAS BEGUN.
1. In the midst of all these anxieties I determined to
go for help to the fathers of the Society, who were greatly
respected in Medina, to whom for many years I had entrusted
my soul, as I said before while giving an account of the first
foundation,1 and for whom I have ever a special affection,
because of the great good they have done me. I wrote to
the rector there, and told him what our father general had
laid upon me. That rector was one who had heard my con
fession for many years, as I have said, though I did not give
his name. He is father Baltasar Alvarez, now provincial.
He and the others said they would do what they could in
the matter, and accordingly they laboured much to obtain
the consent of the town and of the prelate, which was in
every way a difficult matter, because the monastery was to
be founded in poverty; and accordingly the matter was de
layed for some days.
2. To arrange the affair there went thither2 an ecclesi
astic, a very great servant of God, exceedingly detached
from all the things of the world, and much given to prayer.
He was chaplain of the monastery wherein I was living; our
Lord had given to him the very same desires He had given
to me, and so he was a great help to me, as will be seen here
after. It was Julian of Avila.3 I had the permission to
found, it is true, but I had no house nor money wherewith to
buy one, nor sufficient credit. If our Lord did not give it,
how could a pilgrim like myself have any? Our Lord pro-
1 See- Life, ch. xxiii. § 9.
' In the end of July, 1567. It took him a fortnight to arrange the
whole business (Reforma, lib. ii. ch. v. § 4, 5).
* His father was Cristobal de Avila, and his mother Ana de Santo
Domingo. After wandering about Spain in his youth, he returned
to Avila, and then began to prepare himself by diligent study for the
priesthood. The bishop of Avila held him in great respect, and the
archbishop of Toledo begged him to assist him in the visitation of the
nuns in his diocese. He survived S. Teresa, and died on the feast
of S. Mathias, 1605 (Reforma, lib. ii. ch. v. § 2, 3).

418 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. HI.
vided; for a most excellent young person, for whom there
was no room in S. Joseph's, knowing that another house
was to be founded, came to me, asking to be received into it
She had a little money — very little — enough, not for the pur
chase, but only for the hire of a house, and to help us on our
journey thither; and so we took a hired house. Without any
other support than this we set forth from Avila — two nuns,
with myself, from S- Joseph's, and four from the Incarnation,1
a monastery under the mitigated rule, and in which I lived
before S. Joseph's wras founded. Our father chaplain, Julian
of Avila,2 went with us.
3. There was a stir in the city as soon as it was known.
Some said I was mad; others waited for the end of this folly.
The bishop — so he told me afterwards — thought it a very
great folly, though he did not say so at the time: he would
not trouble me nor give me pain, because of his great affection
for me. My friends told me so fast enough, but I made light
of it all, for I looked on that which they thought question
able as so easy that I. could not persuade myself to admit
it could fail at all.
4. Now when we left Avila3 I had already written to
a father of our order, Fra Antonio de Heredia,4 asking him
1 The nuns were Maria Bautista, niece of the Saint, already spoken
of, and Anne of the Angels, from the monastery of S. Joseph. From
the monastery of the Incarnation, Inez de Tapia, afterwards Inez
of Jesus, with her sister Ana de Tapia, afterwards Anne of the Incar
nation, both cousins of S. Teresa; Dona Isabel de Arias, afterwards
Isabel of the Cross, and Dona Teresa de Quesada (Reforma, lib. ii.
ch. v. § 6).
* Julian of Avila was not a religious, but a secular, priest. There
was however a custom in Spain, when the Saint lived, of calling
secular priests fathers (Note of De la Fuente on Lett. 146, but Lett
45, vol. iv. ed. Doblado).
' The Saint left Avila August 13, 1567; but Julian had gone to
Medina in the end of July with letters from the Saint to Baltasar
Alvarez, her old confessor, and then rector in that city of the house
of the Society. Father Alvarez was asked to obtain the permission of
the abbot in whom the jurisdiction was vested. The- abbot took
counsel and made inquiries about the Saint. Some spoke severely
against her; but Fra Dominic Banes, her friend, was present, who
undeceived the abbot, and thus the permission was granted (Reforma
de los Dcscalros, lib. ii. ch. v. § 4).
1 Fra Antonio was before this prior of the house of his order in
Avila and well known to the Saint (Ibid. ch. ii. § 1).

CH. HI,] MEDINA DEL CAMPO. 419
to buy me a house. He was then prior of S. Anne's there,
a monastery of our order. Fie treated with a lady,1 who had
a great affection for him, for a house, which was in a good
situation, but, with the exception of one room, in a ruinous
condition. She was so good as to promise to sell it to him,
so they settled the affair without her asking him for security,
or anything more than his word. If she had asked for se
curity we should have been helpless. Our Lord was arrang
ing it all. The house was in so ruinous a plight that we had
to hire another while they were repairing it, for there was
much to be done to it.
5. The first day's journey, then, brought us, late at night,
and worn out by the difficulties of the road, to Arevalo. As
we were drawing near to the town,2 one of our friends, an
ecclesiastic, who had provided a lodging for us in the house
of certain devout women, came to meet us, and told me
secretly that the house was not to be had, because it was
close to that of the Augustinian friars, who would resist our
taking possession, and that we should be forced to go to law.3
O my God, how poor is all opposition when Thou, O Lord,
art pleased to give us courage! This seemed rather to en
courage me, for I thought, seeing that the devil was begin
ning to be troublesome, that our Lord would take pleasure
1 Doiia Maria de Herrera. Her house was in the Calle Santiago,
but as it was in a most ruinous state, Julian of Avila hired a house
near the monastery of the Augustinian friars, where the nuns might
be lodged till the purchased house could be made ready to receive
them (Reforma, ch. v. § 5).
' Inez of Jesus, in the informations taken in Medina in. the process
of the Saint's beatification, has preserved a fact which S. Teresa
seems to have studiously omitted. As they were drawing near to
Arevalo the Saint sent one of the priests in her company on before,
with instructions to find Alfonso Esteban. He was to be found
walking under a certain portico, and the messenger was to tell him
that the mother Teresa of Jesus was coming into the town, and that
she asked him to find a lodging for her and her companions. Every
thing happened as the Saint had said, and Alfonso Esteban found a
lodging for her in the house of a lady, Ana de Velasco (De la Fuente,
ii. p. 393).
8 The priest, Alfonso Esteban, was the bearer of a letter to
Julian of Avila from Alonso Alvarez, who had left the house in
Medina. The writer said that he, as a friend of the Augustinians,
could not give them the house without the assent of those friars,
and begged him to arrange the matter with them before the nuns left
Avila (Ribera, lib. ii. ch. vii.; Reforma, lib. ii. ch. v. § 9).

420 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. III.
in the monastery. Nevertheless I asked the priest to keep
silence, not to trouble my companions, particularly the two
nuns of the Incarnation,1 for the others would have gone
through any trouble for me. One of these two was then
sub-prioress there, both of them of good families. Great
opposition had been made to their coming with us, and they
came against the will of their kindred, for everybody thought
it foolish; and 1 saw afterwards they had reason enough on
their side. But when our Lord will have me found one of
these houses, my mind seems unable to admit any consider
ation sufficiently strong to make me. refrain till the work is
done; then all the difficulties rise all at once before me,2 as
will be seen hereafter.3
6. When we had reached our lodgings, I found that a
Dominican friar was in the place, a very great servant of
God, who used to be my confessor when I was in S. Joseph's.
In telling the history of that foundation I spoke much of his
goodness, now I will only mention his name, the master Fra
Domingo Banes, a mari of great learning and discretion, by
whose counsels I was directed. To him it did not seem that
what I was going to do was so difficult as it seemed to every
body else, for the more God is known the more easy is it to do
Flis work; so he thought it all quite possible, because of
certain graces which he knew His Majesty had bestowed on
me, and because of the things he had seen during the founding
of S- Joseph's. It was a great joy to me to see him, for
under his direction I thought everything would prosper. Then
when he had come in I told him as a great secret what was
going on; he thought we might quickly settle with the Augus-
tinians; any delay, however, was irksome to me, because I
did not know what to do with so many nuns ; and thus we all
1 The Saint had said before (§ 3) that she took four nuns from the
Incarnation. The explanation of the apparent contradiction is to
be found in Ribera, lib. ii. ch. vii. The Saint took only two nuns from
the Incarnation, and that was the number to which the general had
expressly limited her; but a few days before she set out for Medina
two nuns, Ana and Inez de Tapia, had come from the Incarnation
into the house of S. Joseph, and were therefore not strictly nuns
of that monastery on the 13th August, 1567.
* So also was it with her when she made the first foundation of
the order, that of S. Joseph in Avila (See Life, ch. xxxvi. § 5, 6).
* See below, § 10.

CH. III.] MEDINA DEL CAMPO. 421
spent that night in trouble, for it was told at once to every
body in the lodging.
7. The next morning the prior of our order, Fra Antonio,
arrived; he told us that the house he had agreed to buy was
large enough, and that it had a porch wherein a small church
might be made by adorning it with hangings. That we re
solved to do. To me, at least, it seemed fair enough, for
the least delay was the best for us, because we were away
from our monasteries, and moreover I was afraid of some
opposition now that I had learnt caution by the first founda
tion; so I wished to take possession before our arrival became
known; accordingly we made up our minds to do so at once.
The master, Father Domingo, agreed with us.1
8. We arrived in Medina del Campo at midnight on the
eve of our Lady's feast in August, alighted at the monastery
of S. Anne, so as to occasion no disturbance, and went on
foot, to the house. It was a great mercy of our Lord that
we were met by no one, for they were at that hour shutting
in the bulls that were to run the next day. I never thought
of that at all, because of the excitement we were in, but our
Lord, ever mindful of those who seek His service, and cer
tainly I had no other end in the matter, delivered us. Having
reached the house, we entered a court. The walls seemed to
me very ruinous, but not so much so then as afterwards by
daylight. It was our Lord's pleasure, it seems, to make the
blessed father blind to the unseemliness of reserving the
Most Holy Sacrament in such a place.
9. On looking at the porch we saw there was earth in
it which must be taken away, the roof was broken, and the
walls not plastered. The night was now far spent, and we
had nothing but a few hangings, I believe three, and they were
little better than none considering the length of the porch.
1 The Saint set out from Arevalo in the morning, sending four of
the nuns who were with her under the care of Alonzo Esteban to
Villanueva de Azerale, where Vicente de Ahumada, brother of two
of them — Ifies of Jesus and Anne of the Incarnation — was rector.
With the other two, Mary of St. John Baptist and Anne of the Angels,
she went on to Olmedo, where the bishop of Avila was then staying,
and arrived there in the evening. The bishop received her with
joy, and, as she would not stop there, sent her on her way in a
carriage which he provided for her, and his chaplain with her. Julian
of Avila had gone on before the Saint, and was then waiting for her
in Medina (Ribera, ii. 7).

422 1JOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH- H'.
I knew not what to do, for I saw it would never do to put an
altar there. It was our Lord's pleasure to have it done at
oiice, for the steward of the lady had many pieces of tapestry
belonging to her in the house, and a piece of blue damask;
and he had been told by her to give us everything Ave should
want, for she was very good. When I saw how well pro
vided we were I gave our Lord thanks, as did the others.
However, we did not know what to do for nails, and it was
not a time for buying any, so a search along the walls was
begun; at last, with some trouble, Ave found enough. Some'
began to hang the tapestry, and Ave nuns to clean the floor:
we made such haste that the altar Avas ready, and the little
bell hung, by daybreak, Avhen mass Avas said at once.2 This
Avas enough to take possession, but we did not stop there,
for Ave had the Most Holy Sacrament reserved : there Avas a
door opposite the altar, and through the chinks therein Ave
saw mass said; there was no other way. Up to this moment
I Avas happy, for it is to me a very great joy to see but one
church the more wherein the Most Floly Sacrament is re
served. But my joy was only for a moment, for when mass
was over I went to look at the court through a little Avindow,
and saw the Avails in some places were level with the ground,
and it Avould take many days to repair them.
10. O my God! what anguish of heart Avas mine Avhen I
saw His Majesty in the street in times so full of peril because
of those Lutherans.3 Then all the difficulties which they
might raise Avho had spoken against us came before me at
once, and I saw plainly that they had reason on their side.
I thought it impossible to go on with the work, for, as before
everything seemed easy, considering it Avas done for God, so
noAv the temptation gathered strength against me in such
a Avay that it seemed as if I had never received any grace
whatever from Him. I thought only of my own meanness and
scanty strength. Then, relying on a thing so wretched as
myself, Avhat good results could I hope for? If I had been
1 These were the priests and the religious who had come with
Fra Antonio de Heredia from his monastery (Ribera, ii. § 8).
' It was Fra Antonio de Heredia who said the first mass (Reforma,
ii. 5, 10).
* Among the strangers in the town, who were foreign merchants,
the Saint feared there might be some heretics (Reforma lib ii ch
5, § 11). ' ' '

CH. III.] MEDINA DEL CAMPO. 423
alone I think I could have borne it better, but it was hard
to bear when I began to think that my companions would
have to return to their monastery, out of which they had
come in spite of so much opposition. I thought too that, as
the mistake was made in the very beginning, everything that
I understood our Lord Avould do later on could never be.
Then there came upon me at once a fear that what I had
heard in prayer Avas a delusion, and this Avas not the least
but the greatest pain, for I was thrown into very great fear
that Satan had been deceiving me.
11. O my God! what a sight is that soul which Thou
givest up to suffer! Certainly, when I think of this trial, and
of some others I had to go through Avhile making these
foundations, I do not think that any bodily sufferings, however
painful, are to be even remembered in comparison Avith this.
NotAvithstanding all this distress — and it Avas very hard to
bear — I did not let my companions know of it, for I would not
bring more trouble upon them than they had already. I
remained in my sorrow till the evening, when the rector1
of the society sent one of the fathers to see me, Avho gave me
great encouragement and comfort. I did not tell him all my
distress, but only that which I felt at seeing ourselves in the
street. I began by speaking to him about finding a hired house
at any cost, into which we might go while this underwent
repairs; and then I took comfort when I saw so many people
come in, none of Avhom reflected on our folly, which was a
mercy of God; for had they done so, most certainly the Most
Holy Sacrament would have been removed. At this moment
I am thinking of my Avant of sense and of their inconsider-
ateness in not consuming the Host, yet I believe if that had
been done everything would have been undone.
12. NotAvithstanding all the search we made, a house to
let Avas not to be found in the place, and thus I was in sore
distress night and day ; for, though I ahvays left men to keep
Avatch over the Most Holy Sacrament, I was afraid they might
fall asleep ; and so I used to rise in the night to look on through
the window, which I could easily do in the moonlight. During
all these days many people used to come, and they not only did
not find fault with us, but Avere even filled with devotion at
the sight of our Lord once more in the porch ; and His Majesty,
1 Baltasar Alvarez (See § 1, above).

424 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. III.
never weary of humiliations for our sakes, did not seem as if
He Avished to depart.
13. When eight days had gone by a merchant1 living in a
very good house, seeing our necessity, told us we might go to
the upper part of it, where we might remain as in a house of
our OAvn. There Avas a very large hall in it, decorated with
gilding, which he gave us for a church ; and a lady, Dona Elena
de Quiroga,2 a great servant of God, living near the house we
had bought, said that she Avould help me to begin at once
the chapel for the Most Floly Sacrament, and would also
provide for our enclosure. Others gaAre us abundant alms in
the Avay of food, but it was this lady Avho helped me most.
14. Flereupon I began to be at ease, for we were per
fectly enclosed where we Avere, and began to say the office,
and the good prior was hurrying on the arrangements of the
house with much trouble. It took, however, two months to
finish it; but it was so done that we were able to remain
in it quietly for some years : since then our Lord has made it
more convenient.
15. While staying there I was always thinking of monas
teries of friars, but as I had not one friar to begin Avith, as I
said before,3 I did not knoAV what to do; so I made up my
mind to discuss the matter in the utmost secrecy with the prior
there, and see what he would advise me; accordingly I did so.
He rejoiced exceedingly Avhen he heard the matter, and prom
ised me to be himself the first. I took that for a pleasantry,
and said so to him : though he was a good and recollected friar,
thoughtful and fond of his cell, and learned beside, yet, for
the beginning of a work like this, he did not seem to me to
possess the requisite courage or the strength to bear the
severity of the rule, for he was of a delicate constitution, and
not inured to austerities. He insisted on it, and assured me
that our Lord had for some time been calling him to a stricter
* Bias de Medina (Ribera, ii. 9).
* A. niece of Cardinal Quiroga, archbishop of Toledo, and widow
Of Don Diego de Villaroel. Her house was close to the new monas
tery, and she went to see the Saint, who made such an impression
on her that she resolved to become a nun, and spoke to her daughter,
Dona Geronima, who also gave up the world, and followed her mother
into the safe refuge of Carmel, under the guidance of S. Teresa
(Reforma de los Descalcos, lib. ii. ch. v. § 13).
* See ch. ii. § 6.

' H. III.] MEDINA DEL CAMPO. 425
life ; that he had made up his mind to go to the Carthusians,
And that they had promised to receive him. Nevertheless I
was not very well satisfied, though very glad to hear this
from him; and so I asked him to Avait a Avhile arid try himself
\:i the observances of those things he would have to promise
to do. He accordingly did so for a year, and in that time so
many trials and the persecutions of evil tongues occurred
¦whereby it seemed our Lord meant to prove him. He himself
1>ore all so Avell, and made such great progress, that I gave
thanks to our Lord for it, for it seemed to me that His
Majesty Avas preparing him for the change.
16. Shortly aiterAvards came a father, still young, who
was studying in Salamanca. There A\-as another with him as
his companion, Avho told me great things of the life of that
father, who Avas John of the Cross.1 I gave thanks to our
Lord. I spoke to the friar, with Avhom I was greatly pleased,
and learnt from him that he too wished to become a Car
thusian. I spoke to him of my purpose, and pressed him to
Avait till our Lord gave us a monastery, and of the great good
it Avould do, if he led a higher life, to continue in the same
order, and hoAv much greater the service he would render to
our Lord. Fie gaA_e me a promise on the condition I made
no long delay. When I saw that I had tAvo friars2 to begin
Avith I looked on the work as done. Still, however, I was not
satisfied with the prior, and so I Availed for some time, and
also for want of a place to make a beginning in.3
17. The nuns Avere groAving in reputation withvthe people,
Avho conceived a great affection for them, and I believe with
good reason, for they had no other aim but that of serving
our Lord more and more, each to the utmost of her poAver,
in eA'erything after the manner observed in S. Joseph's of
Avila, for the rule and constitutions in both places were the
' At this time he was John of S. Matthias, and had been just
ordained priest. Flis companion was Fra Pedro Orosco (Reforma,
lib. ii. ch. ix. § 6). St. John of the Cross was born at Hontiveros
in 1542; entered the order in the house of S. Anne, Medina del Campo,
of which Fra Antonio was now prior.
* The Saint used to say playfully that she had a friar and a half,
because of the dignified presence of Fra Antonio and of the small
stature of S. John of the Cross (De la Fuente).
* See ch. xiii. § 1.

426 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. III.
same.1 Our L,ord began to call some to take the habit, and
so many Avere the graces He bestowed on them that I Avas
amazed. May He be blessed for ever, Amen, for, in order to
love, He seems only to wait to be loved Himseif.
1 The Saint, on leaving the monastery, made Ifies of Jesus prior
ess, and her sister Anne of the Incarnation sub-prioress. Their names
in the Avorld were Ifies and Anne de Tapia, cousins of the Saiat
(Reforma, lib. ii. ch. v. § 7, and ch. x. § 1. See ch. ii. supra, and ch. iii.
§ 5). When the Saint was still in Medina she received a visit from
Don Bernardino de Mendoza (see ch. x. § 1), Avho knew her in Avila,
and offered her a house in Valladolid for a monastery. The Saint
accepted the gift; but Dona Leonor de Mascarefias was at the same
time pressing her to go to Alcala de Henares to set in order tlie
monastery founded there by Maria of Jesus (see Life, ch. xxxvi. § 29),
Avith the help of Dona Leonor. Accordingly, in J\To\-ember, 1567, the
Saint arrived in Madrid on her way to Alcala with two nuns, Anne
of the Angels and Antonia of the Holy Ghost, whom she had sent
for from Avila. She wished to make that journey undisturbed by the
presence of secular people; but Dofia Maria de Mendoza, Avho was
going to Ubeda, insisted on the Saint's travelling in her carriage as
far as Madrid. In that city she was lodged in the house of Dona
Leonor, and was visited by the grand ladies of Madrid, who crowded
around her, some from devotion, others from curiosity, expecting
to see miracles and ecstasies. The Saint understood the temper of her
visitors, and spoke to them of secular things, such as the beauty of
the streets of Madrid, without the slightest allusion to those of the
city of God. Some of these ladies admitted that she was a good sort
of person enough, but only an ordinary nun. Others, however, had
a keener discernment, as also had the barefooted Franciscan nuns,
whose abbess was the sister of the Duke of Gandia, and whose house
had been lately founded by Dona Juana, sister of Philip II. With
them, out of deference to the princess, she remained a fortnight. She
left Madrid November 20, 1567, with Dona Maria de Mendoza, who
had been asked by Dona Leonor to take her to Alcala de Henares.
Having arrived there, she was received by the venerable Maria of
Jesus and her nuns as if she had been their foundress and superior
The keys of the house were given to her, and the whole community
offered itself to her to be guided and instructed by her. She gave
them the constitutions which she had drawn up for her houses in
Avila and Medina. The Saint wished the community to place itself
under the jurisdiction of the order, as she had placed her foundation
in Medina; but the nuns and the bishop disliked the change, and Fra
Dominic Banes, at that moment in Alcala, advised her not to press
the matter (Reforma, lib. ii. ch. x.). F. Ribera, S. J., visited the
monastery of Maria of Jesus in 1585, and found the constitutions and
directions of S. Teresa fervently observed therein (i. 16). Dona
Leonor de Mascarefias was one of the ladies who had offered to inter
cede for S. Ignatius when he was imprisoned in Alcala and suspected
of heresy.

CH. IV.] INSTRUCTIONS. 427

CliAPTER TV.
OF CERTAIN GRACES BESTOWED ON THE NUNS OF THESE MONAS
TERIES  ADVICE TO THE PRIORESSES CONCERNING THEM.
1. Not knoAving how long our Lord will give me life or
opportunity — I seem to have very little at present— I think it
Avell, before I go on further, to give certain directions Avhereby
the prioresses may understand and guide their subjects Avith
greater advantage to their souls, though in a Avay less to their
liking. It is to be observed that AA-hen I Avas commanded to
write the history cf these foundations — omitting the first, that
of S. Joseph in Avila, the history of Avhich Avas Avritten imme
diately after it Avas made — seven others, by the help of our
Lord, had been made, including that of Alba de Tormes, which
is the last.1 The reason Avhy more foundations Avere not made
is, that my superiors compelled me to undertake another
work, as will be seen further on.2
2. Considering, then, Avhat in the spiritual order took
place in these monasteries during these years, I see the neces
sity of saying Avhat I am about to say; and may our Lord
grant I may say it so as to meet that necessity ! And, as that
Avhich has been Avrought is not a delusion, there is no need
for people's minds to be alarmed : for, as I haAre said else
where,3 in a little Avork I wrote for my sisters, our Lord Avill
not suffer Satan to have so much poAver as to deceive us at
all to the hurt of our souls so long as Ave live under obedience
with a pure conscience: on the contrary, Satan will be de
ceived himself, and, as he knows it, I believe he does not do
us so much eA-il as our oAvn imagination and perverse humours,
particularly if we yield to melancholy, for we Avomen are
1 Alba de Tormes was founded in 1571 (see ch. xx. below), on the
20th of February, and the next foundation, that of Segovia, was made
(see ch. xxi.) on the 19th of March, 1574. Thus the Saint had rest
for three years from her own immediate Avork, but in reality no rest
at all, for she was sent that year from Medina, whither she had re
turned from Alba, to be the prioress of her old home, the monastery
of the Incarnation in Avila.
1 This was her appointment as prioress of the monastery of the
Incarnation, where she was professed (see below, ch. xix. § 6, note).
' See Way of Perfection, ch. lxx.; but ch. xl. ed. Doblado.

428 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. IV.
naturally Aveak, and the self-love that rules us is very subtle.
Many persons have come to me, both men and women, as
Avci! as the nuns of these houses, and I have clearly seen that
they very often deceive themselves, but Avithout meaning it.
I really believe that Satan must intrude himself here to mock
us; but most of those Avho, as I have just said, had been seen
by me, I never kneAV, through the goodness of our Lord, to
have been abandoned by Flim. It Avas His will, perhaps, to
try them by these fears, that they might learn by experience.
3. Prayer and perfection are, because of our sins, fallen
so Ioav in the eyes of the Avorld, that it is necessary for me
to explain myself in this way ; for if men are afraid to walk
on that road, even Avithout seeing its dangers, Avhat will it
be if Ave Avere to tell them some of those dangers? — although
it be true there is danger in everything, and that it is needful,
Avhile Ave live, to Avalk in fear, to pray to our Lord to teach
us and not to abandon us. But, as I said before1 — I think I
said so — if there be a state Avherein the danger is least, it is
theirs Avho most frequently think of God and labour to be per
fect in their lives.
4. O my Lord, when Ave see that Thou dost frequently
deliver us from dangers into which we rush, even so as to
offend Thee, Iioav can any one believe that Thou Avilt not
deliver us Avhen our only aim is to please Thee, and in Thee
to find our joy? I can never believe it. God in His secret
judgments may permit certain things to have diverse issues,
but Avhat is good never ended in evil. This, then, I am saying,
should be a means to make us strive to travel on the road
more diligently, that Ave may please the Bridegroom the more
and find Flim the sooner, but not to give up the attempt; to
encourage us to journey bravely on through the dangerous
passes of this life, but not to make coAvards of us henceforth;
for in the end, if we go onAvards humbly, Ave shall arrive, by
the mercy of God, in the city of Jerusalem, where all Ave shall
have endured will be little or nothing in comparison with the
joy that is there.2
5. When these little dovecots of the Virgin our Lady
began to be filled, His Divine Majesty began also to show
His munificence in these poor women — Aveak certainly, but
1 See Way of Perfection, ch. lxix.; but ch. xxxix. ed. Doblado.
2 Rom. viii. 18.

CH. IV.] INSTRUCTIONS. 429
strong in their good desires and in their detachment from all
created things, for that must be Avhat most unites a soul Avith
its Maker, the conscience meanwhile being pure. It is not
necessary to prove this, for if the detachment be real I think
it is impossible for any one Avho has it to offend our Lord;
for, as in all their Avords and actions they never Avithdraw from
Flim, so His Majesty seems to be unAvilling to AvithdraAV from
them. This is the sight I see at present, and I can truly
say so. Let those Avho come after us be afraid, and let them
read this, and if they do not see what may be seen now,
let them not lay the blame on the times, for all times are times
in Avhich God will give His graces to those Avho serve Him in
earnest, and then let them try to find out Avhere the fault is
and amend it.
6. I have occasionally heard people say- of those Avho
were the founders of orders that upon them, our holy fathers
gone before us, our Lord poured doAvn more abundant grace
because they were the foundation of the building. And so it
was. But then they must have looked on themselves as the
foundations Avhereon they were to be built up Avho should
come after them ; and if Ave Avho are now living fall not away
from the fervour of those Avho have gone before us, and if
those Avho may come after us will not do so also, the building
will stand strong for ever. What good is it to me that the
saints Avho have gone before us were what they Avere, if I
who come after them am so Avicked as to leave the building
in ruins through my evil habits? for it is plain enough that
those Avho are coming do not think so much of those who
lived many years ago as they do of those Avhom they see
before their eyes. A pleasant thing indeed to excuse myself
on the ground that I am not one of the first, Avithout any
reference to the difference there is between my life and virtues
and theirs, to whom God granted graces so great !
7. O my God, what excuses so false, what delusions so
clear! I am not speaking of the founders of orders, for, as God
chose them for so high a work, Fie gave them more abundant
grace.1 I am sorry, O my God, to be so Avicked and so worth
less in Thy service, but I know well it is my fault that Thou
dost not give me the graces which Thou gavest to those who
have gone before me. My life is a burden to me when I
* The preceding clause is on the margin, not in the text, but in the
handwriting of the Saint (De la Fuente}.

430 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. V.
compare it Avith theirs, and I cannot say so without Aveeping.
I see that I have Avasted the fruit of their labours, and that
I cannot anyhow complain of Thee, nor is it right that any
one of us should complain; but if any one should see her order
falling away in anything, let her labour to become herself
such a stone as that the building may be raised up anew
thereon, for our Lord will help her in that work.
8. Returning, then, to the matter I had to speak of — for
I have Avandered far from it — the graces Avrought by our Lord
in these houses are so great that, if there be in them one sister
whom our Lord is leading by the Avay of meditation, all the
rest are advancing by the Avay of perfect contemplation : some
have gone so far as to have had raptures ; to others our Lord
gives His grace in a different Avay, together with revelations
and visions, which clearly are the work of God. There is not
a single house at present in which one, or tAvo, or three, may
not be found who are thus visited. I know Avell that holiness
does not lie herein, nor is it my intention merely to tell this
in their praise, but rather to show that the instructions I wish
to give are not Avithout a purpose.

CHAPTER V.
DIRECTIONS ABOUT PRAYER AND REVELATIONS MOST
PROFITABLE F03 THE ACTIVE LIFE.
1. I do not mean, and I have never thought, that
what I am noAv going to say is so accurate that it
should be held as an infallible rule: that would be folly in
matters so difficult. But, as there are many ways in the way
of the Spirit, it may be that I shall say something to the pur
pose concerning some of them; and if they do not understand
me who are not travelling this Avay, that will be because they
are travelling on another, and if I do good to nobody our
Lord Avill accept my good will, for He knoAvs that, if I have
not experienced it all myself, I have observed it in other souls.
2. In the first place, I wish to show, so far as my poor
understanding is able, Avherein lies the essence of perfect
prayer; for some I have met with think the whole matter

CH. V.] OBEDIENCE. 431
lies in thinking, and so, if they can think long about God,
though by doing great violence to themselves, they believe
forthwith that they are spiritual people; and if they are dis
tracted, unable to hold out longer even by good thoughts, they
fall immediately into great discomfort, and look upon them
selves as lest. Learned men do not labour under ignorance
like this, yet I have found one who did so; but for us Avomen
it is well Ave should be Avarned to beAA-are of all ignorance in
these matters. I am not saying that it is not a grace from our
Lord that a person should be ahvays able to persevere in
meditation on His Avorks, and it is right to make an effort
to do so; but it must be understood that not every imagination
is by nature able to do it, but every soul is able to love Flim,
and perfection lies in that rather than in thinking. I have
already in another place1 spoken of the causes of the disorder
of our imagination — not of all, I believe, for that Avculd be
impossible, but cf some — and so I do net treat of them noAv,
but I Avould rather shoAv that the soul is not the poAver of
thinking, and that it is not right that the will should be
ordered by it, for that Avould be a sad state, as I said just
noAv, seeing that the good of the soul does not exist in its
thinking much, but in its loving much. And if you were to
ask hoAv is this love to be had, my ansAver is, by a good
resolution to do and suffer for God, and by carrying out that
resolution into act wheneArer the opportunity occurs.
3. It is very true that by meditating on the debt Ave
owe our Lord, on His nature and on ours, a soul may attain
to a firm resolution — and there is great merit in doing so,
and it is most fitting in the beginning; but it must be under
stood that what relates to obedience, and the good of our
neighbour, to the doing of Avhich charity constrains us, must
not be hindered thereby,2 for on such occasions, Avhen either
of these tAvo is required of us, we must give up for the time
that which Ave so much long to give to God; which, as
Ave regard it, is to be alone meditating upon Him, and rejoicing
in His consolations. To give this up for either of the other
1 See Life, ch. xvii. § 10.
1 Oratio impediens obligationem est illusio, est oratio qua; nescit
relinquere Deum propter Deum, nee subvenire fraternx charitati
obligator^, et poenitentiam prsfert obedientire, vel amentia est vel
manifest;! illusio (Schram, Theolog. Mystic. § 472).

432 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. V.
two is to giA-e pleasure to our Lord, and do it for Flim :x so Fle
himself has said — "What ye did for one of these little ones
ye did for Me."- And as to that which relates to obedience,
He will not have us Avalk by any other Avay than that which
He chose for himself — Obediens usque ad mortem.3
4. If, then, this be true, whence comes that inward dis
satisfaction Avhich Ave generally feel 'when Ave have not passed
the greater part of the day alone and absorbed in God, even
though Ave Avere occupied in other Avays? From two sources,
I think: one, and this is the chief, is self-love, Avhich thrusts
itself in here in a most subtle Avay, and accordingly escapes
detection ; that is, Ave Avould please ourselves rather than God.
For it is clear that Avhen a soul has begun to taste how SAveet
our Lord is,4 it finds more pleasure in being at ease, abstaining
from bodily labour, and receiving consolation.
5. Oh, the charity of those Avho truly love our Lord,
and Avho understand their own state! How scanty the rest
they Avill be able to take if they but see they can in any degree
help a single soul to advance, and to love God more, or be
able to comfort it in any way, or rescue it from any danger!
FToav ill at ease such souls Avill be when they are at rest ! And
Avhen they cannot help them in act they have recourse to
prayer, besieging our Lord on behalf of the many souls Avhom
it grieves them to see going to ruin; they abandon their OAvn
comfort, and look on it as well lost, for they think not of
their own rest, but only hoAV they may more and more do
the Avill of our Lord. It is the same in things that relate to
obedience: it would be a strange thing if, Avhen God clearly
told us to betake ourselves to some Avork that concerns Him,
Ave Avere to do nothing but stand still and gaze upon Him
because that gives us a greater joy. A pleasant progress this
in the love of God ! — to tie His hands through an opinion that
He can do us good only in one way.
6. I know of some, and have lived among them — I put
on one side my OAvn experience, as I said before5 — Avho taught
me the truth of this; when I was myself in great distress
because of the little time I had, and accordingly Avas sorry
1 S. Philip expressed it thus — "leaving Christ for Christ." (See
his Life, by Bacci, bk. ii. ch. v. Eng. Trans, p. 145 and p. 161.)
' S. Matt. xxv. 40.
' So the Saint wrote it (De la Fuente). Philipp. ii. 8.
' Ps. xxxiii. 9. ¦ § 1, supra.

CH. V.] OBEDIENCE. 433
to see them ahvays employed and having much to do, because
they Avere under obedience, and Avas thinking Avithin myself,
and even said as much to them, that spiritual growth Avas not
possible amidst so much hurry and confusion, for they had
then not grown much. O Lord, hoAV different are Thy ways
from what Ave imagined them to be I1 and Iioav Thou, if a
soul be determined to love Thee, and resigned in Thy hands,
askest nothing of it but obedience ; the sure knoAA-ledge of
Avhat is for Thy greater honour, and the desire to do it. That
soul need not seek out means, nor make a choice of any, for
its will is already Thine. Thou, O Lord, hast taken upon
Thyself to guide it in the Avay the most profitable to it. And
even if the superior be not mindful of that soul's profit, but
only of the duties to be discharged in the community, Thou,
O my God, art mindful of it; Thou preparest its Avays, and
orderest those things Ave have to do, so that Ave find ourselves,
Avithout our knowing hoAV, by faithfully observing, for the
love of God, the commands that are laid upon us, spiritually
groAving and making great progress, Avhich afterwards fills
us with Avonder.
7. So it Avas Avith one Avhorn I comersed Avith not many
days since. Fle had been for fifteen years under obedience,
charged Avith laborious offices and the government of others —
so much so that he could not call to mind one day that he
had had to himself ; nevertheless he contrived to find, the
best way he could, some time every day for prayer, and to have
a conscience Avithout offense.2 He is one Avhose soul is the
most given to obedience that I ever saAv, and he impresses that
virtue on every one he has to do with. Our Lord has amply
rewarded him, for he finds himself, he knoAvs not how, in
possession of that liberty of spirit, so prized and so desired,
which the perfect haA-e, and Avherein lies all the happiness that
can be wished for in this life ; for, seeking nothing, he possesses
all things. Such souls fear nothing, and desire nothing on
earth; no troubles disturb them, no pleasures touch them; in a
word, nobody can rob them of their peace, for it rests on God
alone, and, as nobody can rob them of Flim, nothing but the
fear of losing Him can give them any pain ; for everything else
in this world is, in their opinion, as if it were not, because
it can neither make nor mar their happiness.
1 Is. Iv. 8. ' Act. xxiv. 16.

434 EOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. V.
8. O blessed obedience, and blessed the distraction
caused thereby, by which Ave gain so much. That person is
not the only one, for I have known others like him, of Avhom,
not having seen them for very many years, I asked hoAV they
had been spending the time that had gone by : all of it had
been spent in the labours of obedience and of charity : on the
other hand, I observed such spiritual prosperity as made me
marvel. Well, then, my children, be not discouraged, for if
obedience employs you in outAvard things, know that even
if you are in the kitchen our Lord moves amidst the pots and
the pans, helping us both within and Avithout.
9. I remember being told by a religious that he Avas
resch'ed, and had made up his mind in earnest, never to refuse
to do anything his superior enjoined him, Avhatever the labour
might be; and that one day, wearied with work and unable
to stand, in the evening as he was going to rest himself a
while, his superior met him, and told him to take a spade and
go and dig in the garden. Fle did not say a Avord, though
naturally greatly distressed, so much so that he could do no
Avork; he took up a spade, and going along a passage Avhich
led to the garden — I saw it many years after he had told me of
it, when I Avas trying to found a house in that place — he saw
our Lord before him with Flis cross on His shoulders, so
A\_orn and Avearied that he felt his own weariness to be nothing
in comparison Avith His.
10. I believe myself that Avhen Satan sees there is no
road that leads more quickly to the highest perfection than
this of obedience, he suggests many difficulties under the
colour of some good, and makes it distasteful : let people look
well into it, and they will see plainly that I am telling the
truth. Wherein lies the highest perfection? It is clear that.
it does not lie in interior delights, not in great raptures, not
in visions, not in the spirit of prophecy, but in the conformity
of our Avill to the will of God, so that there shall be nothing
we knoAV He wills that we do not will ourselves Avith our
whole will, and accept the bitter as joyfully as the sweet,
knoAving it to be his Majesty's will. This seems to be very
hard to do; not the mere doing of it, but the being pleased
in the doing of that Avhich, according to our nature, is Avholly
and in every Avay against our will; and certainly so it is; but
love, if perfect, is strong enough to do it, and we forget our
own pleasure in order to please Him Avhom Ave love. And

CH. V.] OBEDIENCE. 435
truly it is so, for our sufferings, however great they may be,
are sweet Avhen Ave know that Ave are giving pleasure unto
God; and it is in this way they love Avho have attained to this
state by persecutions, by dishonour, and by wrongs.
11. This is so certain, and remains so plain and evident,
that there is no reason Avhy I should dAvell upon it. What
I aim at showing is the reason, in my opinion, why obedience
furnishes the readiest or the best way for arriving at so blessed
a state. That reason is this : as we are never absolute masters
of our own will, so as to employ it purely and simply for God,
till Ave subject it Avholly to reason, obedience is the true means
of bringing about that subjection; Avhich can never be brought
about by much reasoning, because our nature and self-loAe
can furnish so much on their side that Ave shall never come
to an end, and Arery often will make that Avhich is most reason
able, if we have no liking for it, to seem folly because Ave have
no inclination to do it.
12. There is so much to be said of this inward struggle,
that Ave shall never come to the end, and so many are the
means which Satan, the world, and our flesh employ in order
to warp our reason. Is there, then, any help for it? Yes; as
in a very doubtful question of law men go to an arbitrator,
and, weary of pleading, put the matter in his hands, so let
the soul go to some one, whether it be the superior or the
confessor, fully bent on pleading no further or thinking of its
cause, but relying on the words of our Lord, who saith, "Fle
that heareth you heareth Me,"1 regardless of its OAvn will.
Our Lord makes so much of this submission, and justly so, for
Ave make Him thereby master of the free will He has given us;
for by the practice thereof, noAv conquering ourselves Avholly,
at other times after a thousand struggles, thinking the deci
sions given in our cause to be folly, we conform to that which
is commanded us by the help of this, painful exercise; but
at last, painfully or not, we do it, and our Lord on His part
helps us so much, that as we submit our will and reason for
His sake, so He makes us masters of them both.
13. We, then, being masters of ourselves, are able to give
ourselves perfectly unto God, offering to Him a pure will
that He may unite it to His own, praying Him to send doAvn
from heaven the fire of His love to consume the sacrifice,2
1 S. Luc. x. 16. '3 Kings xviii. 38.

436 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. V.
and putting everything away that may be displeasing unto
Flim : for uoav there is nothing more for us to do, seeing that,
although with much labour, Ave have laid our offering on the
altar, which, so far as it lies in our poAver, no longer touches
the earth. 14. It is clear that no man can giAre that which he does
not possess, as it is necessary he should have it before he can
give it. Believe me, then, there is no better way of finding
this treasure than that of toiling and digging so as to draw
it forth out of the mine of obedience; for the more Ave dig
the more Ave shall find, and the more Ave subject ourselves
to men, having no other will but that of those Avho are over
us, the more Ave shall master our will so as to conform it to
the Avill of God. Consider, my sisters, Avhether the pleasures
of solitude abandoned be not amply repaid. I tell you that
you Avill be none the Avorse for the loss of solitude in your prep
aration for attaining to that true union of Avhich I am speak
ing, Avhich is that of making our OAvn will one Avith the will
of God. This is the union I desire, and Avould have you
all possess, and not certain raptures, full of delight, to Avhich
some are liable, and which they call union : and those raptures
may be union, if, Avhen they are over, they are folloAved by
obedience; but if after the raptures there ensues but scanty
obedience, and self-Avill remains, this latter, as it seems to me,
Avill be joined to self-love and not to the Avill of God. May
His Majesty grant that I may act according to the knoAvledge
I have in the matter.
15. The second source1 of this dissatisfaction, in my
opinion, is that the soul seems to live in greater purity AA-hen
left in solitude, because there are fewer opportunities therein
of offending God; some, hoAveArer, there must be, for the evil
spirits and we ourselves are everywhere. For if the soul is
afraid of offending God, it is a very great consolation for it
to meet Avith nothing to make it fall ; and certainly this seems
to me a stronger reason for desiring to avoid all intercourse
with the world than is that which is grounded on the fact,
that solitude ministers great consolations and SAveetness in
God. 16. It is here, my children, love must be made known ;
not in secret places, but in the midst of temptations : and trust
me, our gain will be incomparably greater, though there may
1 See § 4, above.

CH. V.] OBEDIENCE. 437
be more faults committed, and even some slight falls. Re
member, in all I say I am taking for granted that you run
these risks under obedience and out of charity, and if it be
not so, my conclusion ahvays is that to be alone is better; and,
moreover, Ave ought to desire to be alone even Avhen employed
in the way I am speaking of; in truth, this desire is ever
present in those souls which really love God. Why I say
it again is this : it makes us knoAV Avhat Ave are, and how far
our virtue can reach. A person ahvays alone, however holy
he may think himself to be, does not knoAV Avhether he pos
sesses patience and humility, and has no means of learning.
A man may be very courageous, but how is it to be known if
he has not been seen in battle? S. Peter considered himself
very brave, but look at him when he Avas tried: he, however,
rose again after his fall, not trusting at all to himself; and
from henceforth placed all his confidence in God, and after-
Avards suffered martyrdom, as Ave know.
17. O my God, if Ave but knew how great is our Avretched-
ness! There is danger in every thing if Ave do not knoAV it,
and for that reason it is a great blessing to us that Ave are
under authority, so that Ave may discern our OAvn meanness.
And I consider one day of humbling self-knoAvledge, Avhich
may have cost us much sorroAv and distress, to be a greater
grace of our Lord than many days of prayer; moreover,
he who is a true lover loves everywhere, and always remem
bers the object of his love. It Avould be hard if we could pray
only in secret places. I see now that I cannot be alone for
many hours. But, O my Lord! how mighty before Thee is
a single sigh rising up from the heart, because of the pain
it gives to us to see that Ave have not only to tarry in this
our exile, but also that we find no opportunity of being alone,
so that we might alone have the fruition of Thyself.
18. Here it is plain that we are His slaves, sold for love
of Him, Avith our OAvn consent, to the virtue of obedience,
seeing that for its sake we give up, in a certain way, the
fruition of God Himself; and it is nothing, if we consider that
He, in obedience, came doAvn from the bosom of the Father
to make Himself a slave to us. How then can He be recom
pensed for this, or what service can Ave give Him in return
for this grace? It is necessary to be on our guard in our
employments, though laid upon us by obedience and charity,
lest we should be careless therein, not lifting up our hearts

438 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. VI.
continually unto God. And, believe me, it is not length of
time that enables a soul to make progress in prayer; if it is
given up to active work also, that is a great help whereby
the soul in a very short time may attain to a better prepara
tion for the enkindling of its love than it could attain to by
many hours spent in meditation. All has to come from His
hand. May He be blessed for ever and ever !

CHAPTER VI.
OF THE HARM IT MAY DO SPIRITUAL PERSONS NOT TO KNOW WHEN
THE/ ARE TO RESIST THE SPIRIT  OF THE DESIRE FOR COM
MUNION, AND OF DELUSIONS INVOLVED IN IT.
1. I have been striving diligently to find out whence
cometh a certain great dreaminess1 Avhich I have observed in
some persons to whom our Lord gives much SAveetness in
prayer, and avIio do all they can to prepare themselves for the
reception of His graces. I am not speaking now of those occa
sions during Avhich His Majesty lifts up the soul and carries it
aAvay in rapture. I have written much of this in another place,2
and of an act like this there is nothing to be said, though Ave
may do all Ave can to resist, because we are utterly powerless:
if it be a true rapture, it is to be observed that the force Avhich
forces us to lose all control over ourselves lasts but a moment.
But it oftentimes happens that it begins in a kind of prayer
of quiet, which is like a spiritual sleep, and Avhich throAvs
the soul into a dreamy state; so that Ave, if AAre do not know
Avhat conduct to observe herein, may lose much time, and
through our own fault waste our strength and merit little.
2. I Avish I kneAv hoAV to explain myself here, and the
matter is so difficult that I know not if I shall succeed; but I
knoAV well that if those souls Avho are in this delusion Avould
but believe me, they would understand the matter. I know
some, and they are souls of great virtue, who have been in this
state seven or eight hours at a time, thinking it all to be a
1 See Arbiol, Desenganos Misticos, lib. ii. ch. v. p. 198. Card
Bona, De Discretione Spirituum, ch. xiv. § 4, says: "Interdum etiam
raptus creditur ab inexpertis, quod est deliquium; de qua re diffuse
tractat, et profert exempla S. Teresia in libro Fundationum."
* See Life, ch. xx.

CH. VI.] DELUSIONS. 439
rapture, and Avhcm every pious practice laid hold of in such
a way that they went fortliAvith out of themselves, thinking it
not right to offer any resistence to our Lord: in this Avay they
might come by their death, or become foolish, if no remedy
be found for them.1
3. What I understand of the matter is this : the soul,
when our Lord begins to caress it in this Avay — and Ave are by
nature so fond of that Avhich pleases us — gives itself up so
much to that pleasure, that it would not stir, move, nor on
any account Avhatever Avould it consent to lose it : for in truth
the pleasure is greater than all the pleasures in the Avorld;
and when it happens to a person of weak constitution, or to
one Avhose mind, or, to speak more correctly, whose imagina
tion, is not naturally given to change, but one that dAvells
upon a subject Avithout further distraction, once it has laid
hold of him — as do many persons who, Avhen they have fixed
their thoughts on anything, though in nowise relating to
God, become absent, having their eyes directed to an object
before them, but Avhich they do not really see — people natu
rally sluggish, AA'ho, through negligence, seem to forget what
they Avere going to say, — so is it in this case, according to our
nature, disposition, or weakness. Oh, if a soul of this kind be
given to melancholy! it will become the prey of a thousand
pleasing delusions.
4. Of this temper, I shall speak a little later on ;2 but
even if there be none of it, Avhat I have spoken of takes place,
and in those persons also Avho are Avasted by penance; for,
as I said before, Avhen love begins to supply them with sen
sible sweetness, they stjffer themselves, as I have just now
said, to be carried aAvay too much by it ; and, in my opinion,
their love Avould be more perfect if they did not give Avay to
this dreaminess, for they could very well resist it at this point
in their prayer. For, as in bodily weakness Ave suffer from a
faintness Avhich allows us neither to speak nor to move, so
is it here if Ave make no resistance ; for if the body be weak,
the vehemence of the spirit seizes upon it and subdues it.
5. I may be asked, wherein does it differ from a trance?
It is the same thing with it, at least in appearance ; and they
have reason to say so, but it is not so in reality. For a trance,
or the union of all the poAvers of the soul, as I have said, lasts
but a moment, and leaves great fruit behind, and an inAV^o'
1 See Inner Fortress, iv., ch. iii. § 11, &c. * Ch. vii.

440 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. VI.
light, with many other blessings ; the understanding does not
work at all, only our Lord is working in the will. But in this
state it is far otherwise; for though the body be a prisoner,
the will, memory, and understanding are not; yet their opera
tions are disorderly, and if by chance they settle on a par
ticular subject, they will stay there.1
6. I see no good in this .bodily Aveakness — for it is nothing
else — except in so far as it has a good beginning; it Avould
be far better to spend the time in some good Avork than to be
thus dreaming so long. There is much more merit in a single
act, and in the frequent moving of the will to love God, than in
leaving it at rest in this Avay. My advice therefore to the
prioresses is, that they apply themseh-es with all diligence
possible to the banishing of these protracted fits of dreaminess,
which do nothing else, in my opinion, but blunt the faculties
and the senses so that they shall not do that which the soul
requires of them, and thereby rob them of that blessing Avhich
obedience and carefulness to please our Lord ordinarily bring
them. If they find it proceeds from weakness, then they must
forbid fasting and mortification — that is, Avhen not of obliga
tion ; and the time may come Avhen with a safe conscience they
may forbid them altogether, and assign them duties in the
house for the purpose of taking their attention aAvay from
themselves. 7. In the same Avay, also, must they be treated Avho,
though not subject to this faintness, are too much carried away
by their imagination, even though it be on most deep matters
of prayer; for it happens at times that they are not mistresses
of themselves, particularly if they have received any extra
ordinary grace from our Lord, or seen a vision; then their
soul seems to be ahvays receiving or seeing: and yet it is
not so, for that happened to them but once. It is necessary for
her Avho may find herself liable to these faintings away to
strive to change the subject of her meditation ; and provided
she applies herself to the things of God in her meditation,
there is nothing unseemly in changing the subject so long
as she is intent on the things of God; for meditation on the
creature, and on His power in creating them, may be at times
as pleasing unto Him as meditation on Himself the Creator.
8. Oh, Avretched misery of man ! such is it, because of sin,
thr.t even in what is good we must be measured and restrained,
1 See Life, ch. xvii. § 2, and ch. xviii. § 14.

CH. VI.] DELUSIONS. 441
lest we should so ruin our health as to lose the fruition of it.
And, in truth, it behoves many persons, whose heads or imagi
nations are Aveak, to knoAV themselves, Avhich is a greater
service to our Lord, and most necessary. And if any one
sees that when her imagination dwells on a mystery of the
Passion, or on the glory of heaven, or on any other matter
of that kind, and remains for many days unable, though
desirous of doing so, to think on any other, or to rouse herself
from dwelling on it, she must know that she should distract
herself as well as she can; if not, the time will come Avhen she
will learn the harm she has done to herself, and that it is the
result of what I am speaking of, either of great bodily Aveak-
ness, or of the imagination, which is very much worse. For,
as a person of disordered mind, if he applies himself to any
thing, is not master of himself — can neither Avithdraw his
mind nor tfiink of anything else, nor be influenced by reason,
because his reason is not under control — so is it in this state;
the madness, hoAvever, is pleasant.
9. Oh, Avhat great evils may ensue if such a person is
subject to melancholy ! I see no good at all in this dreaminess,
because the soul is endowed with a capacity for the fruition
of God Himself. If, then, it be not for one of the causes I
have mentioned, Avhy should the soul, seeing that God is
infinite, remain the capthre of one of Flis attributes or mys
teries, when there is so much to occupy us? And all the while,
the more of His Avorks Ave meditate upon the more Ave discern
His greatness.
10. I am not saying that in the course of one hour, or
e\-en of one day, we should meditate on many subjects, for
that perhaps Avould result in fruit from none. As these ques
tions are so difficult, I Avould not have you think that I am
saying what it has not entered into my mind to say, or that
you should take one thing for another. Certainly the right
understanding of this chapter is so important, that though it
is distressing to Avrite it, I am not sorry to do so ; and I wish
every one who shall not understand it the first time she reads
it, not to shrink from reading it often, especially prioresses
and mistresses of novices who have to direct the sisters in
the way of prayer: for if they are not careful in the beginning,
they will see that they require much time aftenvards to redress
weaknesses of this kind.
11. If I Avere to describe the great harm I have seen

442 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. VI.
to result from this, you would see that I have reasons for
insisting on it so much. One fact only will I give, and the
rest can be gathered from it. In one of our monasteries Avere
a choir nun and a lay sister, both of them raised to a very
high degree of prayer; they were also mortified, humble, and
good, receiving many consolations from our Lord, together
Avith many manifestations of His greatness. They were par
ticularly, so detached and so engrossed by His love, that there
was no appearance of negligence — though Ave watched them
very narroAvly, considering our natural meanness — in answer
ing to the graces Avhich our Lord gave them. I have said so
much of their goodness in order that they who have not so
much may be the more afraid.
12. They began with great impetuous longings after our
Lord, which they were not able to control ; they thought
those longings Avere satisfied at communion, and so they ob
tained leave from their confessor to communicate frequently,
and thereby their suffering grew so much upon them that they
thought they were going to die if they could not communicate
every day. The confessors — though one of them Avas a very
spiritual man — seeing such souls, and such earnest desires,
judged this remedy to be necessary for their disorder. It
did not stop here, for the longings of one of them became so
A-ehement as to make it necessary for her to communicate
early in the morning to enable her, as she thought, to live;
and they Avere not persons who Avould feign, or tell a lie, for
anything in the Avorld. I was not then in that monastery,
and the prioress told me in a letter what Avas going on, that
she could do nothing with them, and that certain persons said
they might be relieved in that Avay, seeing that there Avas no
help for it. I saw at once what the matter Avas — our Lord
Avilled I should; nevertheless, I kept silence till I arrived at
the monastery, for I feared I might be mistaken, and until I
could give my reasons, reason required I should make no
opposition to those Avho had approved the conduct of the nuns.
13. One Avas so humble that, as soon as I arrived and
had spoken to him, he belieAred me. The other was not so
spiritual, nor indeed spiritual at all in comparison. There
Avas no possible Avay of convincing him ; I did not care much
for that, because I Avas not so much bound to consider him.
I hcran to speak to the tAvo nuns, gave them many reasons,
in my opinion, sufficient to make them see that it Avas a mere

CH. VI.] DELUSIONS. 443
fancy their thinking they should die if they did not communi
cate. They were so Avedded to their notion that nothing
moved them, or could move them, in the Avay of reasoning
with them. I saw that Avas useless, and told them that I too
had these desires and yet Avould abstain from communion,
that they might believe they AA-ere not to communicate ex
cept Avhen all did — that Ave Avould all three die together; for
I thought that bette'r than that a custom of this kind should
be brought into these houses wherein lived those Avho loved
God as much as they did, and Avho might Avish to do what
they were doing.
14. The harm Avhich this custom of theirs had done
reached so far — Satan must have had a hand in it — that when
they did not communicate, they really seemed as if they Avere
going to die. I shoAved great severity, for the more I saAV
they Avere not submissive under obedience, because they
thought they could not keep it, the more clearly I saAv it Avas
a temptation. They spent that day in great distress, the
next in someAvhat less, and thus it went on* lessening, so that,
though I went to communion myself, because I Avas ordered —
for I Avould not have done so Avhen I saAv them so weak —
they bore it all exceedingly Avell. Shortly afterwards both
they and the Avhole community saw it AA-as a temptation, and
what a blessing it AAras to have it remedied in time, for soon
after this — but it Avas not the fault of the tAvo nuns — there
were troubles in that house Avith the superiors — and I may say
something of them further on — Avho would not have taken in
good part such customs, nor suffered them.
15. Oh, how many instances of this kind could I give!
I will give one other only; not in a monastery of our order,
but among the Cistercians. There was a nun, not less good
than those I have been speaking of, brought to such a state
of weakness by disciplines and fasting that every time she
communicated, or Avhenever she had occasion for quickening
her devotion, she fell down at once to the ground and there
remained eight or nine hours, thinking it was a trance: all
the nuns thought the same. This happened so often that
great harm, I believe, must have come of it if it had not been
taken care of. These trances Avere bruited abroad through
the country ; I was very sorry Avhen I heard of them, for it
was our Lord's good pleasure to let me knoAV AA-hat the matter
was, and I feared the issue of it.

444 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. VI.
16. The confessor of that nun Avas a very great friend
of mine, and came to me with the story. I told him Avhat I
thought of the matter, and how it Avas loss of time; that it
could not possibly be a trance, and that it was only weakness ;
he should forbid the fast and the disciplines, and make her
take some distraction. She, being an obedient nun, did so
and soon afterwards recovering her strength, thought no more
of her trance : and if it had been a real trance there Avould
have been no help for it until God Avished it should cease ;
because the vehemence of the spirit is so great that we have
not strength enough to Avithstand it, and, as I said before,1
it leaves behind in the soul a great work, and in the body
Aveariness; the other is as if it had never taken place.
17. The lesson to be learnt from this is, that Avhatever
masters us in such a way as to make us feel that our reason
is not free, should be looked on as suspicious, and that we
shall never in that way attain to liberty of spirit; one of the
characteristics of which is the finding God in all things, and
the being able to think of Him in the midst of them. Every
thing but this is subjection of spirit, and, besides the harm
it does to the body, it confines the soul and hinders its
groAvth; as Avhen men travel and come to a quagmire or a
marsh which they cannot pass, so is it, in a measure, Avith
the soul, which if it would make any progress, must not walk
only but fly.
18. Oh, if they say or think they are absorbed in God,
unable to exert themselves, so rapt are they, and unable to
change the current of their thoughts, and that it often happens,
let them look to it; I warn them again and again, if it be so
for a day, or for four, or for eight, there is no reason for fear,
because it is nothing wonderful that a person of weak con
stitution should remain so long in a state of amazement; if it
continues longer, measures must be taken. The good side of
this is, that there is no guilt of sin and no loss of merit; but
it involves the inconveniences I have mentioned, Avith many
besides. As to communions, there will be a very grave incon
venience if a soul, because of its love, is not obedient with it
to the confessor and the prioress ; nevertheless it may regret
the privation, not in excess, so as not to come to that. It is
necessary also herein, as in other ways, to mortify them, and
1 See § 5, above.

CH. VI.] DELUSIONS. 445
make them understand that it is better for them not to do
their OAvn will than to have this consolation.
19. Our self-love also may thrust itself in here. It has
been so Avith me; for it has happened to me often when I had
first communicated, the Host being still almost whole, to
wish I had not communicated myself when I saw others do
so, in order that I might communicate again. As this hap
pened so often, I reflected on it after a time, for then there
seemed no reason for dAvelling on it, and saw it came more
from my OAvn satisfaction than from any love of God; for
when we go to communion there is a sense, for the most part,
of tenderness and joy, and I was carried aAvay thereby. If
I went to. communion in order to have God in my soul, I had
Him already; and if out of obedience to those who enjoined
communion, I had done so, if for the purpose of receiving
those graces Avhich in the Most Holy Sacrament are given
us, these also I had received. In short, I came clearly to
understand that it Avas nothing else but a desire to obtain
that sensible SAveetness over again.
20. This reminds me that in a place where I was once
staying, and where there is a monastery of our order, I kneAV
a woman who Avas a very great servant of God; everybody
said so, and it must have been true. She went every day
to communion, and had no confessor in particular, but went
to one church for communion to-day, and the next to another.
I observed that, and Avished to see her obeying one confessor
rather than going often to communion. She lived by herself,
and, as it seemed to me, doing what she liked; but as she Avas
good herself, all Avas good. I used to speak to her sometimes
of this, but she did not heed me, and justly so, for she Avas
far better than I AA-as; hoAvever, I did not think I Avas in the
wrong. The holy friar, Peter of Alcantara, came thither,1
and I made him speak to her, and was not pleased with the
account she gave him, — as to that, it may be nothing more
than our misery in being never much pleased Avith any per
sons but those Avhose ways are the same as ours, for this
woman, I believe, served our Lord more, and in one year did
more penance, than I in many. She fell into a sickness which
was unto death — this is what I am coming to — and found
1 As S. Peter of Alcantara died Oct. 18, 1562, the facts related by
the Saint in the text must have taken place when she was yet a nun
in the monastery of the Incarnation.

446 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. VI;
means to have mass said every day in her house and to receive
the Most Floly Sacrament. As her illness lasted some time,
a priest who frequently said the mass, and a great servant
of God, thought it not right to alloAv of this daily communion
in a house. It must have been a temptation of the devil, for
it happened on her last day, that on which she died. When
she saAV mass ended, and herself without our Lord, she Avas
so displeased and so angry Avith the priest, Avho came, greatly
scandalised, to tell me of it. I was very sorry, for I do not
know whether she ever Avent to confession again. I believe
she died immediately afterwards.
21. From this I understood the evil that comes from
doing our OAvn will in anything, especially in a matter of this
importance; for if a person draws near to receive our Lord
so often, it is only reasonable he should be so aware of his
own unworthiness as not to do so of his oavh will, and that
our shortcomings, necessarily great, Avhich make us unfit to
approach our Lord, who is so great, can be supplied only by
obedience, which bids us receive Him. This good Avoman had
an opportunity of greatly humbling herself — and perhaps of
meriting more thereby than if she had communicated — by
considering that it was no fault of the priest, but that our
Lord, seeing her Avretchedness, and hoAV umvorthy she Avas
to receive Him in a lodging so mean, had so ordained it.
22. That was Avhat one person thought, when her Avise
confessors from time to time would not let her communicate
because she did so too often. Though she felt it keenly, yet,
on the other hand, she preferred the honour of God to her
own, and did nothing but praise Him for having moved her
confessor to Avatch over her, and to see that His Majesty did
not go into so Avretched a lodging. By the help of such reflec
tions she obeyed in great peace of soul, though Avith a tender
and loving pain ; but for all the whole Avorld she never would
have done Avhat she was forbidden to do.1
23. Believe me that love of God — I do not say it is love,
but only that it seems so^ — if it stirs our feelings in such a
way as to end in some offence against Him, or in so troubling
the peace of the loving soul that it cannot listen to reason,
is plainly self-seeking only; and Satan will not sleep over
' It may be safely gathered from the praise of the confessors, and
the contempt of self expressed in this passage, that the Saint is-
speaking of herself (De la Fuente).

CH. VI.] DELUSIONS. 447
his work when he thinks he can do us the most harm, as he
did to this woman; for certainly what happened to her alarmed
me greatly, not because I believe that it Avas enough to imperil
her salvation, for the goodness of God is great, but the tempta
tion came at a Aery dangerous time.
24. I have spoken of it in this place that the prioress
may be on her guard, and that the sisters may fear and con
sider, and examine themselves Avhy they draAv near to receive
so great a gift. If to please God, they knoAV already that he
is better pleased by obedience than by sacrifice.1 If that" be
so, and I merit more, Avhy am I troubled? I do not say that
they are not to feel a lowly sorroAv, because all have not
attained to the perfection of feeling none merely by doing
that which they know to be the more pleasing unto God ;
for if the will is perfectly detached from all selfish con
siderations, it is clear that there will be no sense of pain ; on
the contrary, there will be a great joy because the opportunity
has arrived for giving pleasure to our Lord by so costly a
sacrifice; the soul will humble itself, and be satisfied Avith
communicating spiritually. But as in the beginnings, and in
the end too, it is of the goodness of our Lord that we have
these great desires of draAving near unto Flim, souls may be
alloAved to feel some uneasiness and pain when they are
refused communion, yet they must possess their souls in peace,
and make acts of humility because of that refusal. I say
beginnings, because much must be made thereof, and because
the sisters are not so strong in the other matters pertaining
to perfection of Avhich I have been speaking.
25. But if there should be any trouble, or anger, or im
patience Avith the prioress or confessor, believe me the desire
ior communion is a plain temptation. Now, if any one is
bent on communicating Avhen the confessor has forbidden her
to go to communion, I would not have the merit she may gain
thereby, because in such matters as this Ave must not be
judges for ourselves. He is to be the judge who has the power
of binding and loosing: May it please our Lord to give us
light, that we may be wise in matters of so much importance ;
and may we never be without His help, that we may not use
His graces so as to turn them into occasions of displeasing
Him! 1 1 Kings xv. 22.

448 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. VII.
CFIAPTER VII.
TREATMENT OF MELANCHOLY NUNS.
1. These my sisters of S. Joseph's in Salamanca, where
I am staying Avhile Avriting this,1 have pressed me much to say
something about the treatment of melancholy; for, however
careful Ave may be not to admit nuns subject to it, the disease
is so subtle that it counterfeits death whenever it is necessary,
and accordingly we do not find it out till it is too late. I
think I have said something about it in a little book of mine:2
I do not remember: if I speak of it noAv there can be no
harm, if our Lord will be pleased to help me to do it aright.
It may be that I have said it already at some other time: I
Avould say it a hundred times if I thought I could once say
anything that would be of any use. The devices which this
temper searches out for the purpose of doing its OAvn will
are so many that it becomes necessary to look into them, to
enable us to bear with it and control it, lest it should do a
mischief to others.
2. It is to be observed that they are not all so trouble
some Avho are subject to melancholy; for humble and gentle
persons thus afflicted, though very troublesome to themselves,
never do any harm to others, especially if they have good
sense. And, moreover, there are Ararieties of this temper. I
verily believe that Satan lays hold of it in some people as a
means whereby to draw them to himself if he can, and he will
do so if they are not very careful : for, as the chief work of
this temper is to bring reason under its control, which then
becomes obscured, what then, under such conditions, will
our passions not do? They Avho have no reason, it seems,
* It was in the year 1573, and alter August 24 of that year, the
Saint being at the time prioress of the monastery of the Incarnation,
Avila. * It has been suggested that Saint Teresa has written a book on
melancholy, now lost; but Don Vicente thinks she is speaking of her
"Way of Perfection," in the beginning of which she speaks of the
character of those who are to become Carmelites of the Reform; and
that the objection is not worth much which is grounded on the
absence of any direct account of melancholy there, because the Saint
says that she does not remember whether she had written on the
subject. See Vol. I. Pref. p. xxv.

CH. VII.] MELANCHOLY. 449
must be mad, and so it is ; but in those of Avhom we are noAv
speaking the evil has not gone so far, and it would be a much
less evil if it had; for to be obliged to live as a reasonable
person, and treat another as reasonable Avho has no reason,
is an unendurable hardship. Those Avho are altogether sick of
this malady are to be pitied, but they do no harm; and, if
there be any means Avhereby they may be kept under control,
those means are fear.
3. Those in Avhom this evil, which is so hurtful, has
only begun, though it may not haAre gained so much strength,
.yet as it has the same nature and source, and because it
grows from the same root, it must be treated in the same way
if other remedies be not sufficient; the prioresses must have
recourse to the penances in force in the order, and strive to
bring under subjection nuns Avho thus suffer, that they may
feel they are never, and in nothing, to do their own will; for
if they find that their clamour, and the despondency into
which Satan casts them for the purpose of driving them if
he can to destruction, can at any time prevail, they are lost,
and one sister in this state is enough to disquiet a monastery.
As the poor soul has nothing in herself that can help her to
defend herself against the suggestions of the evil one, the
prioress must be Aery watchful in her direction of her, not
only outwardly but inwardly also, for reason, which in the
sickly sister is already darkened, ought to be the more clear
in the prioress, that the devil, making use of this weakness,
may not bring that soul under his OAvn poAver.
4. The matter is dangerous; for at times this temper is
so overbearing as to conquer reason, and there is no sin
then, as there is none in madmen, whatever disorders they
may commit; but it is necessary that those sisters who are
not so overcome, in whom reason is only weakened, not lost
altogether, and Avho are good at other times, should not, on
those occasions Avhen they are afflicted, begin to take any
liberties, lest they should be unable Avhen well to control
themselves, for the cunning of Satan is fearful. And accord
ingly, if we look into it, Ave shall find that what they are
most given to is the doing of their own will, saying whatever
comes into their head, observing the faults of others that they
may hide their OAvn, and amusing themselves with that
wherein they find pleasure ; in short, they are like a person
without the power of self-restraint. Then, with passions un-

450 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. VII.
mortified, and everybody bent on having their OAvn Avay, what
Avill be the result if there be none to control them?
5. I say it again, for I have seen, and have had much
to do with, many persons troubled Avith this disease, that
there is no other remedy but to conquer them by eA'ery way
and means in our power. If words be not enough, have
recourse to penances, and let them be heavy if light penances
Avill not do: if one month's imprisonment be not enough, let
them be shut up for four; you cannot do their souls a greater
service. For, as I said before, and say again, it concerns them
to understand this : though once or occasionally they may .
not be able to restrain themselves, it is not a confirmed mad
ness, whereby all blame is taken av/ay; though it may be so
at times, yet it is not so always, and the soul is in great
danger unless, as I say, they are so deprived of their reason as
to do or say those things which they do or say when they
cannot help themselves. It is of the great compassion of
God that those Avho are thus disordered are obedient to their
superior, for all their good consists in that amid the dangers I
speak of. And, for the love of God, let her, whoever she may
be, that reads this, look into it, for it may perhaps concern
her salvation. 6. I knoAV some who very nearly lost their senses, but
who are so humble in spirit, and so afraid of offending God,
that, though in secret they waste aAvay in weeping, yet do
only what they are commanded, and bear their infirmity like
the others. But this is a greater martyrdom, and they will
therefore have a greater glory, and in this life their purgatory
that they may not have it in the next. But I say it again,
that they Avho will not do this with a willing heart must be
compelled to submit by the prioress, and they must not delude
themselves by their indiscreet devotions in their disorder-
liness so as to be a trouble to all their sisters. It must be
done, because of another very grave evil over and above the
danger to the weak sister herself: for when the others see
her, to all appearance in good health, not knowing what her
soul suffers interiorly from the violence of her disorder — we
are naturally so miserable — they will all think themselves
subject to melancholy, that they may be borne with in the
same Avay: moreover, Satan will make them think so, and the
havoc he will then make will be, when found out, very difficult
to undo. So important is this that no negligence ought to be

CH. VII.] MELxANCHOLY. 451
tolerated in the matter, and the melancholy sister, if dis
obedient to the superior, must suffer for it as if she Avere
in her right mind, and nothing must be forgiven her; if she
speaks in an unbecoming manner to any of her sisters she must
be punished as the others, and for every imperfection of the
same kind.
7. It seems unjust to punish the sick sister, Avhen she
cannot help herself, as if she Avere well : so does it also to bind
madmen and to correct them, instead of leaving them free
to kill everybody. Trust me, for I have tried it, and I believe
have had recourse to many remedies, but never found any other
than this. And the prioress Avho, out of pity, will have allowed
these to begin with taking liberties, will not be able to bear
with them in the end; and Avhen she comes to correct them
she Avill find that much harm has been done to the others.
If madmen are bound and chastised to keep them from killing
people (and that is rightly done; yea, and seems a great kind
ness, because they cannot help themselves), how much more
must these sickly sisters be looked after, that they, with the
liberties they take, may not do harm to the souls of others!
And I really belieA-e that the mischief comes very often, as I
am saying, from a spirit undisciplined, wanting in humility,
and badly trained, and that the melancholy temper is not so
strong as this. I say it is so in some, for I have seen them
obey, and control themselves in the presence of one they fear;
why, then, not do as much for God?
8. I am afraid that Satan, under the pretence of this
temper, seeks to gain many souls. It is more common in our
day than it used to be; the reason is that all self-will and
licence are noAv called melancholy. I have therefore thought
that in these houses, and in all houses of religion, this word
should never be uttered, because it seems to bring licence
Avith it, and that the disorder it implies should be called a
serious illness — and how serious it is ! — and treated accord
ingly; for it is very necessary at times to correct the peccant
humours by the use of medicines to make them tolerable ; and
the sister should be in the infirmary, and be made to under
stand that when she comes out to join the community she
must be humble like everybody else, and that if she is not
her melancholy shall be no defence for her, because that is
necessary for the reasons I have given, and I might give
more. It is necessary that the prioress, but Avithout letting

452 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. VII.
them know it, should treat them with great tenderness, like a
true mother, and search out every means she can to cure them.
9. I seem to be contradicting myself for I have been
hitherto saying that they are to be severely dealt Avith. So I
say again ; they should never be alloAved to feel that they may
have their own way, neither should they have it, it being
a settled thing that they shall be obedient, for the evil consists
in their feeling that they can have liberty. However, the
prioress may refrain from laying upon them a command which
she knoAvs they will disobey; because they are not strong
enough to do violence to themselves ; she should manage them
and influence them by affection to do that Avhich is required of
them, in order, if possible, to make them submit out of affec
tion, which Avill be far better and is generally successful Avhen
the prioress shows them much affection, and makes them feel
it by her acts and Avords.
10. And the superiors must see that the best remedy
within their reach is to employ them largely in the duties
of the house, that they may have no opportunity of giving
Avay to their imagination, for all the mischief is there; and
though they may not do their Avork very Avell, their faults must
be borne with, in order that there may be no occasion for
bearing Avith greater after they shall haA-e been ruined. I
knoAV this to be the most complete remedy that can be fur
nished them. Means also must be found to keep them in
general from spending too much time in prayer, seeing that
for the most part their imagination is Aveak, and that will
do them much harm; if that be not done, they will be filled
Avith fancies, Avhich neither they nor those who may hear of
them Avill ever be able to understand.
11. Care must.be taken that they eat fish but rarely, and
it is necessary also that they should not fast so much as the
others. It may seem superfluous to give so much advice about
this evil and none about any other, when the evils of our
wretched lives are so grievous, especially those arising from
the Aveakness of Avomen. There are two reasons for it: the
first is, they think themselves well, for they will not confess
that they suffer from this disorder; and as their illness, not
being a fever, forces them neither to keep their bed nor to
call in the physician, the prioress must be their physician,
for the disease is more hurtful to perfection than is theirs
who, in danger of their life, remain in their beds.

CH. VIII.] MELANCHOLY. 453
12. The second reason is, that in other illnesses they
either recover or die ; but it is very rarely that people recover
from this or die of it either, but they lose all sense, and that
is a death Avhich kills all the others. They carry about within
themselves a cruel death of sorrows, fancies, and scruples,
and therefore merit' very much thereby, though they ahvays
call them temptations ; for if they Avere once persuaded that all
floAvs out of this one evil they Avould be greatly relieved,
provided they made no account of it. Deeply, indeed, do I
feel for them, and it is right that all who are living Avith them
should feel for them in the same Avay, considering that our
Lord might have visited us with a like affliction ; and above
all, bearing Avith them, as I said just noAv,1 without letting
them knoAV that we are doing so. May our Lord grant that
I have found out Avhat ought to be done Avith so "rave a
malady!

CHAPTER VIIL
OF REVELATIONS AND VISIONS.
1. Some people seem to be alarmed Avhen they hear the
mere Avord visions or revelations. I knoAV not Avhy they look
on a soul which God is leading on by that Avay to be in so
perilous a road, nor Avhence this terror comes. I am not now
going to discuss Arisions, Avhich of them are good and Avhich
of them are evil, nor will I speak of the tests for distinguishing
them Avhich most learned men haA-e told me of, but only of
that Avhich it Avould be Avell if every one did who should find
herself the subject of them, because she will meet with few
confessors who will not make her afraid. Certainly a con
fessor who is told of the manifold temptations of Satan, of
a spirit of blaspheming, disorderly and unseemly thoughts,
is not so much surprised by all this as he is scandalised when
told that we have seen an angel, or heard him speak, or that
Jesus Christ our Lord has appeared to us on the cross.
2. Neither will I discuss here the tests by Avhich we
may know if the revelations be from God, for that is already
knoAvn by the great blessings they bring to the soul; but
' See § 8 above.

454 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. VIII.
only these images which Satan effects for the purpose of
deceiving us when he assumes the likeness of Christ our
Lord or of Flis saints. I ara persuaded myself that Flis
Majesty will never suffer him, nor give him the poAver, to
deceive anybody by such resemblance, unless such a person
be himself to blame; on the contrary, Satan will but deceh-e
himself. I repeat it, nobody will be deceived if only they are
humble; there is therefore no reason for being doAvncast,
only let us trust in our Lord, and make no account of these
resemblances unless it be that we make them an occasion of
praising Him more and more.
3. I know of one whose confessors troubled her exceed
ingly because of these things, Avhich afterwards, as far as
might be known by the great fruit and good issues of them,
Avere felt to be the Avork of God. It was very hard for her, Avhen
she beheld His image in a vision, to treat that image with
contempt; for so she had been commanded to do.1 At a later
time she spoke of it to a deeply learned Dominican, the
master Fra Dominic Banes, who told her it was Avrong, and
that nobody ought to do that, because it is right to venerate
the image of our Lord Avherever we may see it, even if the
devil himself had been the painter — and he is a great painter:
on the contrary, he is doing us a service, though seeking to do
us a mischief, if he paints a crucifix or an image so lifelike
as to leave an impression of it behind in our hearts.
4. This reason pleased me greatly, for Avhen Ave see a
very good picture, even though we may know it to have been
painted by a bad man, we do not fail to respect it, and we
make no account of the painter, that we may not lose our
devotion; for the good or the evil is not in the vision, but in
him to whom it is given, and Avho does not profit by it in
humility; for if he is humble the vision even if it came from
Satan can do him no harm, and if he is not humble it will do
him no good even if it comes from God; for if that Avhich
should make the soul humble— seeing that it does not merit
that grace — makes it proud, that soul is like the spider, the
food of which is all turned into poison, and not like the bee
which turns it all into honey.
5. I wish to explain myself further: if our Lord of His
goodness is pleased to show himself to any soul, in order
1 It was the Saint herself, as she tells us in the Life, ch. xxix. § 6
and Inner Fortress, vi. ch. ix. § 7.

CH. VIII.] REVELATIONS AND VISIONS. 455
that it may knoAv Him and love Him the more, or to reveal
to it any of His secrets, or to give it any special consola
tions and graces; and if that soul, as I have just said, bound
to abase itself and confess the scanty merits of its A-ileness,
looks forthwith upon itself as a saint, and, because of some
service or other it may have done, thinks that this grace has
been given it, it is plain that, like the spider, it changes the
great blessing which might have been the fruit of the visions
into something evil.
6. Let us admit, then, for a moment, that Satan, for the
purpose of stirring up pride, brings about these apparitions;
yet if the soul at the time, thinking they come from God,
humbles itself, and confesses itself undeserving of a grace
so great, and does violence to itself that it may serve Him
better; if, Avhen it sees itself rich, confessing itself unworthy
to eat the crumbs that fall from the table of those persons
of whom it has heard that they have received these graces
from God — I mean umvorthy to be the servant of any of
them — it humbles itself, and begins in earnest to do penance,
and to give itself more unto prayer, and to be more careful
never to offend our Lord — for it thinks it is He who is the
giver of this grace — and to be more perfect in its obedience —
then I assure it that Satan -will neA-er come again, but will
go away defeated, leaving behind him no trace of evil in the
soul. If one is told to do anything, or has a revelation of
what is coming, she must refer it all to a learned and Avise
confessor, and do and belieA-e nothing but that which the con
fessor permits. Let her speak to the prioress that she may
send her a prudent confessor, and let her take his advice ; if
she does not obey the confessor, and alloAv herself to be
directed by him, it comes from an evil spirit or a terrible
melancholy. For, supposing the confessor Avere in the Avrong,
she would do better by not departing from what he tells her,
though it was an angel of God Avho had been speaking to her,
for our Lord will give him light or provide for the fulfilment
of his word; there is no danger in doing this, but in doing
otherAvise there may be many dangers and much evil.1
1 Jerome Gratian, of the Mother of God — Lucidario, pte. 2, ch.
xiii. fol. 75— says that he once begged the Saint to pray for light in a
matter of very great importance. The Saint obeyed, and the answer
was that the thing was to be done. "Nevertheless," says the father,
"I did not do it, guiding myself by my reason. The Saint was silent

456 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. VIII.
7. It should be considered that natural weakness is
very Aveak, especially in Avomen,1 and that it shoAvs itself
the more in this Avay of prayer ; it therefore becomes necessary
Ave should not at once take it for granted that every little
fancy Ave may have is a vision; for, believe me, the vision Avhen
true Avill make itself understood. Much greater caution is
necessary Avhen they are subject to melancholy, for I have
knoAvn fancies of that kind that have frightened me; for
people may think seriously that they see what they do not
see. There came to me once a confessor Avho had heard the
confession of a certain person who told him that Our Lady
often came to her, sat doAvn on her bed, remained talking to
her more than an hour, and told her things to come, and much
besides; amid so much folly some things Avere found to be
true, and so everything else was belieA-ed.
S. I saAv at once what it was, but I did not dare to speak,
because we are living in a Avorld Avherein it is necessary
to consider what people may think of us if our Avords are to
have any effect. Accordingly, I said to the confessor that Ave
should wait to see Avhether the prophecies were true, that
he should ask for other tests, and find out Avhat sort of a
life that person was living; in the end it Avas found out to be
all foolishness. 9. I could say so much of these things as Avould be ample
for the proof of Avhat I am saying, that a soul should not
believe at once, but should bide its time, and examine itself
carefully before it makes its visions knoAvn, lest it should,
Avithout the Avish to do so, deceive its confessor ; for if he has
and obeyed, for she was then my subject; but afterwards, doubting
of the correctness of my conduct in disregarding the revelation, I
asked her again to pray that we might know Avhether we were doing
right. The answer to me was that our Lord had spoken to her thus:
'Thou hast done well to obey, for in so doing none can go wrong:
what I said in the beginning was much better, but that which thou
hast done under obedience I will make more fruitful, though it may
cost thee more labour.' And so it came to pass.''
1 Major cautio erga fceminas adhibenda, quarum sexus eo suspec-
tior est quo imbecellior. Naturx sunt humidioris, ut ex vehementia
cogitationum et affectuum putant se videre quje cupiunt, et quod ab
animi perturbationibus nascitur, qua? in ipsis acerrimre sunt, a veritate
oriri credunt: cumque ratione minus polleant, non est difficile diabolo
earum nativa imbecillitate uti, ut eas primum variis illusionibus deci-
piat, et per easdem alios in errores inducat (Card. Bona, de Discretione
Spirituum, ch. xx. § 3).

CH. VIII.] REVELATIONS AND VISIONS. 457
had no experience himself herein, hoAvever learned he may be,
he will never be able to understand it. It is not many years ago
but very lately, that a man disturbed exceedingly some very
learned and spiritual persons Avith matters of this kind; at
last he Avent to speak to one Avho had had experience of these
gifts of our Lord, and Avho saAV clearly that it was madness
with delusions. HoAveA-er, the matter was not exposed at the
time, but kept most secret; by degrees our Lord made it
thoroughly knoAvn ; but that person A\-ho saAv into the matter
had much to suffer first, because nobody Avould believe him.
10. For these reasons, and others of the same kind, it
is the duty of each sister to make knoAvn to the prioress AA-ith
great openness her Avay of prayer, and the latter must care
fully consider the temper of that sister and the degree of
perfection to which she may have attained, that she may
instruct the confessor so as to enable him to understand her
better; and she should choose a confessor for the purpose if
the ordinary confessor is not sufficiently acquainted Avith
things of this kind. She must be very careful that matters
such as these revelations and visions, though most truly from
God, and graces confessedly miraculous, be not divulged to
persons outside the monastery, nor to confessors Avho have not
the wisdom to keep them secret, for this is a most serious
point, and more serious than they think, nor may the sisters
discuss them among themselves. The prioress herself must
be ahvays ready to listen prudently, more inclined, hoAvever,
to commend those aa-Iio excel in humility, mortification, and
obedience than those Avhom God is leading by this most super
natural Avay of prayer, though they may be endowed with
every other virtue. For, if it be the spirit of our Lord that is
working in them, He brings in Flis train humility to enable
them to bear neglect with joy, and such treatment therefore
Avill not harm them, and does great good to the others. As
they cannot attain to these extraordinary graces, for God
gives them to AA-hom He will, let their anxiety be for the
attainment of other virtues, for, though these also are the gift
of God, they are more in our poAver, and are of great worth in
religion. May His Majesty bestOAV them upon us! If we
exercise ourselves in them, are diligent in the pursuit of them,
and in prayer for them, He will not refuse them to any one
Avho, in reliance on His compassion, shall labour to attain to
them.

458 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. IX.
CHAPTER IX.
THE FOUNDATION OF S. JOSEPH, MALAGON.
1. How I have Avandered from my purpose! and yet
some of the advice I have given may be more to the purpose
than the account of the foundations. During my stay in the
house of S. Joseph in Medina del Campo,1 it Avas a great joy
to me to see Iioav the sisters were Avalking in the way of those
of S. Joseph's of AA'ila, in all religious observances, sisterly
love, and spirituality; and how our Lord was providing in
the house what was necessary for the church as Avell as for
the sisters. Nuns came in whom our Lord seems to have
chosen Himself, such as became the foundation of such a
building: I think that all the good that is to come lies in
these beginnings, for those who come in afterwards Avalk in
the Avay Avhich they find prepared for them.
2. There lived in Toledo a lady, sister of the duke of
Medina Celi, and in Avhose house I had been staying by the
commandment of my superiors, as I haA-e largely set forth in
the account of the foundation of S. Joseph's.2 She conceived
a special affection for me, and that must have been in some
way a means to move her to do Avhat she did, for Flis Majesty
very often makes use of means which to us Avho know not
what is coming seem to be of little Avorth. When this lady
heard that I had authority to found monasteries, she began
to press me very much to found one in the tOAvn of Malagon,3
which belonged to her. I would not hear of it at all, because
it Avas so small a place, and because I should be forced to
accept an endoAvment for our maintenance, and I had a very
great dislike to do that.
3. I laid the matter before learned men and my con
fessor;4 they told me I was in the wrong, for the holy council5
1 From the Assumption to the end of October, 1567.
See Life, ch. xxxiv.
3 See note at the end of ch. iii. ' Dominic Banes.
* Concedit sancta synodus omnibus monasteriis et domibus, tam
virorum quam mulierum et mendicantium — exceptis domibus fratrum
Sancti Francisci Cappucinorum et eorum qui Minorum de observantia
vocantur — etiam quibus aut ex constitutionibus suis erat prohibitum,
aut ex privilegio Apostolico non erat concessum, ut deinceps bona
immobilia eis possidere Iiceat (Concil. Trident, sess. 25, de Regular.
cap. 3).

CH. IX.] MALAGON. 459
authorised the possession of revenues ; that I ought not, be
cause of any opinion I held on the subject, to give up the
foundation of a house Avherein our Lord might be so Avell
served. Added to this were the urgent requests of that lady,
and I could therefore do no less than accept the foundation.
She gave us a sufficient endoAvment, for I always Avished the
monasteries to be either altogether poor or to possess enough
so that the nuns should never be forced to beg of anybody for
that which might be necessary for them.
4. I insisted with all my might that no nun should pos
sess anything of her OAvn, and on the perfect observance of
the constitutions as in other houses founded in poverty. When
all the deeds Avere drawn up I sent for certain sisters1 for
the foundation, and Avent Avith the lady to Malagon, but the
house was not yet prepared for us, and so we Avere lodged
for more than a Aveek in one of the rooms of the castle.
5. On Palm Sunday, 1568, the parishoners came in pro
cession to receive us, and Ave in our white mantles, Avith our
veils over our faces, went Avith them to the church, where
a sermon was preached, and from which the Most Holy
Sacrament was carried into our monastery. It Avas a cause
of much devotion in all. I remained there some days. One
day in prayer, after communion, I heard our Lord say that
He would be greatly honoured in that house. I think I Avas
there not quite two months,2 for I Avas pressed in spirit to
found the house in Valladolid; and the reason was what I am
going now to tell.
1 The Saint left Alcala for Toledo before Lent, 1568, with the two
nuns, Anne of the Angels and Antonia of the Holy Ghost, and sent
to Avila for Mary of the Blessed Sacrament, Mary Magdalene, Isabel
of Jesus, and Isabel of S. Joseph. She left .Toledo in Lent, and
reached Malagon before Passion Sunday with her nuns, and Dona
Luisa came Avith them (Ribera, lib. ii., ch. xi). While looking for a
site for her monastery with the parish priest and the mayor, she
said when they came to a convenient spot, "This must be left for the
barefooted friars of S. Francis." Some years afterwards those friars
came to Malagon ,and built their monastery there (Reforma de los
Descalgos, lib. ii. ch. xi. § 3).
3 The Saint -ame to Malagon in the very beginning of April, and,
according to her letter to Dona Luisa de la Cerda, went away on May
19th (Lett. 2; but Lett. 4 of vol. iii. ed. Doblado). The first prioress
of Malagon was Mother Anne of the Angels, whom the Saint had
taken years before from the monastery of the Incarnation, Avila
(Reforma de los Descalcos, lib. ii. ch. xi. § 7).

460 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH.

CHAPTER X.
THE FOUNDATION IN VALLADOLID OF TOE MONASTERY OF THE
CONCEPTION OF OUR LADY OF CARMEL.
1. Five or six months before the foundation of the monas
tery of S. Joseph in Malagon, a young man,1 a member of a
noble family, talking to me, said that if I Avould found a
monastery in Valladolid he Avould joyfully give a house he
had there with a large and fine garden, Avithin which Avas a
considerable vineyard, and possession of it at once; it Avas of
great value. I accepted it, but I had not fully made up my
mind to make a foundation there, because it Avas a quarter of
a league from the city.2 I thought, however, we might make
our Avay into the city if once Ave had possession of that place,
and, as he made the offer so generously, I Avas unAvilling to
refuse it or to trouble his deA-otion.
2. About two months after this, more or less, he became
suddenly and rapidly ill, lost the poAver of speaking, and Avas
unable to make his confession clearly, though he Avas, as he
showed by many signs, praying to our Lord for pardon. He
very soon died, far enough from the place Avhere I AAras then
staying.3 Our Lord spoke to me and said that his salvation
had been in serious danger, and that He had had compassion
upon him because of the good work he had done for His
Mother in gh-ing his house for a monastery of her order;
nevertheless he would be detained in purgatory till the first
mass should be said there, Avhen he would be delivered. The
dread penalties of this soul Avere so constantly before me
1 Don Bernardino' de Mendoza, brother of the bishop of Avila, and
son of the count of Ribadavia (Reforma de los Dcscalcos, lib. ii. ch.
v. § 9).
1 Nuns are forbidden by the council of Trent to live outside cities
. . . Et quia monasteria sanctimonialium, extra moenia urbis vel
oppidi constituta, malorum hominum prredre et aliis facinoribus, sine
ulla ssepe custodia sunt exposita, curent episcopi et alii superiores,
si ita videbitur expedire, ut sanctimoniales ex eis ad nova vel antiqua
monasteria intra urbes vel oppida frequentia reducentur, invocato
etiam auxilio, si opus fuerit, brachii SEecularis. (Sess. xxv. de reg.
et mon., c. 5.)
3 Don Bernardino died in Ubeda, when the Saint was in the
monastery of Maria of Jesus, in Alcala de Henares (Ribera, lib. ii. ch.
12).

CH. X.] VALLADOLID. 461
that, though I Avished to found a house in Toledo,1 I gave it
up for the time, and made all the haste I could to found, as
well as I could, the house in Valladolid.
3. It could not be dune so quickly as I Avished, for I was
detained for many days in S. Joseph's, Avila, of whicli I had
the charge, and again in S. Joseph's in Medina del Campo, for
I went thither;2 and there one day in prayer our Lord bade
me make haste, for that soul Avas in great suffering. Though
I had not made many preparations I set about the Avork, and
entered Valladolid on the feast of S. LaAvrence. As I looked
at the house I fell into great distress, for I saw how foolish
it would be for nuns to remain there, except at a Arery great
cost; though the place was pleasant to behold, because the
garden was so charming, it could not fail to be unwholesome,
for it was close to the river.
4. Though I Avas tired I had to hear mass in a monaster}'
of our order, at the entrance of the city, and so far away that
it made my sufferings twice as great. Nevertheless I said
nothing to those Avho were with me, lest I should discourage
them, for, though weak, I had some confidence that our Lord,
Avho had told me Avhat I have just related, Avould come to our
help. I sent for Avorkmen in the utmost secrecy, and began
to have the ruined Avails filled up Avith clay to secure our
privacy, and to do AArhateA-er else Avas necessary. The eccle
siastic of Avhom I spoke before,3 Julian of Avila, and one4 of
the two friars already mentioned, Avho Avished to become a
discalced, and Avas learning our way of living, Avere Avith us.
Julian of Avila Avas occupied in obtaining the licence of the
1 At this time the Saint, having Avritten her Life the second time,
sent it to Juan of Avila, by whose judgment, according to the advice
of the inquisitor Soto, she Avas to abide. From Toledo she writes
to her friend Dofia Luisa de la Cerda on the feast of the Ascension,
May 27, 1568, and from Avila in June. See below, ch. xiii. § 2.
s Ch. x. § 5. See ch. xiii. The Saint, on her way to Medina from
Avila, visited the site offered her by Don Rafael Megia Velasquez for
the monastery of the friars in Duruelo, possession of v/hich was taken
by St. John of the Cross and his companions in the autumn (Reforma
de los Descalcos, lib. ii. ch. xiv. §§ 2, 3. See below, ch. xiii. § 2).-
3 Ch. iii. § 2.
* See ch. iii. § 16. S. John of the Cross and Antonio de Heredia,
the former of whom was then with the Saint. Fra Antonio had been
left at Medina (Reforma, lib. ii. ch. xiv. § 5).

4o2 BOOK OK THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. X.
ordinary, who had giA'en us hopes of it before I arrived.1 We
could not get the licence soon enough, for the Sunday came
before it could reach us ; hoAvever, they gave us leave to have
mass said Avhere Ave Avere to have our church, and accordingly
it Avas said there.2
5. I Avas very far from thinking that Avhat had been said
to me of that soul Avas to be fulfilled then, for, though I Avas
told it Avould be at the first mass, I thought the mass must
be that during which the Most Holy Sacrament would be
reserved. When the priest was coming towards us to the
place where Ave Avere to communicate, with the Most Hoi}'
Sacrament in his hands, and myself draAving near to receive
Him, I saAv that nobleman, of Avhom I spoke before, close
to the priest : his face Avas bright and shining, his hands Avere
joined together, and he thanked me for what I had done to
enable him to depart out of purgatory and ascend to heaven.
And indeed, I Avas very far from thinking so, and in sadness
enough, when I Avas first told that he was in the Avay of sal
vation: it seemed to me that he needed another kind of
death, considering the life he led, for, though he Avas very
good, his life Avas AArorldly. It is true he had told my com
panions that he always thought of death. It is very Avonderful
hoAV pleasing to our Lord is any sen'ice Avhatever done to His
Mother, and His mercy is great. Bless Him and praise Him
for eA-er Avho thus rewards our mean services with everlasting
life and blessedness, and makes them great Avhen they are in
themselves but little Avorth.
6. On the feast of the Assumption of our Lady, August
15, 1568, Ave took possession of the monastery. We remained
there but a short time, for nearly all of us fell very ill. A
lady there living observed it, who was Dona Maria de Men-
1 The Saint, from Duruelo, the morning after her visit to that.
place, had sent Julian of Avila to Olmedo, where the bishop was at
the time, to treat about the foundation, and to obtain letters from hrm
to the abbot of Valladolid, whose jurisdiction at that time Avas quasi-
episcopal, but subject to the bishop of Valencia (Reforma de los
Descalcos, lib. ii. ch. xiv. § 4; lib. v ch xiii. § 2). Valladolid became
an episcopal church only in 1595, the first bishop of which was Don
Pedro Laptaza.
3 The Saint reached Valladolid on Thursday, August 10, 1568, and
on the following Sunday heard mass in the Carmelite monastery, but
on Sunday, August 20, mass was said by Julian of Avila in the
monastery founded by herself (Reforma. lib. ii. ch. xv § 2).

CH. X.] VALLADOLID. 463
doza,1 Avife of the knight commander Cobos,2 mother of the
marquis of Camarasa, a most perfect Christian, and most
charitable, as her abundant alms bear ample witness. She
had been very kind to me formerly Avhen I had much to do
Avith her, for she is the sister of the bishop of Avila, who
helped us much in the foundation of the first monastery, and
in everything touching the order.3 As she was so charitable,
and saAv that Ave could not remain but under great difficulties,
because it was a long way to send alms to us, and because
the place was unhealthy, she told us to give up that house,
that she would find us another; and so she did, and the one
she gave us Avas Avorth much more; besides, she supplied all
that was needful for us to this present time, and -will do so
so long as she shall live.
7. On the feast of S. Blasius we Avent to our new house
in a grand procession, and Avith much deA'otion on the part
of the people, which it still retains; for our Lord works many
graces in the house, and has brought souls into it whose
sanctity shall be recorded at the proper time, to the praise
of our Lord, who by means of them was pleased to magnify
His works, and to show mercy to Flis creatures.4 For there
came one to us here in her early youth who showed us Avhat
the world is by despising it. I have thought it Avell to speak
of her now, that they Avho love the world so much may be
put to shame, and that from her example young girls to whom
our Lord sends good inspirations and desires may learn how
to act upon them.
8. There lives here a lady, Dona Maria de.Acuna, sister
1 The prioress appointed by the Saint was Isabel of the Cross.
Dona Maria took all the nuns into her own house when she found
their health failing, assigned them rooms for their devotion, and kept
them till February 3rd in the following year, when they removed to
the new monastery, as the Saint tells us in the next paragraph
(Reforma de los Descalcos, lib. ii. ch. xv. § 5).
2 Don Francisco de los Cobos.
* The Saint, writing in February, 1570, to her brother Don
Lorenzo, speaks of Dona Maria de Mendoza in these terms: — "About
a year ago I had a fever, but I am now all the better for it. I was
busy with the foundation in Valladolid, and Dona Maria de Mendoza,
widow of secretary Cobos, killed me with kindness. She has a great
affection for me" (Lett, xviii.; but Lett. xxx. vol. i. ed. Doblado).
' What follows of this, and the whole of the next, chapter, were
omitted in the earlier editions, and were consequently omitted in all
the translations except that of the F. Bouix, S. J.

-164 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [dl. X.
of the count of Buendia, who had married the president of
Castille. He died Avhen she was still young, and left her Avith
three children, one son and two daughters. She then began
to lh-e a life of such great sanctity, and to bring up her children
so religiously, as to merit their vocation from our Lord. I
have made a mistake — she had three daughters: one became
forthwith a nun,1 another refused marriage, and lived a most
edifying life Avith her mother. In his early youth the son
began to understand AA'hat the Avorld is, and God to call him
into religion in such a Avay that nobody could move him from
his purpose. His mother looked on Avith such great joy that
she must have been helping him by her prayers to our Lord,
though she did not let it be known, on account of their kindred.
In short, if our Lord will have a soul come to Flim no crea
ture in the Avorld is strong enough to hinder it. So it Avas here.
The youth, though kept back by much importunity for three
years, entered the Society of Jesus. This lady said to her
confessor,2 from whom I have it, that her heart Avas neA'er so
full of joy in her life as on the day Avhen her son made his
profession. 9. O Lord, Avhat a grand grace is that which Thou givest
those to Avhom Thou givest such mothers — mothers Avho love
their children so truly as to wish them to find their inherited
dignities, entailed estates, and wealth in that blessedness
AA'hich will neA'er end ! What a sad thing it is the Avorld is
so Avretched and blind that fathers think their honour lies
in not suffering memorials of their haA-ing been OAvners of the
dunghills of this Avorld's goods to perish, and in the preser-
A-ation of that Avhich sooner or later must come to an end!
and eA-erything of which there is to be an end, however lasting,
is perishing, and deserves but scanty consideration. Parents,
at the cost of their OAvn poor children, are resoh-ed to maintain
their A-anity, and boldly Avithhold from God the souls He is
drawing to Himself, and from those souls so great a blessing;
for, though it be not one that is to last for eA'er, it is one to
which God calls them, it being a A'ery great one to be delivered
from the Aveariness and exactions of the world, and they are
heaviest upon those Avhose possessions are the largest. Open
their eyes, O my God ; teach them what that loAre is Avhich
' In the monastery of the Dominican nuns in Valladolid (Bouix).
'• F. Jerome Ripalda, rector of the house of the Jesuits Professed
in Valladolid (Bouix).

CH. X.] AALLADOLID. 465
they are bound to have for their children, that they may not
do them so much harm, and that their children may not
complain of them before God on the day of their final judg
ment, when they shall learn, Avhether they like it or not, what
everything is Avorth.
10. Then, when, through the compassion of God, Don
Antonio de Padiila, the noble child of the noble lady Maria
de Acuna, quitted the Avorld at the age of seArenteen, more or
less, the elder daughter, Dona Luisa, became heir to his
estates; the count of Buendia had no children, and Don An
tonio was heir to his title as Avell as to the presidency of Cas
tille. But, as that dees not belong to my subject, I say
nothing of all he had to suffer at the hands of his kindred
before he carried out his purpose. He Avill understand Avho
knows hoAV much people of the world make of haA-ing an heir
in their families.
11. O Jesus Christ our Lord, King over all things, Son
of the Everlasting Father, Avhat hast Thou left in the world
for us Thy children to inherit? What AA'ere Thy possessions?
Only toil, and sorrow, and insult. Thou hadst nothing but
the hard Avood to rest on Avhen undergoing the bitter anguish
of death. Ah, my God, it is not fitting that Ave should run
aAvay from suffering if Ave AA-ould be Thy children indeed,
and not renounce the inheritance. Thine armorial bearings
are five wounds ; then, my children, that must be also our
device if Ave are to inherit His kingdom. It is not ease, nor
comfort, nor honours, nor riches that will obtain for us AA"hat
Fle purchased by so much blood. O ye of noble birth, open
your eyes for the love of God; behold the true soldiers of
Jesus Christ and the princes of His church. A S. Peter,
a S. Paul never travelled by your road. Perhaps you think
that a new road has been made for you : believe it not. See
hoAv our Lord began to shoAv you the road by means of per
sons, young as they are, of whom I am t.oav speaking. I
haA'e occasionally seen and spoken to Don Antonio: he Avished
his possessions had been greater that he might haA-e had more
to leaA'e. Blessed children both of them, Avhose merits were
so great in the eyes of God, at an age when the world
usually rules the dAA-ellers in it, that they Avere able to trample
it under their feet. Blessed be He Avho wrought in them so
great a work !
12. Then, AA'hen the elder sister succeeded to the honours

466 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. X.
of her house, she did Avith them as her brothers had done;
for she had from her earliest years so given herself unto prayer
(it is in prayer that our Lord gives us light to see the truth)
that she esteemed them as lightly as her brother had done. O
my God, Avhat troubles and vexations, Avhat litigation — yea,
Avhat risks of life and honour, many Avould have undergone
for the succession to this inheritance! The troubles of these
two were not light when they had agreed to give it up. So
is the Avorld — hoAv clearly it shows us its follies if Ave were
not blind! With her whole heart, then, in order to be delivered
from this inheritance, did she renounce it in faA'our of her
sister, for there was nobody else to accept it, Avho was about
ten or eleven years of age. Her kindred at once, in order that
the melancholy monuments of earthly dignities might not
perish, arranged her marriage Avith one of her uncles, a brother
of her father, obtained a dispensation from the sovereign Pon
tiff, and betrothed her.
13. It Avas not our Lord's pleasure that a daughter of
such a mother, a sister of such a brother and sisters, should
be any more deceived than they were, and accordingly Avhat
I am now going to tell came to pass. The child began to
wear the dress and ornaments which became her rank, and
Avhich might have influenced her at so tender an age, but
she had hardly been betrothed two months Avhen our Lord
Himself began to give her light, though she at the time did
not clearly see it. Having spent the day, to her own great
joy, with her bridegroom, Avhom she loved with an affection
beyond her years, she fell into a profound sorrow, thinking
hoAV the day Avas ended, and that every other day must
be ended in the same way. Oh, how grand is God ! that very
joy which she received from the joy she had in perishable
things became hateful to her. Then arose a sadness so great
as to be more than she could hide from her bridegroom. She
did not know Avhence it came, nor could she account for it,
even Avhen he asked her the cause of it.
14. At this time the bridegroom had a journey to make
which would take him far away from the place, and she felt it
deeply, because she loved him so much. But our Lord revealed
to her then the source of her suffering — that her soul Avas
yearning after that which never ends, and she began to see that
her brother and sisters had taken the safest course, and had
left her behind amid the dangers of the Avorld. The thought of

CH. XI.] DONA CASILDA. 467
this, on the one hand, and, on the other, of there being no help
for it (for she did not know till later, when she made inquiries,
that notAvithstanding her betrothal she might yet become
a nun), kept her sad, and, above all, her love for him who
Avas to be her husband hindered her from coming to any
resolution, and thus her days were passed in much heaviness.
But, as our Lord meant to have her for Himself, Fle took
aAvay from her that love, and the desire of giving up all things
greAV Avithin her. At this time her only Avish Avas her own
salvation, and the finding out the best Avay for that end; for
she thought if she gave herself more to the things of the
Avorld she might forget to strive after that which is eternal.
God filled her Avith Avisdom at this tender age to seek the
means of gaining that which neA'er ends.
15. O happy soul, to come forth so early out of the dark
ness in which many who are old are lost! 'As soon as she
saAv her affections were free she made up her mind to give
them wholly unto God — for until then she had kept her OAvn
secret — and began to speak to her sister of her state. The
sister, looking on it as a childish fancy, dissuaded her from
her purpose, and among other things told her that she could
be saved in the state of marriage. She replied, "Why, then,
did you renounce that state for yourself?" Thus it went on
for some days, and her good desires were groAving always;
her mother, hoAvever, did not dare to speak, but perhaps after
all it was she who, by her holy prayers, Avas carrying on the
Avarfare.

CHAPTER XI.
DONA CASILDA DE PADILLA.
1. It came to pass at this time that we had to give the
habit to a lay sister — sister Stephany of the Apostles1 — in the
1 Stephany of the Apostles, daughter of Fernando Gallo and
Maria Sanchez of Pedroza de Campos, was born on the morrow of the
Nativity, December 26, 1549. From her very earliest years, and
before the age of reason in children, she gave herself to penance
and continual prayer. As she grew in years she grew also in natural
beauty and grace, and was, with the more than consent of her father
and mother, sought in marriage. To escape from the importunities

468 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [dl. XI.
monastery of the Conception. I may speak hereafter of her
vocation, for, though of a different condition of life — she
was but a peasant — yet, because of the great graces Avhich
God Avrought in her, she deserves, for the honour of His
Majesty, that I should make some record of her. When she
AA-as to take the habit, Doha Casilda — for that Avas the name
of this beloved of our Lord — came to the ceremonj' Avith her
grandmother, the mother of her bridegroom. She concei\'ed
a A-ery great liking for the monastery, and thought that our
Lord Avas better served by the nuns, because they AArere few
in number and poor. Still she had not at this time made up her
mind to give up her bridegroom, and he it Avas, as I said
before, AA-ho held her back the most.
2. She remembered that she was accustomed, before she
Avas betrothed, to spend a certain time in prayer, for her
mother, in her goodness and saintiiness, had thus brought her
up Avith her brother and sisters. From the time they Avere
seven years old she used to take them Avith her into her oratory
at certain hours, and teach them hoAV to meditate on the
Passion of our Lord. She made them go often to confession,
and accordingly she saAV her good desires to bring them up
for God so amply reAvarded. She has told me herself that
she used to offer up her children to God, and implore Flim to
take them out of the Avorld, for she Avas no longer deluded
as to the scanty esteem in AA-hich it should be held. I think
at times Iioav they will thank their mother Avhen they see
themselves in the fruition of everlasting bliss, and that it Avas
Avith which she was pursued, she took refuge in Medina de Rioseco,
in Leon, in the house of her sister. She then Avent to live with Doria
Maria de Vesgas, who, discerning her sanctity, offered to provide
her dower if she entered religion. The young man who sought her
in marriage now came to trouble her again, Avhereupon she took refuge
in a monastery of St. Clare. From the monastery she Avas withdrawn
by Dona Maria, who quarrelled with the nuns, and then her father sent
for her to Pedroza de Campos. There she heard our Lord say to
her, ''Go to Valladolid," and she went, and became there a penitent
of F. Jerome Ripalda, S. J. Under his direction — staying at the time in
the house of Dona 'Maria de Acufia — she presented herself at the mon
astery founded by S. Teresa, which she entered on the feast of S.
Mark, 1572, in the twenty-third year of her age. She received the
habit on the feast of the Visitation. July 2 of that year, and was pro
fessed as a lay sister August 6, 1573, and died in the odour of sanctity
June 11, 1617, in the sixty-eight year of her age (Reforma. lib. xiv. ch.
xxxi. — xxxiv.).

CH. XI.] DONA CASILDA. 469
she who helped them; and I think too of her accidental joy
in seeing them, and Iioav different it will be with those fathers
and mothers Avho haA'e not brought up their cliildrcn as
children of God — and they are more His than theirs — when
they all meet together, both the one and the other, in hell,
uttering curses, hopelessly lost.
3. To return to my story. When Dona Casilda saw that
even saying the rosary Avas no longer a pleasure to her she
feared that she might become even Avorse and Avorse, and
thought she saAv clearly that by coming to this house she could
make her salvation certain. She therefore made up her mind
altogether, and one morning- she and her sister came here
Avith their mother, and, as it happened, all entered the monas
tery, but without any suspicion that she Avas going to do Avhat
she did. When she found herself inside no one could thrust
her out. She cried so earnestly that she might be left, and
she used such Avords as astonished everybody. Her mother,
though in her heart glad, Avas afraid of her kindred, and Avould
not have her remain, lest it should be said that she Avas doing
this by her persuasion ; the prioress also Avas of the same mind,
for she looked on her as a child, and thought that there ought
to be a longer trial of her vocation. This was in the morning ;
they had to remain there till the evening, and to send for her
confessor and for the father master Friar Dominic,1 Avho Avas
mine, of whom I spoke in the beginning, but I Avas not there
at the time myself. That father saw at once that this was
the work of the Spirit of God, and gave her great help, Avhile
having much to bear with at the hand of her kindred. So
indeed ought all men to do aa'Iio pretend to serve God, Avhen
they see a soul called by Flim, nor must they be led by the
prudence of men. He promised his help to her for her coming
back another day. She Avent away this time, but after earnest
importunities, lest they should blame her mother. Her good
desires continued eA'en to groAv stronger.
4. Her mother began to speak privately to her kindred,
and the secret was kept from coming to the knowledge of
the bridegroom. They spoke of it all as childishness, and said
she must Avait till she became of age, for she Avas not yet
twelve years old. She replied to this by saying, as they
thought her old enough to be married and left in the Avorld,
hoAV came it that they did not find her old enough to give
1 Fra Dominic Banes. See ch. viii. § 3, and ch. ix. § 3.

470 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XI.
herself to God? She spoke in such a way as made it plain
it Avas not she herself Avho Avas speaking. The matter could
not be kept so secret as to escape the knoAvledge of the bride
groom. When she found that he was aAA-are of it she did
not think it Avell to Avait for him, and on the feast of the
Conception, when in the house of her grandmother, who
was also her mother-in-laAV, but who kneAV nothing of the
matter, she asked her to let her go out with her governess. The
grandmother, to please her gave her consent, and she Avent
out in a carriage Avith her servants. To one of them she gave
some money, and asked him to wait for her at the gate of this
monastery Avith a bundle of faggots, and had herself driven
about in such a Avay that they brought her by the house.
When she had come in front of the gate she told her servants
to ask at the Avicket for a goblet of Avater, Avithout saying for
whom, and descended quickly from the carriage ; they said the
Avater would be brought to her, but she would not have it so.
The faggots Avere already there, and she bade her people tell
them in the monastery to come to the door for them. She
stood close by the faggots, arid Avhen the door opened hurried
AA-ithin, throwing her arms around our Lady, weeping, and
praying the prioress not to send her aAvay.
5. The servants raised a loud cry, and knocked violently
at the door. She went to the grating to speak to them, told
them that nothing should eA-er make her come out, and they
must go and tell her mother. The Avomen Avho Avere in
attendance upon her made pitiful lamentations, but nothing
moved her. Her grandmother, when she Avas told of it, Avould
go at once to the monastery. HoAveA-er, neither she herself,
nor an uncle, nor the bridegroom himself, Avho, when he came,
found means to comrerse much Avith her at the grating, did any
thing else but increase her distress Avhen they were Avith her,
and leaA'e her more determined than before. The bridegroom
said to her, after many piteous complainings, that she could
serve God more by giving alms; whereupon she bade him,
by way of reply, gh-e alms himself. In ansAver to everything
else from him she replied that she was under greater obliga
tions to Avork out her own salvation, that she knew herself
to be Aveak, and could not save herself amid the dangers of the
AA-orld; that he had no reason to complain of her, for she had
left him only for God, and that she did him no wrong thereby.
When she saAV that he was not satisfied she arose and left

CH. XI.] DONA CASILDA. 471
him. He made no impression whatever upon her; she Avas
on the Avhole disgusted Avith him; for the temptations and
annoyances which Satan stirs up become rather a help to
that soul to Avhom God sends the light of the truth. It is
His Majesty Himself Avho is fighting on its behalf. It was
so visibly now, for it did not seem as if Casilda herself Avere
the speaker. 6. When the bridegroom and her kindred saAv Iioaa- little
influence they had to bring her out with her own consent
they took means to drag her out by force, and so they pro
cured an order from the king, in A'irtue of AA-hich they could
take her out and restore her to her liberty. During her
stay in the monastery, which Avas from the feast of the Con
ception to that of the Innocents, when they took her aAvay, she
never Avore the habit, but she observed all the rules of the
house as if she had been clothed, and that with the greatest
joy. On that day they carried her into the house of a noble
man, for the officers of justice came for her. She Avept grieA--
ously as they Avere taking her aAvay, asking them A\-hy they
tormented her, and saying that they Avould gain nothing by
Avhat they Avere doing. Religious as Avell as others noAv talked
earnestly to her: some thought her conduct childish, and
others Avished her to retain her rank in the world. I should
become very tedious if I Avere to recount all the discussions
that took place, and hoAV she extricated herself out of them
all. They Avere amazed at the things she said. When they
saAA' that they could not influence her they took her to her
mother's house, there to be kept for a time. Her mother
Avas Aveary of so much trouble, and gave her no help Avhatever :
on the contrary, she seemed to be against her. It may be that
her mother Avas only trying her ; at least, she told me so af ter-
Avards, and she is so saintly that Avhatever she says is to be
belieA-ed. However, .the child did not so understand her. Her
confessor also Avas extremely opposed to her, so that she had
no help but in God, and in a young woman in her mother's
service who consoled her.
7. Thus she lived in great Aveariness and distress till
she was tAveh'e years old: then she found it was proposed,
now that they could not hinder her profession, to make her
enter the monastery in which her sister Avas, because it av:.s
not so severe. She, when she saAv this, determined to fin!
some means or other for carrying out her resolution, and ac-

472 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XI.
cordingly one day, going with her mother to mass, while
the latter Avent into the confessional in the church, she asked
her governess to go and request one of the fathers to say
mass for her. When she saAv her gone, she put her clogs in
her sleeves, and taking up her dress, ran in all haste towards
this monastery, Avhich Avas a good Avay off. The governess,
not finding her in the church, rushed after her, and as she
Avas draAving near to her asked a man to stop her. The
man said afterAvards that he found himself unable to stir, and
so let her go. Casilda, having entered by the outer door of the
monastery, shut it, and began to call out; Avhen the governess
arrhed she Avas already within the monastery, and the nuns
gave her the habit at once. Thus the good beginning, the
AA'ork of our Lord in her, Avas brought to a good ending.
8. His Majesty began to reward her immediately with
spiritual graces, and she to serve Him Avith the greatest joy.
in the deepest humility, and detachment from all things.
May He be blessed for ever who thus made her, Avho had been
once so fond of most rich and costly garments, take pleasure
in the poor robe of serge! It could not, hoAvever, hide her
beauty, for our Lord had given to her natural as Avell as
spiritual graces; in her manners and her understanding she
Avas so Avinning that she moA-ed everybody to give God thanks
for them. May His Majesty grant that there be many Avho
thus ansAver to Flis call I1
* Dona Casilda made her profession as Casilda of the Conception,
J 3th January, 1577, at the age of fourteen, in virtue of a dispensation
of the pope, Gregory XIII. (note of De la Fuente on Lett. 139,
published by him for the first time). With all her Avealth, she Avent
poor to the monastery, for her family gave her no dowry, but paid
the monastery' for her food and lodging year by year. In the dis
tribution of the unsettled property of the family it seems that the
brother had so large a share — which went to the house of the Jesuits
in Valladolid, where he Avas then living — that the Carmelites received
nothing. There was some litigation, therefore, between the Jesuits
and the Carmelites, but without any gain to the latter (note of De la
Fuente to Lett. 126 published hitherto as fragment 64, vol. iv. ed.
Doblado). Dona Casilda left the monastery in September, 1581, at the
instigation of a confessor, and became a nun in the Franciscan house
in Burgos, of Avhich she was abbess in 1610, and where she died —
sorry, howe\-er, that she had ever left the hou?e of Carmel (Fr. Anton.
de San Joseph, note on Lett. 105, but Lett. 20 A-ol. ii. ed. Doblado). In
the r°l of the professions sent from Valladolid to the chapter held
in ' 'cn'n. 1581, is the following entry: — "Sifter Casilda of the Co«-

CH. XII.] EEATRIZ ONEZ. 473
CHAPTER XII.
LIFE AND DEATH OF BEATRIZ OF THE INCARNATION.
1. We had a nun in this monastery Avhose name AA-as
Beatriz Oriez,1 and Avho Avas in some Avay related to Doha
Casilda. She came some years before her, and her spirit
filled all Avith amazement, seeing AA'hat great things our Lord
Avas working in her. The nuns and the prioress declare that
they never saw in her, during her Avhole life here, anything
whatever that might be regarded as an imperfection ; they
neA-er saw her change countenance, but ahvays cheerful and
modest — a certain sign of the imvard gladness of her heart.
There was no gloom in her silence, for, though a very great
observer of silence, she Avas so in such a Avay that nobody
could call it singular. She was never heard to utter a Avord
with which fault could be found,2 nor knoAvn to have pre
ferred her OAvn opinion. She neA-er made an excuse for her
self, though the prioress, in order to try her, Avould find
fault Avith her for things she had not done, as is the custom in
these houses by way of mortification. She never complained
of anything, never of any of her sisters ; neA-er by Avord or look
did she hurt the feelings of anybody in all the duties she had
to do, nor did she ever give anybody reason to think that there
Avas any imperfection in her, nor AA_as it possible to accuse her
in chapter of any shortcomings, notwithstanding the A-ery
trifling nature of the faults which the correctors of faults there
say they have observed. Fler outAvard and imvard tranquility
in all circumstances was marvellous: it had its source in her
ever thinking of eternity, and of the end for which God has
made us. The praise of Gcd AA-as eAer in her mouth,3 and she
Avas always making thanksgh-ings ; in a Avord, she was ahvays
in prayer. 2. As to obedience she never failed in that, but did Avhat-
ception has been a professed nun these four years in this house; she
was torn in Valladolid. Her name was Casilda Juliana, and she made
her profession on the feast of the Baptism of Christ, in the year '77"
(De la Fuente, a-o1. ii. p. 365).
1 Dona Beatriz Ofiez was a native of Arroyo, near Santa Gadcn
(note of Fra Antonio on Lett. 42, but Lett 59, vol. iii. ed. Doblnd • '..
2 Judith, viii. 28. 3 Ps. xxxiii. 2.

4/4 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XII.
ever she was commanded to do readily, perfectly, and with
joy. Her love of her neighbour was very great, for she used
to say that she would resign herself to be cut into a thousand
pieces for any one, on the condition that he did not lose his
soul, and came to the fruition of her brother Jesus Christ:
for so she Avas wont to speak of our Lord. Fler sufferings —
they Avere very grievous — caused by fearful sickness, of Avhich
I shall speak later on, and her most distressing pains, she
bore most Avillingly and joyously, as if they were great conso
lations and delights. Our Lord must have filled her soul
Avith joy, for in no other way Avas it possible, so great Avas
the joy Avith which she bore them.
3. It happened that certain persons, for great offences,
were to be burnt in the city of Valladolid. She must have
knoAvn that they Avere about to die not so well prepared as they
should have been, Avhich caused her the most painful distress;
so she went in great trouble to our Lord, and begged of Him
most earnestly the salvation of those souls, and offered in
return to suffer all her life long every pain and torment she
could bear, either in exchange for that Avhich they had de
served or for the securing their salvation, for I do not remem
ber distinctly the Avords she used. That A-ery night her first
attack of fever came on, and she was always afterwards in
pain till she died. The criminals made a good death, Avhich
seems to sIioav that God heard her prayer.
4. Then an abscess formed, Avhich caused the most
frightful suffering, and required for its endurance all the
courage Avith Avhich our Lord had filled her soul. It Avas an
inward abscess, and the medicines Avhich they gave her did
her no good, till, in the good pleasure of our Lord, it opened
of itself and discharged the matter gathered Avithin it; this
brought her some relief from pain. In her eagerness to
suffer she was not satisfied Avith a little, and accordingly, on
the feast of the Holy Cross, Avhile hearing a sermon, this desire
to suffer so greAv upon her that, the sermon over, she threw
herself, Aveeping abundantly, on her bed; and on being asked
Avhat so distressed her, begged her sisters to pray to God to
send her much suffering, and she would then be happy.
5. To the prioress she spoke of all her interior life, and
that Avas a consolation to her. Throughout her whole illness
she never gave any one the least trouble in the world, nor
did .-'!-e at any time do anything but according to the will of

CH. XII.] BEATRIZ ONEZ. 475
the infirmarian, even to the drinking a drop of Avater. It is
very common for souls given to prayer to Avish for sufferings
when they have none, but it is not common for many, Avhen
they have them, to bear them and be glad. She Avas so worn
by her illness and by the excessive pain that she did not
last long; and there was also an abscess in the throat, so that
she could not SAvalloAv. Some of the sisters were standing
around her when she said to the prioress, Avho, as it Avas her
duty, Avas comforting her and encouraging her to bear so
much suffering, that she had no pain, and that she Avould
not change places Avith any of her sisters Avho Avere strongest
in health. She kept her eyes so fixed on our Lord, for whom
she Avas suffering, that she kept her secret to herself as much
as she could, in order that those Avho Avere about her might
not see how much she had to bear; and so, unless Avhen the
pain Avas sharp, she hardly complained at all. She thought
there Avas nobody in the world so Avorthless as herself, and
accordingly, so far as Ave could see, her humility Avas great.
6. She had a very great pleasure in speaking of the good
ness of other people; in mortifying herself she was A'ery
severe; in Avithdrawing from everything that could giA_e her
any satisfaction she used so much art that nobody could
have observed it AA-ho did not watch her Avith great attention.
She seemed as if she neither lived with nor cotiA-ersed with
creatures, so lightly did she regard them; for, whatever hap
pened, slie bore it all Avith a calmness that nobody ever ssav
disturbed. So much so, that one of the sisters told her she
resembled certain persons whom the Avorld thinks honourable,
Avho, if they Avere dying of hunger, Avould rather do so than
that anybody should know it, for the sisters could not believe
that she did not feel certain things, though she never shoAved
any signs of doing so.
7. Whatever Avork she had to do or duties to discharge,
all Avas done for one end, so that she lost the merit of none;
and so she used to say to the sisters, "The most trifling thing
we do, if Ave do it for the love of God, is beyond all price;
we ought not to turn our eyes in any direction but for that,
and to please Him." As she never meddled with anything
that was not part of her Avork, so she saAv nothing amiss in
anybody, but only in herself. It distressed her so much if
anybody spoke well of her that she Avas careful never to praise
anybody Avho Avas present, to avoid giving them pain.

476 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XII.
8. She never sought her OAvn ease, either by going into
the garden or in any created thing, for it would have been
a rudeness, as she used to say, to seek relief from the pains
which our Lord sent her; so she never asked for anything,
but Avas always satisfied Avith Avhatever Avas given her. She
used to say, also, that it Avould have been a cross rather to her
to take comfort in anything but God. The fact is, I sought
for information about her from those in the house, and there
Avas not one who had ever observed anything in her that
did not savour of a soul of high perfection.
9. When the time Avas come Avhen our Lord was pleased
to take her out of this life her sufferings grew, and she
laboured under so man}' diseases at once that the mere sight
of her contentment under them dreAv the nuns often to visit
her, because it made them praise our Lord. In particular
the chaplain, aa"1io AA-as the confessor of the monastery and a
very great servant of God, had a great Avish to be present at
her death; he, having been her confessor, looked upon her as a
saint. God Avas pleased to grant him his desire, for, as she
was in the full possession of her understanding, having already
received the last anointing, they sent for him to absolve her
and help her to die, if his services should be needed that
night. A little before nine o'clock, when all the sisters were
with her, and he himself also, all her sufferings ceased,- about
a quarter of an hour before she died.
10. She then in great peace lifted up her eyes ; there Avas
a joyous expression in her face, Avhich seemed to shine, while
she herself Avas as if gazing at something that filled her Avith
gladness, for she smiled tAvice. All the sisters around her and
the priest himself, so great Avas the spiritual joy and delight
they then felt, could only say that they thought themselves
in heaven. In that joy I am speaking of, with her eyes
directed to heaA-en, she dreAv her last breath, looking like an
angel; for Ave may believe, because of our faith and her life,
that God took her into His rest in recompense of her earnest
desires to suffer for His sake.1
1 Beatriz of the Incarnation — that was her name in religion — made
her profession in Valladolid September 17, 1570, and in less than three
years finished her course, dying May 5, 1573 (Reforma de los
Descalqos, lib. iii. ch. xix. § 9). But Fra Antonio of S. Joseph, in his
notes on Lett. 42 (but Lett. 59, vol. iii. ed. Doblado), says the chroni
cler is in error, and that she died in 1574.

CH. XIII.] DURUELO. 477
11. The chaplain declares, and he has said so to many,
that at the moment her body Avas laid in the tomb he per
ceived a most poAverful and most sweet smell arising from it.
The sacristan sister also declares that not one of the candles
that Avere burning during the funeral rites and the burial
suffered the least diminution of the Avax. All this Ave may
believe of the mercy of God. I spoke of it to a confessor of
hers, of the Society of Jesus, to whom she had for many
years gone to confession, and Avho had the care of her soul,
and he told me that there Avas nothing singular in it, and
that it did not surprise him, for he kneAV that our Lord con-
A-ersed much with her. May it please Flis Majesty, my chil
dren, to enable us to learn how to profit by a companionship
good as hers Avas, and that of many others Avhom our Lord
gives us in these houses ! Perhaps I may say something about
them, in order that they Avho are a little lukeAvarm may do
violence to themselves and imitate them, and that all of us
may praise our Lord, who thus makes His greatness shine
forth in a feAV poor weak women.

CHAPTER XIII.
THE FOUNDATION OF THE FIRST HOUSE OF THE FRIARS UNDER
THE PRIMITIA'E RULE, A. D. 1567.
1. I had already, before setting out for this foundation
in Valladolid, arranged with the father Fra Antonio of Jesus,
then prior of S. Anne, in Medina, of the order of Carmel, and
with Fra John of the Cross, as I said before,1 that they were
to be the first to enter, if Ave could found a monastery for the
observance of the primitive rule of the barefooted friars. But,
as I had not the means of supplying a house for the purpose,
I constantly recommended the matter to our Lord, for, as I
said before, I Avas satisfied with these fathers. It Avas noAv
a year since I had spoken to father Antonio, during which our
Lord had proA-ed him by many trials, Avhich he had under
gone Avith great perfection. There was no need to try father
John of the Cross, for, though he was living among the fathers
of the mitigated rule, he always led a perfect and religious
life. 1 See ch. iii. §§ 15, 16.

478 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XIII.
2. Our Lord, Avho had given me that Avhich Avas essential,
namely, friars to begin the Avork, Avas pleased to give every
thing else. A nobleman of Avila, Don Rafael,1 to whom I
had never spoken, found out — I do not remember Iioav — that
I Avished to have a monastery of barefooted friars, and came
to me to offer as a gift a house that he had, in a small hamlet
thinly peopled. I think it had tAA-enty inhabitants— I do not
noAv remember; and the house was kept for the use of his
bailiff, Avho receh-ed his corn-rents there. I kneAV what sort
of a place it must be, but I gaA-e praise to our Lord, and to
him thanks. Fle told me it was on the road to Medina del
Campo, whither I was going on my way to the foundation
of Valladolid; it was right on my road, and I might see it.
I told him I should do so, and I did so; for I left Avila in
June, with one of the nuns for my companion,2 and the father
Julian of Avila, chaplain of S. Joseph's, AA-ila, the priest
Avhom I have spoken of as the one who helped me in my
travels.8 3. ,We set out early in the morning, but as Ave did not
knoAv the road Ave missed it, and the place being but little
knoAvn Ave could not hear much about it. We spent the
Avhole day in great toil, for the sun Avas A-ery strong: Avhen
Ave thought Ave Avere near the place AA-e had to go as far
again. I shall always remember that Avearisome and Avinding
road. We reached the house a little before nightfall, and the
state it AA-as in Avhen Ave entered Avas such that we could not
venture to pass the night there, because of the exceeding
absence of cleanliness, and of the croAvd of harvest men. It
had a fair porch, tAvo rooms, one beyond the other, and a
garret, Avith a small kitchen. This AA-as all the building that
Avas to be our monastery. I thought that the porch might
be made into a church, the garret into a choir, Avhich would
do Avell, and the friars could sleep in the room. The nun who
Avas with me, though much better than I am and very much
giA'en to penance, could not bear that I should think of having
a monastery there, and said to me, "Certainly, mother, there
1 Don Rafael Megia Velasquez. The offer was made in June,
1568, in Avila, whither the Saint had returned after founding the
monastery of Malagon (Reforma de los Descalros, lib. ii. ch. xiv. § 2).
* Antonio of the Holy Ghost (Reforma de los Descalcos, lib. ii.
ch. xiv. § 3).
* See ch. iii. § 2.

o

CH. XIII.] DURUELO. 479
is nobody, hoAvever great his spirituality, Avho can bear this;
do not speak of it,"
4. The father Avho Avas travelling Avith me, though of
the same mind Avith my companion the nun, did not oppose
me Avhen I told him of my purpose. We went and spent the
night in the church, but, on account of the great fatigue Ave
had undergone, we would not pass it Avatching. When we
reached Medina I spoke at once to the father Fra Antonio,
and told him Avhat had happened, and that if he had the
courage to remain there for a time he might be certain that
God would soon help him, and that to begin was everything.
I think I saw then Avhat our Lord has done, and as clearly,
so to speak, as I see it now, and even more than I see at
present; for at this moment when I am writing this, by the
goodness of God, ten monasteries of the barefooted friars
have been built. I told him, too, he might depend on it that
neither the late nor the present provincial (for, as I said in
the beginning, their consent must be had1) would ever give
us leave if we Avere seen living in a large house ; besides, there
Avas no help for it, and if they were settled in that little
hamlet and house neither the one nor the other would take any
thought about them. God had given him a courage greater
than mine, and so he ansAvered that he would live not only
there but even in a pigstye.
5. Fra John of the Cross Avas of the same mind. Now,
it remained for us to obtain the consent of the tAvo fathers
I have just spoken of,2 for it Avas on that condition our
father-general had given us permission. I trusted in our Lord
we should obtain it, and therefore told the father Fra Antonio
to do everything he could in making some provision for the
house, and set out myself with Fra John of the Cross for
the foundation of Valladolid, already described. And as we
tarried there some days without enclosure, in the midst of
workmen repairing the house, Fra John of the Cross had the
means of learning our way of life, so that he might clearly
understand everything, both the mortifications we practise and
the sisterly affection with which Ave treat one another, and
how we all come to recreation together, which is so modestly
carried on that it helps us to discover the shortcomings of
the sisters, and is some slight comfort to ourselves, enabling
1 See ch. ii. § 5.
1 The two provincials. See below, § 6.

480 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [('H. XIII.
us to endure the severity of the rule. He Avas so good that I,
at least, might have learned much more from him than he from
me. But I did not do so. I only showed him the way in Avhich
the sisters live.
6. It pleased God that the provincial of our order, Fra
Alonzo Gonzalez,1 Avhose consent I Avas obliged to obtain,
should be there at the time. He Avas an old man, very kind,
and without guile. I said so much to him, and of the account
he would have to give to God if he hindered so good a Avork,
Avhen I asked him his consent, that he Avas greatly softened,
His Majesty also disposing him thereto; for He Avould have
the monastery founded. Doha Maria de Mendoza arrived,
and her brother, the bishop of Avila, Avho has ahvays helped
and defended us, and they obtained his consent at last, with
that of the late provincial, Fra Angel de Salazar,2 from Avhom
I feared every difficulty. But some great and pressing matter
occurred at the time, for which the help of that lady, Doha
Maria de Mendoza, Avas needed, and that I believe helped us
much. But, putting this aside even if that necessity had not
arisen our Lord would have put it into his heart to consent, as
He did into that of the father-general, Avho Avas very far
trom such a thought.
7. O my God! Avhat things I have seen in these founda
tions that seemed impossible, and hoAV easily His Majesty
overcame the difficulties ! What confusion of face is mine,
seeing what I have seen, that I am not better than I am ! for
now, Avhen I consider it as I am Avriting, I find myself wonder
ing, and desiring that our Lord would make all people under
stand that what we creatures did in these foundations is as
nothing. Our Lord directed all from beginnings so mean that
only His Majesty could have raised them to the state they
are in now. May He be blessed for ever.
1 The general, by letters dated Valencia, August 14, 1567, author
ised the provincial and the prior of Avila jointly to accept two houses
of friars, in Avhich the primitive rule was to be observed (Reforma,
lib. ii. ch. iv. § 2).
* He was at this rime prior of the Carmelite monastery in Avila.

CH. XIV.] DURUEL0. 481

CHAPTER XIV.
FOUNDATION OF THE MONASTERY OF THE BAREFOOTED FRIARS IN
DURUELO  THE LABOURS OF THE FRIARS THERE.
1. When I had obtained the consent of the two pro
vincials I thought I Avanted nothing more. We arranged that
the father Fra John of the Cross should go to the house and
furnish it, so that somehoAv or other it might be gone into.
I made all the haste I could to begin, because I Avas very
much afraid that some hindrance might arise. And so it
was done.1
2. The father Fra Antonio had already provided some
necessary things, Ave helping him as much as we could, but
it Avas not much. He came here to Valladolid to speak to
me in great joy, and told me Avhat he had got together. It
Avas little enough: he had provided only hour-glasses, of
which he had five, and that amused me much. He said he was
not going Avithout provision for keeping regular hours. I
believe he had not even wherewithal to sleep on. There was
a little delay in getting the house into order, because there
was no money, though they had wished to do much. When
all was done, the father Fra Antonio resigned the priorate,2
and promised to observe the primitive rule, for, though I
asked him to try it first, he would not. He went to the little
house with the greatest joy in the world, Fra John being
there already.
3. The father Fra Antonio has told me that when he came
in sight of the little hamlet he felt an exceedingly great
imvard joy; that he thought he had noAv done for ever with
1 S. John of the Cross left Valladolid, having received the new
habit of the reform from S. Teresa, but which was not to be worn till
he reached Duruelo. His superiors gave him leave to renounce the
mitigated, and to practice the severities ot the primitive, rule. He
arrived at the new house in Duruelo at the end of September, 1568,
and, having spent the night in prayer, placed the habit on the altar
and blessed it, and when he had said mass put it on, the first friar
of the reform of S. Teresa (Life of S. John of the Cross, by Jerome
of S. Joseph).
2Fra Antonio was prior of S. Anne, in Medina del Campo, a house
of the mitigated observance. At this time the Carmelite fathers seem
not to have fully understood what the reform of S. Teresa meant.

482 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XIV.
the world, abandoning all things, and throAving himself into
that desert. Neither of them thought the house in any way
bad: so far from it, they looked, on themselves as settled in
great comfort. O my God, how little these buildings and
outward satisfactions furnish for the inner man ! I beg of
you, for the love of Him, my sisters and fathers, never to be
otherwise than most moderate in the matter of large and
sumptuous buildings: let us remember our true founders, those
holy fathers from Avhom Ave are sprung, for Ave knoAv it Avas by
the way of poverty and humility that they attained to the
\-ision of God.
4. Truly I have seen greater spirituality and also greater
inward joy Avhere bodily conveniences seemed to be Avanting
than I have seen later on Avhere the house Avas large and the
comforts many. If the house be large, what good does that
bring to us?1 We are to live only in one cell, and if that be
very spacious and Avell made what is it to us ? Nothing, for it
is not our business to be looking at the walls. If we consider
this is not the house Avhich is to last for eA'er, but only for
so short a time as life is, however long that may be, every
thing Avill be sweet to us Avhen we see that the less Ave possess
on earth the more we shall have in eternity, Avhere the
dAvellings answer to that loAre whereAvith Ave haA-e imitated
the life of our good Jesus. If Ave say, as Ave do, that these are
the beginnings of a restoration of the rule of the Virgin
Mother, our Lady and Protectress, let us not do so much
wrong to her, or to our holy fathers Avho have gone before
us, as to fail to make our lives consistent with them ; and if
by reason of our Aveakness, Ave cannot do so in all things, we
should be very cautious about those things which neither
injure nor sustain life; for, after all, it is only a little pleasant
labour, as those two fathers found it, and if Ave make up our
minds to bear it all the difficulty is past, for the Avhole pain is
but a little in the beginning.
5. On the first or second Sunday in Advent of the year
1568 — I do not remember Avhich of the two Sundays it was2
1 See Way of Perfection, ch. ii. § 8; and Visit, of Nunneries, § xiii.
* It was Sunday, November 28, 1568, and therefore the first Sunday
in Advent. S. John of the Cross had been saying mass for two months
there, but as he was alone it could not be said of the house that
it was a monastery, and therefore until this time the mass was not
said in it as in a monastery. Fra Antonio had not arrived alone, and

CH.

XIV.] DURUELO. 483

— the first mass Avas said in that little porch of Bethlehem;
I do not think it was any better. In the following Lent I
passed by on my Avay to Toledo for the foundation there.
I arrived one morning; Fra Antonio of Jesus Avas sweeping
the door of the church with a joyful countenance, which he
ever preserves.1 I said to him, '"What is this, father? — Avhat
has become of your dignity?" He replied in these words,
shoAving the great joy he Avas in: "I execrate the time Avherein
I had any." As I Avent into the church I Avas amazed to see
the spirit which our Lord had inspired there; and I Avas not
the only one, for tAvo merchants, friends of mine, who had
come with me from Medina, did nothing but cry, there Avere
so many crosses, so many skulls !
6. I can never forget one little cross of Avood by the holy
water, to which a picture of Christ on paper was fastened ;
it semed to cause more devotion than if it had been made of
some material most admirably fashioned. The choir was the
garret, which Avas lofty in the centre, so that they could say
the office in it, but they had to stoop very Ioav to enter it and
hear mass. In the tAvo corners of it next the church they
had tAvo little hermitages filled Avith hay, for the place was
very cold, in AA-hich they must either lie down or sit; the roof
almost touched their heads. There were tAvo little openings
into the church, and tAvo stones for pillows; there were also
crosses and skulls. I understood that Avhen matins Avere over
they did not go back to their cells till prime, but remained
here in prayer, in Avhich they were so absorbed that they
went and said prime when the time came, having their habits
covered Avith snow, but they did not know it. They said the
office with another father of the mitigated rule, who came to
stay with them, though he did not change his habit, because
the monastery was thereupon formed. After the mass, in conformity
with the custom of S. Teresa, the fathers changed their names: Fra
Antonio de Heredia became Fra Antonio of Jesus; and Fra John
of S. Mathias, Fra John of the Cross; and Fra Joseph, who arrived
with Fra Antonio, became Fra Joseph of Christ. Soon after the
provincial arrived, made Fra Antonio prior, Fra John of the Cross sub-
prior, and Fra Joseph porter and sacristan (Reforma de los Descalcos.
lib. ii. ch. xx.).
' Fra Antonio was upwards of sixty years of age at this time
(Reforma de los Descalcos, lib. ii. ch. xx. § 1).

4S4 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CII. XIV.
he Avas very infirm, and with another young friar,1 not in
orders, Avho also Avas staying Avith them.
7. They used to go out to preach in many places around
where the people needed instruction, and that also made me
glad that the house Avas established there, for I Avas told that
there was no monastery near, nor the means of supporting
one, Avhich was a great pity. They gained so good a name in
so short a time as to give me the very greatest pleasure Avhen
I heard of it. They went, as I am saying, a league and a half
and two leagues barefooted to preach — for at that time they
Avore no sandals, which they Avere afterwards ordered to wear
— and that in the cold, when the snow was deep, and when
they had preached and heard confessions came home very
late to their meal in the monastery: all this was as nothing
because ef their joy. Of food they had enough, for the people
of the neighbourhood around furnished them with more than
they had need of, and some noblemen who lived near came to
confession, and offered them better houses and sites. One
of these Avas Don Luis, lord of the Five ToAvns.
8. This nobleman had built a church wherein to put a
picture of our Lady, which Avas certainly most Avorthy of
veneration. Flis father had sent it by a merchant from
Flanders to his grandmother or mother, I forget Avhich. He
was so fond of it that he kept it by him for many years, and
afterwards when he Avas dying, sent for it It is a large
picture, and in all my life I have never seen a finer one;
others also have said as much. The father Fra Antonio of
Jesus, having gone to that place at the request of the noble
man2 and seen the picture, Avas so struck by it, and justly so,
that he consented to remove the monastery thither. The
name of the place was Mancera. Though there was no well
there, nor any means apparently of having one, the nobleman
built them a small monastery in keeping with their pro-
' This was Fra Joseph of Christ, mentioned in a foregoing note
(Reforma, lib. ii. ch. xxi. § 5).
' Don Luis of Toledo was a near relative of the dukes of Alva,
and the picture is spoken of by Fra Francis de Santa Maria as being
one he had never seen surpassed in Italy or Spain. It represented
our Lady with our Lord an infant in her arms, attended by two
angels (Reforma de los Descalcos, lib. ii. ch. xxxix. § 3),

CH. XIV.] DURUELO. 485
fession, and gave them the sacred A-estments. He was most
generous to them.1
9. I do not like to leave unsaid hoAV our Lord supplied
them Avith Avater; it Avas considered miraculous. One day
after supper Fra Antonio, the prior, Avas in the cloisters Avith
the friars speaking of the distress they Avere in for water;
the prior rose up and took his stick, Avhich he used to carry
in his hands, and in one part of it made the sign of the cross,
as I think, but 1 do not distinctly remember if he made a
cross; be that as it may, he pointed out Avith his stick and
said, "Now dig here." They had dug but A'ery little AA'hen the
water rushed in such abundance that it is difficult to drain it
off eA-en Avhen the well has to be cleared, and it is very good
for drinking; they have used it for every purpose of the
house, and, as I said, it never fails.2 AfterAvards they enclosed
a garden, and tried to find Avater in it, and having made a
machine for draAving it, and that at great cost, even to this
day they have not been able to find any, hoAvever scantily/

. 3

1 The translation was made Avith great solemnity on the feast of S.
Barnabas, June 11, 1570. Fra Antonio, Avho had been preaching at
Mancera in Lent, had also worked as a labourer in the building of the
monastery, and when it was iinished begged the provincial of the
order to honour the translation with his presence. Fra Alonzo Gonza
lez not only came himself, but took others with him, and brought
the barefooted friars in procession from Duruelo to Mancera, and
then sang the first mass in the new monastery. Don Luis, the bene
factor, had his reward, foi his daughter, Doria Isabel de Leiva, became
a nun, and Avas professed in the Carmelite house in Salamanca in
15SS; and his eldest son, Don Enrique, also received the habit of
Carmel in Salamanca, as Fra Luis of Jesus, and died holily in Segovia
in 1598 (Reforma de los Descalgos, lib. ii. ch. xxxix. §§ 4, 5).
1 So abundant was the stream of water that it overflowed the
cloisters, and it was feared it might injure the foundations, which
were not strong. Fra Antonio thereupon cried out, We ask for
water. Lord, but not so much The water ceased to flow and re
mained in the well, but always within reach (Reforma de los Descalcos,
lib. ii. ch xli. § 1).
' The health of the fathers failed them in Mancera, and the bishop
of Avila, Don Lorenzo de Otayud, who had a great veneration for
the order, begged them to remove to Avila. He supplied all that
was necessary, as the founder ofthe new house; and thus the first
monasteries of nuns and friars of the Reform of S. Teresa were both
in AA-ila (Yepez, lib. ii. ch. xx.).

4S6 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XIV.
10. Then, Avhen I saw the little house,1 Avhich just before
it Avas not possible to stay in, filled with such a spirit that,
look where I Avould, I found matter of edification, and Avhen
I heard of their Avay of life, of their mortification and prayer,
and of the good example they Avere giving (for I Avas A-isited
there by a nobleman and his wife whom I knew, who liA'ed in
the neighbourhood, and Avho could not speak enough of their
holiness, and of the good they were doing in the villages),
I could not give thanks enough to our Lord in my excessive
joy, for I thought I saAV a Avork begun for the great increase
of the order and the service of our Lord. May it please Flis
Majesty to carry it on as it is going on noAv, and then what
I thought Avill become really true ! The merchants Avho had
come Avith me said that they Avould not haA-e missed coming for
the Avhole Avorld. What a thing goodness is ! These men Avere
more pleased Avith the poverty they saw than Avith all the
Avealth they possessed, and their souls Avere satisfied and
consoled. 11. When the fathers and myself had discussed certain
matters in particular I asked them earnestly, as I am Aveak
and Avicked, not to be so severe with themselves in certain
penances which they carried very far. As it had cost me
many sighs and prayers to obtain from our Lord those Avho
Avould make a beginning, and as I saw how good the beginning
AA-as, I feared lest Satan might be seeking how to kill them
before my expectations could be realised. As I am imperfect
and of little faith, I did not consider that this Avas a Avork of
* The "little house'' in Duruelo, though thus abandoned, was never
forgotten in the order, and friars went from Mancera from time to
time on a pilgrimage to the place, which they regarded as the cradle of
the Reform. In 1585, Nov. 28, the anniversary of the foundation, the
monastery of Mancera went in procession thither, wearing no sandals,
with bare feet. The prior of Mancera, Fra Nicholas of S. Cyril, sang
the mass, which was the aurora mass of the Nativity, and Fra Vicente
de Christo preached a sermon on Genesis xl. 13: "/ zvill restore thee to
thj former place." The friars were intent only on celebrating the restor
ation of the order, but the words were prophetic in another sense, for
there grew up a great desire to establish a community in Duruelo, and
at last the order purchased the place from the heir of the original
donor, to whom it seems to have reverted on its abandonment by the
friars. The purchase was completed September 4, 1612, but it was not
till February, 1640, that the chapter of the order admitted the restored
foundation among the houses of Carmel (Reforma de los Descalqos,
lib. ii. chs. xl., xli.).

CH. XV.] TOLEDO. 487
God, and that His Majesty Avould have to carry it on. They,
hoAvever, haA'ing gifts I had not, made light of my advice to
give up their practices; and so I came aAvay in the greatest
consolation, though I did not praise God worthily for so
great a grace. May it please Flis Majesty of His goodness
that I may become worthy to render Flim some service for
the great debt I oAve Flim! Amen. For I saAV clearly that
this Avas a much greater grace on Flis part than was that
Avhich He gave me in founding the houses of nuns.

CHAPTER XV.
THE FOUNDATION OF THE MONASTERY OF S. JOSEPH IN
TOLEDO, 1568.
1. In the city of Toledo dwelt an honourable man, a
serA-ant of God, Avho was a merchant, Martin Ramirez by
name. Fle Avould never marry, but his life Avas that of a
very good Catholic, he being a man of great truthfulness
and honesty. He added to his wealth by lawful trade,
intending to do something Avith it that should be most pleasing
to our Lord. He fell into a sickness which was unto death.
2. A father of the Society of Jesus, Paul Hernandez, to
whom I used to go for confession when I Avas there making
arrangements for the foundation in Malagon,1 and Avho was
very desirous to see a monastery of out order built there,
when he heard of his illness Avent to speak to him, and showed
him that it Avould be a very great service rendered to our
Lord if he founded the monastery, that he could establish
in it the chaplains and chapelries, and that the solemnities
and other observances which he was resolved to institute in
one of the parishes of the city could be kept in the monastery.
He Avas now so ill that he saAv he had not time enough to
arrange the matter, so he left it all in the hands of his brother,
Alonzo Alvarez Ramirez; that done, God took him to Him
self. He did A'ery right, for Alonso Alvarez is a most discreet
man, fearing God, given to almsdeeds, and accessible to
reason ; of him, for I have had much to do with him, I can
say this as an eyeAvitness in all truth.
1 This Avas in the year 1568, and the Saint was in Toledo in the
beginning of that year.

488 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XV.
3. When Martin Ramirez died I was occupied in founding
the house in Valladolid, and there received letters from the
father Paul Hernandez and Alonzo Alvarez giving an account
of what had taken place: they said in their letters that if
I accepted the foundation I Avas to hasten thither; so I set
out shortly after the house was settled.1 Arriving in Toledo
on the eve of our Lady of the Incarnation, I Avent to the house
of Doha Luisa, the foundress of Malagon, and in which I
had been staying at other times. I was received Avith great
joy, for she has a great affection for me. I had taken Avith
me two nuns as my companions from St. Joseph's, Avila, great
servants of God; a room, as usual, Avas given us at once,
wherein we lived as if Ave were in a monastery. I began
fortlnvith to discuss the matter with Alonso Alvarez and
Diego Ortiz, a son-in-laAv of his, who, though a very good
man and a theologian, was much more Avedded to his own
opinion than Alonso Alvarez; he did not yield so readily
to reason. They began by insisting on many conditions which
I did not think right to grant.
4. We continued to discuss the arrangements, and were
looking for a house to let in order to take possession; none
could be found fitted for the purpose, though diligent search
Avas made, neither could I persuade the governor to give us his
permission, for at that time there was no archbishop,2 though
1 The Saint received the letters probably in the beginning of
December, 1568, for she signed powers of attorney on the 7th in
favour of Father Hernandez and the father rector of the society,
who were to do all things necessary on her behalf. Illness and the
severity of the winter, as well as the necessities of the new foundation,
kept the Saint in Valladolid, but on the 21st of February, 1569, she
set out on the journey, and on her way to A\i!a made the A'isit to
Duruelo mentioned in the last chapter. In the middle of March, ac
companied by the two nuns Isabel of S. Dominic and Isabel of S.
Paul, both professed, she departed for Toledo with their chaplain,
Gonzalo de Aranda, the priest whom the Saint spoke of in ch. xxxvi.
§ 18, of her Life (Reforma de los Descalcos, lib. ii. ch. xxiii. § 6).
1 The archbishop of Toledo was the celebrated Dominican Fra
Bartholomew Carranza, who, suspected of heresy, was in the prison
of the Holy Office in Valladolid since the year 1557 (De la Fuente).
Amat, in his Historica Ecclesiastica, vol. x. p. 256, ed.' Madrid, 1807,
says that Carranza took possession of his see ten months after the
death of cardinal Don Juan Martinez Siliceo, which took place in
May, 1557. In 1567 he was sent to Rome by orders of S. Pius V., and
was in prison there at the time of which S. Teresa is speaking. In

CH. XV.] TOLEDO.

489

the lady in Avhose house Ave Avere staying laboured much, and
also a nobleman, one of the canons of the church, Don Pedro
Manrique,1 son of the president of Castille, who Avas and is a
very great servant of God, for he is still living, and, though not
in good healih, entered the Society of Jesus a feAv years after
the foundation of this house. He Avas held in great respect
in the city, for he Avas a man of great sense and worth.
Nevertheless, I could not get permission, for when the gover
nor Avas a little softened the members of the council were
not.2 On the other hand, Alonso Alvarez and myself could
not agree, OAving to his son-in-laAv, to whom he gave Avay
too much ; at last we disagreed altogether.3
5. I did not knoAV Avhat to do, for I had come hither
for no purpose but this, and I saw it would cause much ob
servation if I Avent away Avithout making a foundation. Never
theless, the refusal of the permission distressed me more
than everything else, for I knew that, once in possession of
a house, our Lord would provide, as He has done in other
places; so I resolved to speak to the governor, and went to a
1576, having renounced all heresy and confessed the Catholic faith,
he was assigned a penance and absolved, and then sent to the Minerva,
where soon after he died in the midst of his brethren. A Commentary
on the Catechism, written by him, is to this day a prohibited book.
He came to England Avith Philip II., and became confessor to Queen
Mary, who, without his knowledge and against his will, obtained for
him the archbishopric of Toledo.
1 He was uncle of Don Antonio and Dona Casilda de Padilla, of
whom the Saint speaks in chs. x. and xi. De la Fuente, in his Life of
Baltasar Alvarez, says that he, unwilling to give up his freedom and
the things of this world, had resisted grace for some time, but finally
yielded when he saw his nephew so courageous in his abandonment
of all things.
' The council was originally a civil court, but as the archbishop
of Toledo was powerful in it, partly because of his dignity and partly
because of his great territorial possessions, in the end the council
became an ecclesiastical tribunal (De la Fuente). The governor at
this time was Den Gomez Tello Giron (Reforma de los Descalgos,
lib. ii. ch. xxiii. § 8). De Vepes calls him "the Licentiate" (lib. ii.
ch. xxii.). * When the treaty was broken off the Saint declared, now that
this little idol, money. h»s failed us. we shall make a better bargain
(Reforma, ut supra).

490 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XV.
church'near his house, and sent to beg him to have the good
ness to speak to me. It Avas noAv more than tAvo months
since we had begun to labour at this, and matters every day
Avere becoming worse. I told him when I saAv him that it
AA-as a hard thing there should be women desirous of living
in great austerity, perfection, and retirement, Avhile persons
who did nothing of the kind, but lived at their ease, Avished
to hinder the doing of those things Avhich are for the service of
our Lord.6. I said this to him, and much also besides, Avith a
certain firmness of purpose Avith Avhich our Lord inspired
me His heart AA'as so touched that he gave me permission
before I left him. I came aAvay very happy; I thought I had
everything Avhile I had nothing, for all the money I had may
have been three or four ducats; with these I bought two
pictures on canvass, because I had no picture whatever to
set on the altar, two straw mattresses, and a blanket. There
was no Avay of getting a house; Avith Alonso Alvarez I had
broken. A friend of mine, a merchant in the city, Alonso
de Avila, who never AA'ould marry, occupied only in good
works, visiting the prisoners and doing other good deeds, and
Avho had told me not to distress myself — he Avould find me
a house, fell ill. A Franciscan friar, Martin of the Cross, a
most holy man, had arrived some days before this; he re
mained some time, and when he went aAvay sent me a young
man, by name Andrada, Avhose confessions he heard; he Avas
not at all rich, but very poor, and him the friar had requested
to do Avhatever I told him. One day, when I AA-as in church
hearing mass, the young man came to speak to me and to
tell me Avhat the holy man had said to him: I Avas to rely
on his doing for me eA-erything that Avas in his poAver, though
he could help us only in his own person. I thanked him, and
it amused me and my companions to look at the help the
holy man had sent us, for the young man's appearance was
not that of a person Avith AA-hom the Carmelite nuns could
converse. 1 The Saint took with her the sister Isabel of S. Dominic
(Reforma, lib. ii. ch. xxiii. § 8). The governor gained by his oppose
tion, for the Saint, according to the depositions of Sister Mary of S.
Francis, in the information taken at Alba for the beatification, in
variably spoke well of him, and desired the nuns to make special
intercession for him (De la Fuente, vol. ii. p. 418).

CH. XV.] TOLEDO. 491
7. When I saw myself at last in possession of the licence,
and without anybody to help me, I kneAV not what to do, nor
to whom I should apply to find me a house. I recollected
the youth Avhom Fra Martin of the Cross had sent me, and
spoke of him to my companions. They laughed at me, and
told me to do nothing of the sort, for it would end in nothing
but in making our affair public. I would not listen to them,
because I Avas confident that, as he had been sent by the
servant of God, there was some mystery in it, and that he
Avould do something. So I sent for him, told him what Avas
going on as a great secret, and, charging him to keep it as
earnestly as I could, asked him to find a house for our purpose :
I Avould give security for the rent. The good Alonso de
Avila was to be my surety, who, as I said just noAv, had
fallen ill The young man thought it an easy thing to do,
and told me he Avould find me a house.
8. Early the next morning, when I was hearing mass
in the church of the Society of Jesus, he came and spoke to
me. He told me he had found a house, and that he had the
keys of it Avith him — that we might go and see it; and so Ave
did. It was so good that Ave remained in it nearly a year. Often
times when I think of this foundation the Avays of God amaze
me : for nearly three months — at least, it was more than t.avo,
I do not clearly remember — such Avealthy persons had been
going up and doAvn Toledo in search of a house, and, as if
there were no houses in the city, had been able to find none;
but this young man came, Avho was very poor, and our Lord
was pleased he should find one f ortlwith ;J then, Avhen the
monastery might haA-e been founded Avithout trouble, upon
our agreeing Avith Alonso Alvarez, He Avould not have it so,
but quite otherwise, in order that the foundation might be
laid in poverty and trouble.
9. Then, as Ave were satisfied with the house, I ordered
possession to be taken at once before anything could be done
to it, in order that there might be no hindrance. Soon after
Andrada came to tell me that the house Avould be left empty
that very day, and that we might send in our furniture.
1 Andrada is described as a pobre estudiante. After this his
worldly estate changed: he became wealthy, married well and honour
ably, and his descendants attribute their prosperity to the service
which he was able to render the Saint (Reforma de los Descalcos, lib.
ii. ch. xxiii. § 11).

492 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XV.
I told him there was little to send, for we had nothing but
t\A'0 straw mattresses and a blanket. He must have been
surprised. My companions Avere vexed at my saying it,
and asked me Iioav I could do it, for if he saw Ave AA'ere sO poor
he Avould not help us. I did not think of that, and he did
not think of it either, for He who had given him that good
will Avould continue it to him till he finished His work; and
so it Avas, for he set about arranging the house and bringing
in Avorkmen so earnestly that I do not think Ave were more
in earnest than he. We borroAved what is necessary for
saying mass, and at nightfall, with a Avorkman, went to take
possession, having with us a little bell, one of those rung
at the elevation, for Ave had no other, and. spent the whole
of that night in great fear, cleaning the house. The only
room for a church Avas one the entrance into which Avas from
another house adjoining, inhabited by some women, and which
also the mistress thereof had let to us.
10. And noAv, when we had everything ready and the
dawn at hand — we had not ventured to say anything to the
women, lest they should make our coming knoAvn — Ave began
to open, the door, which Avas to be in the Avail that divided the
tAvo houses, and which opened into a very small courtyard.
The women heard the noise, and rose in terror from their
beds ; we had a great deal of trouble in soothing them, and the
time was come for saying mass.1 Though they Avere violent
they did us no harm, and when they saAv that it Avas for our
Lord it made them quiet.2
11. I saAv afterwards how hastily Ave had acted, for then,
in the exaltation which comes from God, we saw no diffi
culties. When the owner of the house heard that it had been
made into a church there was trouble, for she was the wife
of one whose estate Avas entailed, and great Avas the noise
she made. When she saw that Ave would give a good price
for it if it suited us, our Lord was pleased she should be quiet.
Again, when the members of the council heard that the
'Fra Juan de la Madalena, prior of the Carmelites, said the mass.
Dona Luisa de la Cerda and her household Avere present, with others
drawn thither by the unwonted ringing of a bell. The Most Holy
was reserved, and formal possession was taken, it being the feast of
S. Boniface, May 14, 1569 (Reforma de los Descalcos, lib. ii. ch. xxiv.
§ D. * The Saint gave them a little money, and promised to find them
another house (Ribera, ii. 14).

CH. XV.] TOLEDO. 493
monastery Avas founded — they never Avould have given their
consent — they Avere very angry, and Avent to the house of
a dignitary of the Church, to Avhom I had made knoAvn our
plans as a secret, and told him what they Avere threatening
to do. As for the governor, he had occasion to take a journey
after he had granted the permission, and was not in the city;
so they Avent Avith their story to the dignitary I am speaking
of, astonished at such audacity that a poor woman should
found a monaster}- against their will. He made anSAver that
he kneAV nothing about it, and pacified them as Avell as he
could, telling them that the thing had been done in other
places, and that it could not have happened without sufficient
reasons. 12. Some days later — I do not knoAv Iioav many — they
sent us an order forbidding the celebration of mass till Ave
produced the licence under Avhich we Avere acting. I answered
most gently, and said I should do as they commanded me,
though I was not bound to obey them in the matter; and
begged Don Pedro Manrique, the nobleman I spoke of before,1
to go and talk to them, and show them our faculties. He
brought them over, especially as the thing Avas done; for if
it had not been so Ave should have had troubles.2
13. We Avere for some days Avith no other furniture
but the two straAv mattresses and the blanket.^ and on that
first day Ave had not eA-en a Avithered leaf to dress a pilchard
with, Avhen somebody, I knoAV not who he Avas, moved by
our Lord, laid a faggot in the church AvhereAvith we helped
ourselves. At night it was cold, and we felt it, though Ave
covered ourseh-es Avith the blankets and our cloaks of serge
Avhich Ave wear over all ; these Avere serviceable to us. It will
be thought impossible that Ave, Avho Avere staying in the house
of a lady3 whose affection for me was so great, should have
come in here in such great poverty. I do not know hoAV
it Avas, except that it Avas the will of God we should learn
by experience the blessing of this virtue. I did not ask her
for anything, for I hate to give trouble, and she perhaps never
thought of it, for I owe her more than she could give us.
1 § 4, above.
1 Her old friend the Dominican, Fra Vicente Barron, took up her
cause at the same time (Ribera, ii. ch. xiv.).
1 Dona Luisa de la Cerda.

4v4 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. f CH. XV.
14. To us1 it Avas a great blessing, for the inward comfort
and joy we then felt was such as to make me often ponder
on the treasures Avhich our Lord has laid up in virtues. The
poverty we AA'ere in seemed to me as the source of a sweet
contemplation, but it did not last long, for Alonso Alvarez
himself and others provided for us soon, and that in greater
abundance than Ave desired. Certain it is that my sadness
thereupon became so great that I could not but regard myself
as one once possessed of many gold trinkets of Avhich I Avas
robbed and left in poverty; I was in pain Avhen my poverty
was ended, and so were my sisters, and Avhen I saAV them
sorroAving I asked them what the matter Avas, and they
ansAvered, "What is the matter, mother? We do not seem
to be poor any longer."
15. From that time forth the desire of being A'ery poor
greAv Avithin me, and. I felt a strength to enable me to hold
in contempt the goods of this Avorld, seeing that in the absence
of them groAVS interior good, which, of a truth, brings Avith
it fulness and rest. During those days in Avhich I had to
treat of the foundation with Alonso Alvarez, many Avere the
people Avho thought I was doing wrong, and told me so, for
they looked on his family as neither great nor noble, though
A-ery good in its own place, as I said before, saying that I
should not Avant help in so important a city as Toledo. I
did not pay much attention to this, for, thanks be to God,
I have always prized goodness more than descent ; but so
much was said to the governor on the subject that he gave
his licence on condition that I made the foundation as in
other places.
16. I kneAV not what to do, for the monastery was
founded, and they2 came again to treat about it. However,
as the foundation was noAv made I compromised the matter
by giving them the chancel, but in the monastery itself they
were to have no rights, as it is at present A great personage
* The Saint sent for more nuns from Avila, and there came from
her old monastery of the Incarnation Doria Catalina Hiera, Dona
Juana Hiera, two sisters, Dona Antonia del Aguila, and Isabel Suarez;
of these, on account of the severity of the rule, or the great poverty
of the house, Dona Juana Hiera alone remained, who took the name
of Juana of the Holy Ghost. From Malagon came Anne of Jesus
and Isabel of S. Joseph (Reforma de los Descalcos. lib. ii. ch. xxiv. § 3).
* The family of Martin Ramirez, mentioned in § 1.

CH. XVI.] TOLEDO. 495
wished to have the chancel, and many were the opinions,
I not knoAving Avhat to do. It pleased our Lord to give me
light in the matter, and so He said to me once, "How useless
will birth and dignities be before the judgment seat of God!"
And He gave me a severe rebuke because I had listened to
those who spoke in this way, for these were not matters which
those who despised the world should think of.1
17. These and many other considerations made me
ashamed of myself; I resolved to conclude the arrangements
proposed by giving them the chancel, and I have never
repented of it, for Ave saAv clearly how scant were our means
for buying a house, and by their help Ave bought that in
which we are now living, and Avhich is one of the good houses
of Toledo, and cost 12,000 ducats; and, as so many masses
are said in it and festivals kept, it is a very great joy to the
nuns, and brings much joy to the people. If I had respected
the vain opinions of the Avorld, it would have been impossible,
so far as I can see, to find so many advantages, and it would
have been a Avrong done to him Avho did us the charity with-
so much good will.2

CHAPTER XVI.
OF CERTAIN THINGS THAT TOOK PLACE IN THE MONASTERY OF
TOLEDO, TO THE HONOUR AND GLORY OF GOD.
1. I HAA'E thought it Avell to say something of the way in
which certain nuns laboured in the service of our Lord, in
order that they Avho shall come after them may endeavour
to imitate these good beginnings. Before the house was
1 See Relation, iii. § 1.
J The house bought with the money of Alonso Ramirez was in the
ward of S. Nicholas, opposite the Mint, and was taken possession
of in 1570: but, as the charities founded by the family proved a trouble
and annoyance to the nuns, the monastery was removed to the house
of Alonso Franco, near the Misericordia, in 1594: that proved too
small for the nuns, and the prioress Beatriz of Jesus, niece of S.
Teresa, bought a house in the parish of S. Leocadia, near the Cambron
gate, and transferred thither the community in 1607, Avhere it ever
afterwards remained. The foundations of the Ramirez family con
tinued in their original site, and were known as the Oratory of S.
Joseph (De la Fuente).

496 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. £CH. XVI.
bought there came in a nun, Anne of the Mother of God,1
forty years of age, AA'ho had spent her whole life in the
service of God; and, though in her state and household there
Avas no Avant of comfort, for she lived alone and had property,
she chose rather the poverty and obedience Avhich the order
requires, and accordingly came to speak to me. Her health
Avas not strong, but Avhen 1 saw a soul so good and so deter
mined 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 AA-hile she had her
liberty. 2. What excited my devotion, and Avhy I speak of her
here is this : before she made her profession she resigned
all her possessions — she Avas A-ery rich — and gave them as an
alms to this house. I Avas distressed about this, and refused
my consent, telling her that perhaps she might repent of it
herself, or Ave might not admit her to her profession, and that
it Avas a dangerous thing to do, though, if it should so happen,
Ave should not send her aAvay without gh-ing back Avhat she
had given to us; but 1 wished to sIioav her the Avorst side of
the case fof two reasons ; firstly, that there might be no
occasion for temptation; and secondly, to try her spirit the
more. Her ansAver was, that if it should so happen she would
beg her bread for the love of God, and 1 could get no other
ansAver from her. She lived in the greatest happiness, and
her health was much better.
3. So mortified and obedient were the nuns that Avhile I
Avas there the prioress had to consider continually Avhat she
Avas saying, for the sisters did what she told them, though
she might be speaking Avithout reflection. One day, when
looking at a pond in the garden, the prioress said to them,
"What Avill happen if I tell her" — meaning a sister Avho was
standing close by — "to throw herself in?" She had no sooner
spoken thus than the sister was in the AA'ater, and so much
wetted that it Avas necessary to change, her habit. On another
1 Ana de la Palma Avas a Avealthy widow, and had been so for
twenty years, living a most holy life in her own house. She was
forty years old Avhen she entered the order, and made her profession
in Toledo, November 15, 1570, and died the death of the just in
Cuerva, November 2, 1610 (note of Fr. Antonio Lett. 193, but Lett.
25, vol. ii., ed. Doblado).

CH. XVI.] TOLEDO. 497
occasion — I Avas present myself — the nuns Avere going to
confession, and the one who was Avaiting for the other to
come out of the confessional Avent up to the prioress and
spoke to her; the prioress said, "Why, Avhat is this? Was that
a good Avay to recollect herself? Let her put her head in
the Avell, and there think of her sins." The sister understood
that she Avas to throw herself into the Avell, and made such
haste to do so that, if they had not quickly gone after her, she
Avould have thrown herself in, thinking she Avas doing the
greatest service in the world to God.
4. I could tell other things of the same kind, shoAving
their great mortification, so much so that it became neces
sary for learned men to explain to them Avherein obedience
consisted, and to lay some restraints upon them, for they
Avere doing strange things, and if it had not been for their good
intentions their demerits would have outAveighed 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 Avere not concerned in them,1 that I might
speak thereof to the honour of our Lord in Flis servants.
5. Wrhen I Avas there one of the sisters2 became sick
unto death. When she had received the Sacraments, and the
last anointing had been administered, her peace and joy Avere
so great that Ave felt we could ask her to recommend us to
God in heaven, and to the saints to Avhom Ave had a devotion,
as if she AA-ere in the other world. Shortly before she died
I Avent in to remain Avith 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 saAv our Lord standing in the middle
* A very devout young lady, Avhom Yepes knew, wished to become
a nun, and, Avith 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 Avent 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 earn
estness. "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 con
fession of her faults (Yepes, lib. ii. ch. 21).
' Sister Petronila of S. Andrew (Reforma de los Descalcos, lib. ii.
ch. xxvi. § 5). She was a native of Toledo, and made her profession
March 23, 1571 (De la Fuente, vol. ii., p. 364).

498 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XVI.
of the bed's head with his arms a little extended, as if pro
tecting her. Fle said to me that I might be certain He would
in the same Avay protect all the nuns Avho 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, Avhen she said to me,
"Oh, mother, Avhat great things I have to see!" and thus she
died as an angel.
6. I observed in some nuns who died afterwards a
certain peace and quiet Avhich was like a trance or the tran
quillity of prayer, Avith no signs of any temptation Avhatever.
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, AA-hose habit we wear.
Let us then, my daughters, strive to become true Carmelites,
for the day will soon be over ; and if we kneAV the distress that
comes upon men at this time, and the cunning and deceit
Avith Avhich Satan tempts them, Ave should make much of this
grace. 7. I am now reminded of one thing I should like to tell
you, for I kneAV the person, and indeed he was someAvhat of
kin to some of my kindred. He was a great gambler, and was
not Avithout some learning, by means of Avhich the devil began
to deceive him, making him believe that it Avas of no use what
ever to repent in the hour of death. He maintained this so
resolutely that they could not persuade him to make his con
fession; all reasoning with him was to no purpose, and all
the Avhile he Avas extremely sorry and penitent for his wicked
life. But he Avould say, Avhy should he confess, for he saw
that he was already damned? A Domincan friar, a learned
man and his confessor, did nothing but reason with him,
but Satan suggested answers so subtle that all was in vain.
8. He remained in this state for some days. His con
fessor did not know what to do, but he and others must have
prayed very earnestly to our Lord, for the sick man found
mercy. The disease being now A'ery 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, 1

CH. XVII.] PASTRANA. 499
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 Avhich they Avere to be Avitnesscs.
He made his confession most humbly, and received the sacra
ments with such devotion that, as far as we can judge accord
ing to our faith, he was saved. May it be the good pleasure
of our Lord, my sisters, that Ave may live as true daughters
of the Virgin, and keep our rule, that our Lord may shoAv
us the mercy Avhich He has promised us!

CHAPTER XVII.
THE TWO MONASTERIES OF PASTRANA, 1569.
1. In about a fortnight after the foundation of the house
in Toledo, when I had arranged the church, put up the grat
ings, and done Avhat was very troublesome to do — for, as I
said, Ave remained about a year in that house — and Avhen I
Avas Avorn out looking after the Avorkmen, and all was at last
finished, it Avas the eve of Pentecost.1 That very morning,
as Ave Avere at meals in the refectory, I felt a great joy in seeing
there was nothing more to do, and that on this feast I could
for some time taste of the SAveetness of our Lord; I could
scarcely eat, so great was the joy of my soul. I did not much
deserve this consolation, for they came to tell me Avhile I was
thus employed that a servant of the princess of Eboli, wife
of Ruy Gomez de Silva,2 was Avaiting. I went out, and learnt
1 Whitsunday in 1569 fell on May 29th.
1 Ruy Gomez de Silva, prince of Eboli, first duke of Pastrana,
treasurer of Spain and the Indies. His wife was Ana de Mendoza y
la Cerda, daughter of Diego Hurtado de Mendoza. He died in Madrid
July 29, 1573. Dona Catalina de Cardona in her desert saw him in a
vision at the moment, when he told her that for the great alms he
had given through her he was saved and in purgatory, but in torments
that none would believe. She was to get the prayers of the Carmelite
friars of our Lady of Succour, and have the masses said at once Avhich
his wife, the princess, was to ask. Dona Catalina, pitying her friend,
disciplined herself at once to blood, and the next day the vicar of
the monastery entering her cell saw the state it was in, and rebuked
her for her excessive penance. She told him the truth, and the vicar
marked the day and the hour to test it. On the third day came a mes-

500 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XVII.
that she had sent for me; it had been arranged betAveen us
some time before that I was to found a monastery in Pastrana.
I did not think it was to be so soon.
2. It gave me some pain, because there Avas great danger
in leaA'ing a monastery so neAvly founded, and to Avhich
opposition had been made. I thereiore determined at once
that I would not go, and said so. He replied that this Avas
inconvenient, for the princess was there already, having gone
thither for no other purpose; that it Avould be an affront to
her. Nevertheless, I Avas not minded to go, and told him so;
he might go and take some food ; I would write to the princess,
and he might depart. He Avas a A-ery honourable man, and,
though not at all pleased, yet Avhen I told him my reason
he Avas satisfied.
3. The nuns Avho had just arrived, and Avho Avere to
live in the monastery, did not see hoAV it Avas possible for
me to quit the house so soon. I Avent before the Most Holy
Sacrament to beg of our Lord that I might Avrite in such a
Avay as to give no offence, for Ave Avere in a Aery difficult
position, because of the friars Avho had then begun the reform,
and in every Avay it would be Avell for us to haA-e the good
graces of Ruy Gomez, Avhose influence over the king and all
people Avas so great. HoAvever, I do not remember Avhether
I thought of this, but I know Avell that I Avished not to offend
the princess. While I was in this perplexity our Lord said
to me that I Avas to go Avithout fail, that I Avas going for
something more than for that foundation, and that I Avas to
take with me the rule and constitutions.1 When I heard
this, though I had great reasons for not going, I durst not act
but according to my custom in like circumstances, Avhich is to
be guided by the advice of my confessor. I then sent for him ;
I did not tell him what I had heard in prayer, for I am
ahA'ays better satisfied so, but I implored our Lord to give my
confessors light according to the measure of that which they
naturally understand, and Flis Majesty puts it into their hearts
whenever He will have anything done.
senger from the princess announcing the death, and bringing alms to
the monastery of seventy ducats, beside the retribution for two hundred
masses. Within a few days Dona Catalina had another vision of the
prince, Avho thanked her for her serA'ice, and to'.d her of the incredible
relief it had brought to him (Reforma de los Descalcos, lib. iv. ch. xviii.
§5). ' See below, § 8.

CH. XVII.] PASTRANA. 501
4. This has often happened to me — so did it noAv, for my
confessor, having considered the Avhole matter, Avas of opinion
I ought to go, and thereupon I determined to go. I left
Toledo on the morroAV after Pentecost.1 Our road lay through
Madrid, and Ave went to lodge, my companions and I, in the
monastery of the Franciscans, Avith a lady Avho had founded
it, and Avho Avas living in it, Doha Leonor de Mascarefias,
formerly governess of the king, and a A'ery great servant of
our Lord. I had been lodged there on other occasions when
1 had to travel that way, and that lady eA-er showed me much
kindness.2 5. The lady told me she Avas glad I had come at that
time, for there Avas a hermit there Avho greatly desired to see
me, and that he and his companions, she thought, Avere living
in a Avay Aery like that prescribed by our rule. To me,
Avho had but two friars, came the thought that it Avould be
a great thing if by any means it Avere so, and so I asked her
to find an opportunity for us to speak together. He lodged
in a room Avhich the lady had given him, Avith another brother,
a young man by name Fra Juan de la Miseria,3 a great servant
1 On Monday, May 30th, in a carriage which the princess of Eboli
had sent for her. Isabel of S. Dominic Avas left prioress of S. Joseph's
in Toledo, and the Saint took with her Isabel of S. Paul, and Doiia
Antonio del Aguila, who had come from her old monastery of the
Incarnation, Avila (Reforma de los Descalcos, lib. ii. ch. xxvii. § 2).
3 See note (*) ch. iii. § 17.
3 Juan de la Misera, in the Avorld Giovanni de Narduch, Avas born
in the kingdom of Naples: in his youth he had been Avith Ambrogio
Mariano; after some years of separation they met again in the desert
of Tardon, near Seville, Avhere they renewed their friendship. They
entered the order of Mount Carmel together, Juan de la Miseria as
a lay brother (Reforma, lib. ii. ch. xxvii. § 8). Fra Jerome Gratian
of the Mother of God, in the third part of his Declamacion, says that
he ordered Fra Juan, Avhen painting the cloisters of the monastery
of the nuns in Seville, to paint a likeness of S. Teresa. Being then
the Superior of the Saint, he made her, for her greater mortification,
sit for her portrait. Juan was a poor painter, but in no other way
could a portrait of the Saint be had, for neither she nor I, says Fra
Jerome, would have allowed any other to make a likeness. De La
Fuente quotes this passage, and adds a note to the effect that the
portrait was ill done; and that the Saint, looking at it when finished,
said mirthfully, "Fra Juan, God forgive theel Avhat I have had to
suffer at thy hands and after all to paint me blear-eyed and ugly"
(vol. i. p. 574). In the troubles of the order, Avhen the Fathers of

oo

BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [dl. XVII.

of God, and most simple in the ways of the Avorld. Then,
when Ave Avere talking together, he told me that he Avished to
go to Rome. Before I go on further I should like to say Avhat
I knoAV of this father, by name Mariano of S. Benedict.1
6. Fle was an Italian by birth, a man of very great
abilities and skill, and a doctor. When, in the service of
the queen of Poland, entrusted with the ministry of her
household, having never any inclination to marry, but holding
a commandery in the order of S. John, he Avas called by
our Lord to give up all he possessed, that he might the better
labour for his OAvn salvation. He had afterAvards to undergo
some trouble, for the death of a certain person Avas laid to
his charge. Kept in prison for two years, he Avould not allow
a laAvyer or any other to defend him, but only God and His
the Mitigated Observance for a time brought the reform Avithin their
jurisdiction, Juan had to suffer, and in Rome consulted S. Philip,
who advised him to suffer and obey. (Note of Fra Antonio de San
Joseph, on Lett. 27, A'ol. 4, ed. Doblado, but Lett. 209 in the ed. of
De la Fuente.) Juan de la Miseria died in Madrid in the year 1616,
in great reputation for sanctity, being more than a hundred years
old (Reforma, lib. ii. ch. xxxvii. § 16).
1 On the margin of the MS. is written Mariano de Acaro (De la
Fuente). Ambrogio Mariano Acaro was born in Bitonto, in the king
dom of Naples, of noble parents. One of his companions at school,
where he was greatly distinguished, was Hugo Buoncompagno, Pope
in 1572, who always retained his affection for him. Mariano became
a doctor in canon and civil laAv, was sent to the council of Trent,
where his ability and Avisdom led to his employment in many difficult
affairs both in Germany and the Low Countries. Later on he entered
the order of S. John of Jerusalem. He came to Madrid, having under
his care the prince of Salmona, a boy of nine, and there his eyes were
opened to see the vanities of the world. In Cordova, Avhere he Avas
on business of state, he made the spiritual exercises under the direc
tion of the Jesuits, and was inclined to join the society, but could not
make up his mind to dp so, because the fathers never met in choir,
and mixed much in the world. One day, from the windoAV of his cell,
which opened into the church — it Avas during his retreat — he saw
the hermit Matthew enter, by whose venerable aspect he was attracted
and finally led into the desert of Tardon, in the year 1562, Avhere he
lived under obedience to that simple man, being himself not only
a brave soldier, but a learned doctor, and, the more to humble himself,
gained his bread by spinning. He was professed in Pastrana in 1570,
and died in Madrid in 1594, helped in his last hour by the presence
of the martyrs SS. Cosmas and Damian, to whom he had been very
devout during his life (Reforma de los Descalcos, lib. ii. ch. xxvii. and
xxviii. § 5).

CH. XVII. J PASTPANA. 503
justice. There Avere Avitnesses Avho said that he had asked
them to commit the murder. As it happened to the old
men Avho accused S. Susanna,1 so it did to these, for, each of
them being severally questioned Avhere he Avas at the time,
one said he was sitting on his bed, another that he Avas at the
windoAv ; at last they confessed that the accusation Avas a false
hood, lie told me that it cost him a great sum to set those
witnesses at liberty Avithout being punished, and that the \-ery
man Avho had caused him all that trouble fell into his hands,
that he had to proceed judicially against him, but that he had
stretched his poAver to the utmost not to do him any harm.
7. It must be for these and his other virtues — he was
a pure and chaste man, hating the conversation of women —
that he merited light from cur Lord to see Avhat the Avorld is,
that he might Avithdraw from it. Accordingly he began to
consider which order he should enter, and, testing now one,
noAv another, he must have found something in all, as he
told me, unsuited for himself. Fle heard that some hermits
were dAvelling together near SeA-ille, in a desert called Tardon,
having for their superior a most holy man, whom they called
Father MattheAv.2 Each hermit had his own cell; the divine
office Avas not said, but they had an oratory where they met
together to hear mass. They had no revenues, and neither
would nor did receive alms, but maintained themselves by
the labour of their hands, and every one took his meals by
himself poorly enough. When I heard of it I thought it AA'as
a picture of the holy fathers of our order. We had been living
in this fashion for eight years.
8. When the holy Council of Trent had been held, and
when the decree came forth by which all hermits Avere to be
1 Daniel, ch. xiii.
a The \-enerable father Mateo cle la Fuente, restorer of the order of
S. Basil in Gpain, born about the year 1524, in Almanuete, near Toledo.
He studied in Salamanca, began his heremitical life in the neighbour
hood of Cordova, and withdrew into t'-.e recesses of the Sierra Morena
because of the concourse of the people. Juan of Avila, his director,
commanded him to take some to live Avith him, and thus he peopled
a desert where Avild artichokes grew (Cardos sylvestris), and gave it
the name of the Cardon, which Avas afterwards changed into the
Tardon. These hermits tilled the ground, for their maxim was that
he who does not Avork shall not eat. They adopted the rule of S.
Basil when S. Pius V. ordered the hermits to observe a rule alren.ly
approved (De la Fuente). See the Bull, Lubricum vita, Nov. 17, 156.<.

;"04 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. |.CH. XVII.
brought under the discipline of the regular orders, Mariano
wished to go to Rome, to beg that they might be left as they
were; and this Avas his object Avhen I spoke to him. When he
had recounted to me his Avay of life I shoAved him the primitive
rule of the order, and told him he might Avithout all that
trouble keep his observances, for they Avere the same as ours
especially that of living by the Avork of his own hands, which
was that Avhich had the greatest attraction for him. Fle had
said to me that the Avorld AA-as ruined by greed, and that this
it Avas that brought religion into contempt. As I was of the
same opinion myself, Ave agreed at once on this, and also upon
everything else; so that when I shoAved him how much he
might serve God in this our habit he told me he Avould think of
it that A'ery night.1 I saAV that his mind Avas nearly made up,
and understood the meaning of what I had heard in prayer,
that I Avas going for something more than for a monastery
of nuns.2 It gaAe me the very greatest pleasure, for I saAV that
our Lord Avould be greatly served by his entering the order.
9. His Majesty, AA'ho willed it, so moved his heart during
the night that he called upon me the next day, having then
fully made up his mind, and being also amazed at the change
so suddenly Avrought in himself, especially by a woman; for
eA'en to this day he sometimes tells me so, as if she had been
the cause of it, and not our Lord, Avho is able to change the
hearts of men. His judgments are deep! for this man, having
lived so many years Avithout knoAving what resolution to
take concerning his state — he Avas then in no state at all, being
under no voavs or obligation beyond that of a solitary life —
Avas noAv so quickly led of God, Avho shoAved him how great
a service he might render Him in this state, and that Fle
Avanted him for the purpose of carrying on Avhat had been
begun. He has been a great help, and it has cost him much
trouble, and Avill cost him more before everything is settled,3
1 S. Teresa gave a copy of the rule to Mariano, who took it with
him to his lodging, Avhere he read it aloud, and explained it to Juan
de la Miseria, his companion. Before he had gone through it he cried
out, "Brother John, we have found what we are seeking for; that is
the rule we should keep." The next morning he told Dona Leonor
what had been the fruit of the night's meditation, and she carried
the good news at once to the Saint (Reforma. lib. ii. ch. xxvii. §§ 3, 4).
' See § 3. above.
3 The Saint wrote this in 1573 or 1574, and before the persecution
began

LII. XVII.] PASTRANA. 505
if Ave may judge by the opposition made to the primitive rule;
for he is a man who, because of his abilities, temper, and
excellent life, has influence Avith many persons Avho help and
protect us.
10. Fle then told me that in Pastrana — the very place I
was going to— Ruy Gomez had given him a good hermitage,
and a place for making there a settlement for hermits, and that
he Avould give it to the order and take the habit himself.
I thanked him, and praised our Lord greatly; for as yet, of
the two monasteries for the founding of which tAvo licences
had been given me by the most reverend our father-general
only one had been established. Thereupon I sent a messenger
to the two fathers already mentioned, the present and the last
provincial, earnestly begging them to give me leave, for the
foundation could not be made Avithout their consent. I wrote
also to the bishop of Avila, Don Alvaro de Mendoza, who Avas
our great friend, asking him to obtain the licence from them.
11. It pleased God that they should give their consent.
They must have thought that the monastery Avould do them
no harm in a place so far out of the Avay. Mariano promised
to go thither Avhen the permission should come ; so I went
away extremely glad.1 I found the princess and the prince
Ruy Gomez in Pastrana, by whom I was most kindly received.
They gave us a lodging for ourselves alone, Avherein Ave
remained longer than I expected. As the house Avas so small,
the princess had ordered a great part of it to be pulled down
and then to be rebuilt; not the outer Avails, however, but a
very large part of it.
12. I was there three months, during Avhich I had much
to endure, because the princess insisted on certain things
unbecoming our order;2 and so, rather than consent to them,
1 The Saint, having asked Mariano to remain in Madrid till he
received the expected permission from the provincial, set out for
Pastrana with the two nuns who had come Avith her from Toledo
(see note, § 4), and a postulant recommended to her by her great
friend Dona Antonio de Brances, who received in religion the name
of Beatriz of the Most Holy Sacrament (Reforma de los Descalcos,
lib. ii. ch. xxvii. § 5).
* The princess had brought with her from Madrid an Augustinian
nun belonging to a house of her order in Segovia, Dona Catalina
Machuca, who Avas to lay aside her own habit, and enter the new
foundation as a Carmelite in Pastrana. The impetuous princess in-

506 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XVII.
I made up my mind to go aAvay without making the founda
tion; but the prince Ruy Gomez, in his good-nature, which
is very great, listened to reason, and pacified his wife, and I
accepted some of her conditions; for I was more anxious for
the foundation of the monastery of the friars than for that of
the nuns, seeing how important that Avas, as I saAV afterwards.
13. At this time Alariano and his companion arrived —
the hermits spoken of before — Avith the licence of the provin
cial. The prince and princess consented to grant the hermit
age they had gh-en him to the barefooted friars, while I sent
for the father Fra Antonio of Jesus, AA'ho Avas the first, from
Mancera, where he Avas at that time, that he might begin the
foundation of the monastery. I prepared their habits and
mantles for them, and did all I could to enable them to take
the habit at once. I had sent at this time for more nuns —
for I had brought but two Avith me1 — to the monastery in
Medina del Campo. There was a father living there, then in
years — not very old, hoAvever, still not young — but he Avas a

sisted on its being done at once, and would not listen to the objections
of the Saint. To soothe the irritation caused by the refusal, the
Saint laid the matter before Fra Dominic Baiies, who approved the
act of S. Teresa. The princess at last gave Avay, and the new house
was spared the difficulty of training a nun who had either learned
the spirit of another order or was incapable of such training. The
princess Avished the monastery to be unendowed, but the Saint would
not hear of it, for she knew that the place Avas poor, and that the
people, supposing that a great personage like the princess of Eboli
had taken care of the temporal necessities of the house she had
founded, would therefore suffer the nuns to perish of want. The
generosity of the princess Avas not to be relied on. At this time the
princess of Eboli found out — nobody knows how — that the Saint had
written her Life, and insisted on reading it. The Saint for a long
time withheld it, but at last yielded to the importunities of Ruy
Gomez, who came to his wife's aid. The princess ridiculed the book;
left it for her servants to read; and these, following her example,
divulged its contents, and raised an outcry against the Saint. It
was this conduct of the princess that led the Inquisition to demand
the book (Reforma, lib. ii. ch. xxviii. §§ 5 — 7). See also Relation, vii.
§17. 1 The Saint had only two nuns with her at this time (see note1,
§ 4), and so she sent to Medina for Isabel of S. Jerome and Anne of
Jesus, who had both taken the habit there. In addition to these
there came another nun from her old monastery of the Incarnation,
Avila (Ribera, lib. ii. ch. xv.).

CH. XA7I.] PASTRANA. 507
great preacher, by name Fra Baltasar de Jesus,1 avIio, Avhen
he heard that Ave were founding the monastery, came Avith
the nuns, intending to become a barefooted friar himself,
as indeed he did Avhen he came, and for Avhich I gave praise
unto God when he told me of it. He gave the habit to father
Mariano and his companion,2 but as lay brothers ; for Mariano
wished not to be a priest, but to be less than all the rest, nor
could I prevail upon him to do otherwise. At a later time
he was ordained priest by commandment of the most reverend
the father-general.2 14. The tavo monasteries,4 then, being founded, and the
father Fra Antonio of Jesus having arrived, novices began
to come in — AAiiat they Avere Avill be known by Avhat I shall
say of some of them further on — and so earnestly to serve
our Lord, as any one more able to speak than I am — for I am
certainly unable myself — Avill tell, if it should so please our
1 Fra Baltasar of Jesus, Nieto, was born in Zafra, in Estremadura,
and entered the order under the relaxed observance. He was one of
the great preachers of Spain, and famous even in Portugal. He seems
to have longed for a stricter way of life, and took the first opportunity
offered him of going over to the reform of S. Teresa. The Saint
wrote on this occasion to the prior of Medina begging him to allow
one of his friars to accompany her nuns to Pastrana. The prior sent
Fra Baltasar, who accepted the duty Avith joy (Reforma, lib. ii. ch.
xxviii. § 8).
2 The monastery of the friars was founded June 9, 1569, on Avhich
day the friars took civil possession of the place; but as Fra Antonio
of Jesus had not then arrived, lor whom the Saint intended the honour
of making the foundation, the Most Holy Sacrament was not re
served on that day, bat on the 13th, Avhich is counted as the true date
of the foundation (Reforma, lib. ii. ch. xxx. § 1).
' Fra Mariano was ordained priest in Lent, 1574, and was the fir~t
master of novices in Seville (Reforma, lib. iii. ch. xxiv. § 1).
' The Saint Avent from Pastrana to Toledo, and sent back from
that house, in the carriage in which she had travelled herself, the sister
Isabel of S. Dominic, who had made her profession in Avila, to be the
prioress of Pastrana (Ribera, lib. ii. ch. xv.). The prioress was charged
by the Saint to have a strict account of eA-ery thing, small and great,
given them by the prince and princess of Eboli, kept in writing, with
the day of the month, and signed by the prioress herself (Reforma,
lib. ii. ch. xxviii. § 10). The sub-prioress of Pastrana was the mother
Isabel of S. Peter. Anne of the Angels, prioress of Malagon, Avas
sent for to Toledo to fill the place of Isabel of S. Dominic, and her
own place Avas filled by Mary of the Most Holy Sacrament (Ribera,
lib. ii. ch. xa-.).

508 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XVII.
Lord. As to the nuns, their monastery there was held in
great esteem by the prince and princess, and the latter AA-as
very careful to comfort and treat them Avell down to the death
of the prince Ruy Gomez, when the devil, or perhaps because
our Lord permitted it — His Majesty knoAveth Avhy — sent the
princess here as a nun, in the tumult of her grief for her
husband's death.1 In the distress she Avas in, the observance
of enclosure, to which she had never been accustomed, could
not be very pleasant for her; and the prioress, because of the
holy council,2 could not give her all the liberty she desired.
15. She became displeased with her, and with all the
nuns, so that, even after she laid aside the habit, and Avhile
living in her own house, they Avere still an offence to her.
1 Ruy Gomez died in Madrid, July 29, 1573, attended in his last
illness by Mariano and Fra Baltasar of Jesus. The princess, in her
unreasonable sorrow, insisted on becoming a Carmelite nun at once,
and Mariano weakly yielded to her fury (Reforma, lib. iii. ch. xxi. § 1).
She leaves Madrid before her husband is buried, and hastens to Pas
trana to enter the monastery. Fra Baltasar of Jesus hurries before
her, and at two o'clock in the morning disturbs the nuns with the
news that the princess was coming. When the prioress, Isabel of
S. Dominic, had heard the story, she replied, "The princess a nun?
I give up the monastery for lost." The prioress called up the nuns,
and with them made what preparations they could for the reception
of their benefactress. About eight o'clock in the morning the princess
arrived with her mother. The nuns gave her another and a cleaner
habit, and she insisted on their admitting at the same time two per
sons as novices she had brought with her. The prioress objected,
for such a thing was not to be done without the sanction of the
superior, whereupon the neAV nun cried out, "What have the friars
to do with my monastery?" The novices Avere received after con
sulting the prior, but the demands of the princess grew, and at last
she insisted on admitting her visitors within the cloister, and on
having two maids to Avait upon her. The nuns offered to be her serv
ants, but she must have her OAvn way. The prioress had assigned
her as foundress a seat next herself in the refectory, and the princess
in her humility notwithstanding prayers and entreaties, took the
lowest place. At last her self-will exhausted the patience of the
prioress, who told her that if she did not suffer them to keep the rule
their mother would remove them from Pastrana. Thereupon she
left the house, and retired' into one of the hermitages in the garden,
had a door made in the wall, and admitted all her friends to see her
in a nun's dress, doing her own will. At last she left the monastery,
but she also left it to struggle with poverty, for the alms promised
by her husband and herself were withheld (lb. lib. iii. ch. xxviii. §§
2—5). 1 Cone. Trid. sess. xxv. cap. 5.

CH. X\7I.] PASTRANA. 509
The poor nuns Avere living in such disquiet that I strove Avith
all my might, imploring the superiors to remove them, that
they might come to Segovia, where I Avas then founding a
monastery, as I shall mention further on.1 Thither they came
leaving behind all that the princess had given them, but
bringing Avith them certain nuns Avhom the princess had
ordered them to admit Avithout any dowry. The beds and
tri.iing things Avhich the sisters themselves had taken with
them they brought aAvay, leaving the inhabitants there ex
ceedingly sorry.2 I had the greatest joy in the world when I
1 See ch. xxi.
2 The Saint, Avhen she found that it Avas no longer possible to pre
serve the house of Pastrana, consulted the provincial, Fra Angel de
Salazar, Fra Pedro Fernandez, Fra Dom. Banes, and Fra Hernando
del Castillo. They all agreed in the removal of the nuns if no change
could be wrought in the temper of the princess. Fra Hernando was
sent to see her — he had been a friend of her husband — but she refused
to see him, feigning illness. The prioress, being told to prepare
everything for the departure of the nuns, sent for the corregidor,
who came Avith a notary, Avho recorded the transaction. The prioress,
provided with her accounts, delivered up everything received from
the princess into the charge of the corregidor, who accepted the trust,
and gave her a formal receipt for the same. The princess now became
uneasy and wished the nuns to stay, but the last mass had been said,
and the Most Holy consumed, so the prioress ansAvered it Avas too
late. The princess then begged them to take with them the two
nuns Avho had been in her service; they said they would readily take
one of them, Anne of the Incarnation; as for the other, the princess
might provide for her as she pleased. They left Pastrana at midnight,
according to Yepes, and, under the care of Julian of Avila, Antonio
Gaytan, and Fra Gabriel of the Assumption, arrived in Segovia in
the holy week of 1574. They were once in danger of death on the
road, and the Saint, at the moment in Segovia, said to her nuns, Let
us pray for those who are coming from Pastrana. The bishop of
Segorbe followed them to Segovia with a message from the princess
asking the Saint to take also the sister whom they had left behind;
she declined, because the monastery Avas already full. He then
threatened thera with an action at law for the recovery of what the
princess had given them in Pastrana, Avhereupon the receipt of the
corregidor was produced and the poor bishop said no more (Reforma
de los Descalcos, lib. iii. ch. xxviii. §§ 7, 8). The chronicler says the
Saint received but one of the nuns thrust on the monastery by the
princess; perhaps the Saint may have relented later, and accepted her
after she had been left behind at Pastrana, and, to hide her gene
rosity, spoke of her as having arrived with her sisters. Anne of the
Incarnation made her profession in Segovia on the feast of SS. Simon
and Jude, 1574, and was in the monastery of Caravaca in 1581 (De la
Fuente, ii. 367).

510 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XVIII.
saw them in peace, for I knew very Avell that they Avere blame
less as to the offence Avhich the princess took — far from it,
for they treated her, during the time she Avore the habit, with
as much respect as they did before she had put it on. The
cause of it all Avas that Avhich I mentioned just now, and the
distress the princess was in, but a servant whom she had
brought with her was, I believe, to blame for it all. In a
word, our Lord, who permitted this, must have seen that the
monastery was not rightly placed there; His judgments are
high, and surpass the understanding of us all. I could not
have been so bold as to do Avhat I did relying on my OAvn
understanding, but I was guided by the advice of saintly and
learned men.

CHAPTER XVIII.
THE MONASTERY OF S. JOSEPH, SALAMANCA, FOUNDED IN 1570.
WEIGHTY COUNCILS FOR PRIORESSES.
1. When these two foundations1 had been made, I re
turned to the city of Toledo,2 Avhere I rested for some months
till the purchase of the house spoken of before3 was made, and
everything had been settled. While I Avas thus occupied a
rector4 of the Society of Jesus in Salamanca Avrote to me to
say that a monastery of our order would be most useful there,
at the same time giving me reasons for thinking so. I had
been hitherto kept back from founding a house in poverty
1 Those of the nuns and of the friars (Reforma. lib. ii. ch. xliv. § 4).
8 The Saint returned to Toledo, July 21st, and remained there, with
slight interruptions, more than a year (Bollandists, n. 511).
* See note to ch. xv. § 17.
' Martin Gutierrez was the confessor of the Saint's biographer,
Francis Ribera, while the latter still lived as a secular, and was the
means of winning him for the society. The provincial congregation
of Burgos in 1573, when the news arrived in Spain of the death of the
general S. Francis Borja, sent Gutierrez and Juan Suarez to Rome
with the provincial Gil Gonzalez. They were taken prisoners in
FYance by the Huguenots, and most cruelly treated. Gutierrez
was Avounded and died of the wound; the others were released after
paying money for their lives (Life of F. Baltasar Alvares). He was
born in Almodovar 1524, and entered the society in 1550 (Bouix).

CH. XVIII.] SALAMANCA. 511
there, because the place was very poor. But, considering that
Avila is quite as poor, and that God never abandons, nor ever
will, I believe, abandon any one Avho serves Him, I deter
mined to make the foundation, making such reasonable ar
rangements as I could, having but a few nuns, and they help
ing themselves by the labour of their hands. Going, then,
from Toledo to Avila, I applied from that place for the per
mission of the bishop,1 and obtained it; the bishop Avas very
gracious, for, as the father rector shoAved him what the order
is, and that the monastery would be for the service of God,
he gave his permission at once.
2. I thought myself, Avhen I had the permission of the
ordinary, that the monastery Avas already founded, so easy
was everything to do. And so I contrived at once to hire2
a house, which a lady I knew told me of. It was a difficult
matter, because it was not a season for letting houses, and
because it was then in the possession of certain students, Avho
were persuaded to give it up Avhenever the persons came who
were to live in it. They kneAV nothing of the purpose for
which it had been hired, for I took the very greatest care of
that; nothing Avas to be known till after taking possession,
because I have some experience now of Avhat the devil does to
embarrass one of these monasteries. Though God did not
suffer him to molest this at the first, because He would have
it founded, yet afterwards the trouble and the oppositions we
met with Avere so great that everything is not, even now while
I am writing, quite got over, notwithstanding that it has been
founded for some years; and so I believe that God is greatly
pleased with it, seeing that Satan cannot endure it.
3. Then, Avith the licence of the bishop and the house
secured, relying on the mercy of God — for there was nobody
there who could give me any help at all in supplying the
many things that Avere necessary for the furnishing of that
house — I set out for the place, taking with me only two nuns,*
* The bishop of Salamanca at this time was Don Pedro Gonzalez
de Mendoza, son of the duke of Infantado, consecrated in 1560; he
was bishop fourteen years, and was one of the prelates who had been
in the Council of Trent (De la Fuente).
* The house belonged to Gonzalo YaiiezdeOvalle (Ycpes,lib.ii.23).
* In the latter end of October. The nun, her companion was
Mary of the Most Holy Sacrament, according to Ribera, Yepes, and
John a Jesu Maria; but the author of the Reforma says she was Mary
of the Holy Ghost, forgetting the Saint's account below, ch. xix. § 4.

512 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [Cl±. XVIII.
for greater secrecy. I found it better to do so than to take
the nuns till I had taken possession, for I had received a
lesson by \A-hat took place in Medina del Campo, when I found
myself there in great straits. Noav, if any difficulties arose,
I should bear them by myself, Avith only one nun, whom I
could not travel Avithout. We arrived on the eve of All
Saints, having travelled a great part of the night before in
the excessive cold, and slept in one place, being nryself very
unwell. 4. In giving an account of these foundations I do not
speak of the great hardships of travelling in cold, heat, and
snoAv. Once it snowed the whole day long, at other times
Ave missed our road, and again I had sicknesses and fever; for
glory be to God, my health is generally Aveak, but I saw clearly
that our Lord Avas giving me strength. It has happened to
me from time to time, while occupied in these foundations,
to find myself amidst such pains and sufferings as distressed
me much, for it seemed to me if I Avere then even in my cell,
I could have done nothing but lie doAvn on my bed, turn to
our Lord, complaining to His Majesty, and asking Him how
it Avas that He would haA-e me do what was beyond my
power. His Majesty would then give me strength, not Avith
out suffering hoAveA'er, and in the fervour and earnestness
Avith which He filled me I seemed to have forgotten myself.
So far as I remember at present I never refrained from making
a foundation through fear of trouble, though I felt a great
dislike to journeys, especially long ones ; but Avhen I had once
started I thought nothing of them, looking to Him in whose
service they were undertaken, and calling to mind that our
Lord would be praised, and that the Most Holy Sacrament
would dwell, in the house I Avas going to found. It is a special
joy to me to see one church more, when I consider how many
the Lutherans are destroying. I know of no trouble, however
great it may be, that should be dreaded when it is the condi
tion of obtaining so great a good for Christendom; and it
should be a great consolation to us — though many among
us do not think of it — that Jesus Christ, true God and true
man, dwells, as He does, in so many places in the Most Holy
Sacrament. 5. Certainly, as for myself, I have a great consolation
frequently in choir when I behold these souls, so pure, intent
on the praises of God, nor does it fail me on many other occa-

CH. XVIII.] SALAMANCA. 513
sions, for it is a joy to me to see their obedience and happi
ness, which so strict an enclosure and solitude supply them,
and their cheerfulness Avhen they have any opportunity of
mortifying themselves. Whenever the prioress is enabled by
a greater grace from our Lord to try them herein, there I see
the greater happiness; and the prioress then is more Avearied
of trying them than they are of obeying, for their desires are
never satisfied herein.
6. Though I may be AA-andering from the story of the
foundation which I had begun to describe, certain considera
tions now suggest themselves to me on the subject of morti
fication, and perhaps, my children, they will be of service
to the prioress ; so, lest I should forget, I will now tell them.
As the prioresses have different gifts and virtues, so they
wish to direct their nuns accordingly. She Avho is most
mortified will look upon everything she may order for the
purpose of subduing the will as easy to do : it may be so for
her, and yet perhaps it may be very hard to obey. This is
what we have seriously to consider : we are not to command
others to do Avhat seems very hard to ourselves. Discretion
is a great thing in government, and exceedingly necessary in
these houses — I am going to say much more necessary than
in others — because the prioresses here have to Avatch more
carefully over the interior state and the outward demeanor
of their subjects. Other prioresses of much spirituality would
be glad if Ave all Avere given to prayer. In a Avord, our Lord
leads souls omvards by different roads; the prioresses, how
ever, must consider that they have not been appointed to
guide souls by the road which they like themselves, but rather
to direct their subjects according to the rule and constitutions,
even if they have to do violence to themselves herein, and
prefer another Avay.
7. I was once in a monastery of ours with a prioress for
whom penance had a great attraction. She directed all the
sisters by that Avay. At one time the whole community took
the discipline, reciting the seven penitential psalms with the
prayers, and had other observances of the same kind. The
same thing happens if the prioress be given to prayer: she
occupies the community therein, though it be not the time for
prayer, even after matins, when it would be much better if all
the nuns Avent to sleep. If, again, she is given to mortification,
there is to be no rest anywhere, and those poor flocks of the

514 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XVIII.
Virgin are silent like lambs. All this, certainly, is to me a
source ol shame and devotion, and at times a strong tempta
tion, for the sisters, all absorbed in God, do not perceive it,
but I fear for their health, and would rather they kept the
rule, for that gives them enough to do, and Avhatever is beside
that should be done with gentleness. This matter of morti
fication especially is of great importance, and I would have
the prioresses, for the love of our Lord, look into it; for in
these houses it is a very important thing to haA-e discretion
and to understand dispositions, and if herein they are not
very obserA-ant they Avill do great harm instead of good, and
make the sisters uneasy.
8. They must consider that mortification of this kind
is not of obligation: that is the first thing they have to look
to. Though it is most necessary to enable souls to attain
to liberty and high perfection, that is not gained in a moment,
and they must therefore help every one onAvards according to
the intellectual and spiritual gifts which God has given them.
You may think that understanding is not necessary for this:
that is a mistake, for there are some who must labour much
before they can arrive at the knowledge of perfection and
of the spirit of our rule, and afterwards, perhaps, these very
persons will be the most saintly ; they may not know when it is
safe to excuse themselves, nor Avhen it is not, and they may be
ignorant of other minute observances Avhich, Avhen they shall
have understood them, they will keep perhaps with ease, and
Avhich they never thoroughly understand, nor — which is Avorse
— look upon as matters appertaining unto perfection.
9. In one of our monasteries is a sister who, so far as
I can see, is one of the greatest servants of God there —
great in spirituality, in the graces His Majesty bestows upon
her, and in penance and humility — but she does not under
stand certain things in the constitutions; the mentioning of
the faults of others in chapter she considers to be a want of
charity, and says that when she has to tell anything, of the
sisters, or anything of that kind, she may be speaking against
a sister who may be a great servant of God ; and yet in other
ways I see that she far surpasses those who understand the
constitutions Avell. The prioress must not think that she sees
into souls at once: let her leave this with God, Avho alone can
see into them ; but let her labour to guide each soul by the
way His Majesty is gliding it, always supposing that there

CH. XVIII.] SALAMANCA. 515
is no failure of obedience, or in the more essential points of
the rule and constitutions. She who, among the eleven thou
sand virgins, Avent and hid herself, was not the less a saint
and martyr: on the contrary, perhaps she suffered more than
the others in coming afterwards alone to offer herself for
martyrdom.1 10. I return now to the subject of mortification. A
prioress, to mortify a sister, bids her do something Avhich,
though in itself a trifle, is yet a burden to the nun. When
it is done the sister is so disturbed and tempted that it would
have been better if such a command had not been given her.
The moment this becomes evident the prioress should consider
that she cannot make her perfect by a strong arm, but should
rather dissemble, and proceed by degrees till our Lord shall
have done this Avork in her, lest what is done for the purpose
of bringing her on — for without this particular form of perfec
tion she might be a very good nun — should be an occasion of
disquiet to her, and an affliction of spirit, Avhich is a most
dreadful thing. If that nun sees the others doing these things
she too by degrees Avill do them ; AA-e have found it so ; and if
she should not she may be saved Avithout this A-irtue.
11. I knoAV one of this kind, Avhose whole life has been
most virtuously spent, who for many years and in many
Avays has served our Lord, but Avho has some imperfections
and certain feelings at times over which she has no control ;
she is aAvare of it, and comes to me in her distress. God, I
think, lets her fall into these imperfections without sin on
her part — there is no sin in them — that she may humble
herself, and see thereby that she is not altogether perfect.
Some, then, there are Avho will undergo great mortifications
— and the greater the mortifications enjoined the greater will
be their pleasure therein — because our Lord has endowed their
souls with strength to give up their OAvn will ; others will not
be able to endure even slight ones, and they are as a child
loaded with two bushels of corn, who not only cannot carry
1 Quasdam autem virgo, nomine Cordula, timore perterrita, in
navi nocte ilia se abscondit, sed in crastinum sponte morti se offerens,
martyrii coronam suscepit. Sed cum ejus festum non fieret, eo quod
cum aliis passa non esset, ipsa post longum tempus cuidam reclusze
apparuit, przecipiens ut sequentendie a festo virginum quotannis solem-
nitas recoleretur (Jacobi a Voragine, in fest. undecim millia
Virginum).

516 BOOK OK THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XVIII.
them, but breaks doAvn under the burden and falls to the
ground. Forgive me, then, my daughters— I am speaking to
the prioresses — for that which I have observed in some has
made me dwell so long upon this.
12. I have another caution to give, and it is very im
portant: never command anything, e\en for the trial of a
sister's obedience, Avhich may be to her, if she does it, even
a venial sin. I have knoAvn some things enjoined which Avould
have been mortal if they had been done : the sisters, hoAvever,
might perhaps have been safe in their innocence — not so the
prioress Avho never commands anything that is not instantly
done. As they hear and read Avhat the saints of the desert
did, they look upon every thing enjoined them as good — at
least the doing of it. And the subjects also must consider
that they are not to do that, even Avhen enjoined them, which
would be mortal sin when not enjoined, except absence from
mass, or the non-observance of a fast of the church, or actions
of that kind, for in these matters the prioress may have her
reasons; but to throw oneself into a well and acts of that
nature are mistakes, because no one ought to suppose that
God Avill Avork a miracle, as Fle did for the saints. There
are ways enough to practise perfect obedience, and every way
that is free from these dangers I commend.
13. Once a sister in Malagon begged leave to take the
discipline, and the prioress — others must have made the same
request — replied, "Leave me alone." But, as she Avas impor
tunate, the prioress said, "Go along; leave me alone." There
upon the nun, with great simplicity, Avalked about for some
hours, till one. of the sisters asked her Avhy she Avas walking
so much, or said something to that effect. She replied that
she had been ordered to do so. Meanwhile the bell rung
for matins, and when the prioress asked why that nun had
not come the other told her what was going on. It is neces
sary, as I said before, that the prioresses should be very cau
tious in dealing with souls whom they already know to be
obedient, and consider Avhat they are doing.
14. To another prioress came a nun, and showed her a
very large worm; saying, "Look how beautiful it is!" The
prioress in jest replied, "Then go and eat it." She went
and fried it. The cook asked her why she fried a worm, and
she answered, "To eat it," and would have done so. Thus
through the great carelessness of the prioress that nun might

CH. XIX.] SALAMANCA. 517
have done herself much harm. I am the more delighted Avith
obedience when carried to an extreme, for I have a particular
devotion to this virtue. I have therefore done all I could,
that all the sisters might have it; nevertheless all my efforts
would have been little Avorth if our Lord had not, in the ex
cesses of His compassion, given them the grace, all of them,
to feel a special attraction for it. May it please His Majesty
to increase it more and more!

CHAPTER XIX.
MONASTERY OF S.. JOSEPH, SALAMANCA.
, 1. I have wandered far aAvay from the subject for, when
ever anything occurs to me Avhich it pleased our Lord I should
learn by experience, it is distressing net to speak of it; it may
be that it will do good, as I think it will. Do you, my
daughters, go ahvays for direction to learned men, for thereby
shall ycu find the way of perfection in discretion and truth.
It is A'ery necessary for prioresses, if they Avould execute their
office well, to have learned men for their confessors — if not
they Avill do many foolish things, thinking them to be saintly ;
and, moreover, they must contrive that their nuns go to con
fession to learned men.
2. About noon, then, on the eve of All Saints, in the
year already mentioned, Ave came to Salamanca.1 From my
lodging I sent for a gocd man living there, Avhom I had trusted
Avith the work of getting the house emptied for us. His name
is Nicolas Gutierrez, a great servant of God, who by his good
life had obtained from His Majesty peace and contentment
amid his heaA'y trials — and they Avere many, for he was once
very prosperous, but Avas at this time in great poverty, which
he bore as joyfully as he had borne his prosperity. He laboured
much with great devotion and goodAvill in the making of this
foundation. When he came he told me that the house was
not yet empty, for he had not been able to persuade the
students2 to go out. I told him how much it concerned me
* In the year 1570. See ch. xviii. § 3.
' One of these students was Don Juan Moriz, afterwards bishop of
Barbastro (De la Fuente).

518 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XIX.
to have possession of it at once, before it Avas knoAvn that I
Avas in the town; for I Avas always afraid of some disturbance,
as I said before.1 He Avent to the OAvner of the house, and
took so much trouble in the matter that the house Avas left
empty in the evening. We went in Avhen it was nearly dark.
3. This Avas the first foundation I made without the
presence of the Most Holy Sacrament, for I did not think
that I tock possession if He Avas not lodged in the house. I
had noAA- learnt that it made no difference, Avhich Avas a great
comfort to me, because the students had left the house in a
very unseemly state, and, as they had but little regard for
cleanliness, the Avhole place Avas in such a condition that Ave
had no slight work to do that night.
4. Early the next morning mass was said there for the
first time, and I sent for more nuns,2 who Avere to come from
Medina del Campo. My companion and I Avere alone the night
of AU Souls. I haA'e to tell you one thing, my sisters, at which
I am ready to laugh when I remember it — the fears of my
companion, Mary of the Blessed Sacrament, a nun older than
myself, and a great servant of God. The house Avas A-ery large
and rambling, Avith many garrets, and my companion could
not get the students out of her thoughts, thinking that, as they
were so annoyed at haA-ing to quit the house, some of them
might still be hiding in it: they could A-ery easily do so, for
there Avas room enough. We shut ourselves up in a room
Avherein the straAV Avas placed, that being the first thing I
provided for the founding of the house, for Avith the straw
we could not fail to haA-e a bed. That night Ave slept on it,
covered by tAvo blankets that had been lent us.3 The next
day the nuns Avho lived close by, and Avho, we thought, were
not at all pleased Avith us, lent us blankets for our sisters that
were to come, and sent us alms. It was the monastery of
S. Elizabeth, and all the time Ave remained in that house they
rendered us many kind services and gave us alms.4
1 See ch. xviii. § 2.
* Anne of the Incarnation, Mary of Christ, and Jeronyma of Jesus
came from Medina; and from Avila came Anne of Jesus, Juana of
Jesus, and Mary of St. Francis. Anne of the Incarnation was made
prioress, and Mary of Christ sub-prioress (Ribera, ii. 16).
* By the fathers of the Society of Jesus (Ribera, ii. 16).
' The nuns sent food to the Saint the very day she came, and
continued to do so (Yepes, ii. 23). They were nuns of the third order
of S. Francis, and the house Avas surpressed in 1857 (De la Fuente^.

CH. XIX.] SALAMANCA. 519
5. When my companion saAv herself shut up in the room
she seemed somewhat at her ease about the students, though
she did nothing but look about her, first on this side and then
on the other: still she Avas afraid, and Satan must have helped
her to imagine dangers for the purpose of troubling me, for,
owing to the weakness of the heart from Avhich I suffer, very
little is enough to do it. I asked her Avhy she Avas looking
about, seeing that nobody could possibly come in. She replied,
"Mother, I am thinking, if I Avere to die noAv, what you would
do all alone." I thought it Avould be a very disagreeable thing
if it happened. It made me dwell on it for a moment, and even
to be afraid, for, though I am not afraid of dead bodies, they
ahvays cause a certain faintness of the heart eA^en when I am
not alone. And as the bells Avere tolling — it was, as I said
before, the eve of All Souls — the devil teek advantage of that
to make us waste our thoughts upon trifles ; when he sees Ave
are not afraid of him he searches for other means. I an
swered her, "Sister, when that shall happen I will consider
what I shall do; now let me go to sleep." As we had spent
tAvo nights Avithout rest, sleep soon put an end to our fears.
More nuns came on the following day, and then all our terrors
were over.
6. The community remained in the same house about three
years — I am not sure it Avas not four — almost unheeded. But
I was ordered to go to the monastery of the Incarnation in
Avila j1 for of my OAvn will I Avould never IeaA'e a house, nor did
* After making the foundation in Alba de Tormes, in January,
1571, the Saint returned to Salamanca, where she was still at the
end of March. From Salamanca she went to Medina del Campo,
where the nuns were in trouble because t'.ie family of Isabel of the
Angels, one of the no\ices, young and Avealthy, made objections to
her disposal of her property. Angel de Salazar, provincial of Carmel,
was on the side of the family against the monastery, and the Saint on
the other; the proA'incial thereupon forgot himself being also vexed
because the Saint and the nuns made Iiies of Jesus prioress, whereas
he had wished Dona Teresa de Quesada, who was a nun of the old
observance, to be the superior of the community, and, under pain of
excommunication, ordered the Saint and the prioress to quit the house
before night. The Saint, though very ill, obeyed, and the provincial
made Dona Teresa prioress, who had never accepted the Reform. The
Saint went to Avila, and was there visited by Fra Pedro Fernandez,
Dominican, lately made visitor of Carmel in Castille by his Holiness S.
Pius V. He wished to see her because he had heard so much about
her from Fra Dominic Banes. The visitor sent her back from Avila

520 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XIX.
I leave any, till it was properly ordered and arranged, for
herein God has been very gracious unto me : it is a joy to me
to be the foremost in trouble, and I used to provide even to the
minutest matters, whatever might be of use and comfort to
the nuns, as if I had to live in that house all my life, and
accordingly I was glad when the sisters Avere happily settled.
I was very sorry for the sufferings of the nuns here — not,
however, arising from the want of food, for, the house being
very much out of the Avay,.and therefore not likely to receive
much alms, I took care to provide for it from the place Avhere
I was staying, but from its unhealthiness, it being damp
and excessively cold, and that could not be helped because of
its great size. But the worst of all was the absence of the
Most Holy Sacrament, which in a house so strictly enclosed
was a serious privation. They did not take it too much to
heart, but bore it all so contentedly that I cannot but praise
our Lord for it; and some of them told me that they considered
it an imperfection to wish for another house, and would have
been well pleased to remain there if they could have had the
Most Holy Sacrament.
7. Afterwards the superior,1 seeing their perfection and
the troubles they had to bear, had compassion on them, and
to Medina, where the monastery was in disorder — Dona Teresa having
left and returned to her own house of the Incarnation in Avila — and
followed her thither soon after himself. Having visited that house,
S. Teresa being prioress, he returned to Avila, and visited that of the
Incarnation, Avhich was in a sad state spiritually and temporally.
After consultation with the provincial and the definitors of Carmel
he made S. Teresa prioress of her old home, the Incarnation, she
being at the time prioress in Medina. The Saint was most unwilling
to accept the office [which seems to ha\-e been laid upon her early
in July, according to her account in Relation, iii. § 11]; but, neverthe
less, she entered on it, and was duly installed by the visitor, the nuns
being most unwilling to receive her [in October, 1571, as appears from
ch. xxi. § 8]. Before she entered on her duties she formally renounced,
in the house of S. Joseph, Avila, the mitigated observance, and made
profession of the strict rule, the observance of which she Avas labour
ing to restore. When she had taken possession of the priorate she
begged the visitor to give her two confessors of the Reform for the
house, and Fra Pedro sent S. John of the Cross and Fra German of
S. Mathias (Ribera, iii. 1; Yepes, ii. 25; Reforma, lib. ii. ch. xlviii., xlix.;
lib. iv. ch. xxvii § 2).
* Fra Pedro Fernandez, Dominican, and Apostolic visitor of the
Carmelite province of Castille. See below ch. xxi. § 1.

CH. XIX.] SALAMANCA. 521
sent for me from the monastery of the Incarnation.1 They
had already arranged with a nobleman2 to take a house of him,
but it was in such a staie as to make it necessary to spend
more than a thousand ducats on it before they could go into
it: the house Avas an entail, and the owner agreed that Ave
might enter into possession of it, and also raise the walls,
though the king's licence Avas not had. I got Father Julian
of Avila to accompany me — he it is Avhom I have spoken of
as going Avith me in these foundations — he went with me,
and we looked at the house that Ave might be able to say
what should be done to it, for experience has taught me much
in these matters. We set out in August,3 and, though Ave made
all possible haste, we were delayed till Michaelmas, which
is the time of letting houses there: our house was far from
being finished, and that in which we were then living, as we
had not hired it for another year, had already found a tenant,
and he was hurrying us out of it. The whitewashing of the
church Avas nearly done. The nobleman who had sold us
the house Avas aAvay: some people who wished us well said
we had done wrong in going in so soon ; but where necessity
drives good advice is ill received if no help is given with it.*
8. We went in on the vigil of S. Michael, .a little before
dawn. It had been already made known that on the feast of
S. Michael the Most Holy Sacrament Avas to take up His
dwelling there, and that a sermon was to be preached. It
was our Lord's pleasure that on the eve of our going in so
heavy a rain should fall as to make it difficult to take what
1 It was Anne of Jesus who obtained permission from the visitor
for the Saint to leave the monastery of the Incarnation, where she had
been prioress for the last two years nearly (Reforma de los Descalqos,
lib. ii. ch. xx. § 1).
* Pedro de la Vanda, caballero calificado, aunque no muy rico y de
condicion indigesta (Reforma, lib. iii. ch. xx. § 1).
' The journey was made for the most part by night, because of the
great beat; and Fra Antonio of Jesus and Julian of Avila accompanied
the Saint, who had with her Dona Quiteria de Avila, a nun of the
Incarnation (Ribera. ii. 16).
' The royal licence for the alienation of the house was obtained
but in August, 1573, the Saint had not been able to settle with Pedro
de la Vanda. She complains of him again in the beginning of 1574.
(See Letter 34, Lett. 48 vol. iii. ed. Doblado, and Letter 37; but the
passage is wanting in the former editions of that letter, which is
the 14th of voL ii. ed. Doblado.)

522 HOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XIX.
Avas most necessary for us into the house. The chapel Avas
neAvly built, but the roof was so badly made that the rain came
through the greater part of it. I tell you, my daughters,
that I found I Avas very imperfect that day. As notice had
been given, I knew not what to do; I did nothing but beAvail
myself, and so, as if complaining, I said to our Lord that
He must either not bid me to apply myself to these founda
tions or relieve us in our present necessity. The good man
Nicolas Gutierrez, with his usual calmness, as if nothing was
amiss, told me very gently not to distress myself — God would
send help. So He did, for on the feast of S. Michael, when
it Avas time for the people to come, the sun began to shine — ¦.
Avhich stirred up rny devotion exceedingly — and 1 saAv hoAv
much better that holy man had done by trusting in God
than I had done Avith all my labour.
9. Many people came, and we had music, and the Most
Holy Sacrament was brought in Avith great solemnity. As
the house was in a good position, it began to be knoAvn and
regarded with respect ; the countess of Monterey,1 Dona Maria
Pimentel, in particular, and a lady, Dona Mariana, the wife
of the governor, Avere very kind to us. Immediately after
wards, on the .next day, to moderate our joy in the possession
of the Most Holy Sacrament, came the nobleman, the oAvner
of the house, so exceedingly out of temper that I did not
know what to do with him, and Satan urged him so that he
1 Within two months of the foundation of the house in Salamanca
the Saint was called to establish another in Alba, as recorded in the
next chapter. In February or March, 1571, she returned to Salamanca
to console her sisters who were in distress. The count and countess
of Monterey had obtained permission of her superiors, if she came
to Salamanca, to have her in their house. She Avas therefore lodged
Avith them, and while there two miracles were Avrought by her: the
first was the cure of Dona Maria de Artiega, whose husband had the
care of the count's children; and the other was the restoration to health
of the count's little daughter, whose life was despaired of. They
begged the Saint to pray, and she, withdrawing to her own room,
prayed for the child. S. Catherine of Siena and S. Dominic appeared
to her, and told her the child's life Avas granted to her prayers, and
that it was to wear the habit of S. Dominic for a year. The Saint
made the vision known to Fra Banes, who communicated it to the
father and mother. The child was clothed in the habit of S. Dominic,
and wore it for a year. She was afterwards married to the count of
Olivares, and was the mother of the duke of San Lucar (Reforma de
los Descalcos, lib. ii. ch. xlviii. § 2).

CH. XIX.] SALAMANCA. 523
Avould not listen to reason: Ave, hoAvever, had fulfilled our
bargain with him, but it was useless to teil him so. He
softened a little Avhen some people spGke to him, but he after
wards changed his mind. I now resolved to give up the
house ; that did not please him, because he Avanted to have
the price of it at once. His Avife — the house belonged to her —
had Avished to sell it, that she might dower her two daughters ;
and it Avas on that ground the licence for alienation was
sought, the money being deposited in the hands of a person
chosen by him.
10. It is noAv three years since this affair was begun,
and the purchase is net yet made, and I do not knoAV Avhether
the monastery Avill remain here — I mean in this house — that
is Avhy I speck of it— or Avhere it shall be settled.1 What I
do know is this— in none cf the monasteries of the primitive
rule which cur Lord has hitherto founded have the nuns had
so much to suffer as in this. They are so good that, by the
mercy of Gcd, they bear it all Avith jcy. May it please His
Majesty that they may grow still better! for it is of little
consequence Avhether the house Ave have is good or bad: on
the contrary, it is a great pleasure to us to find ourselves in a
house cut cf Avhich Ave may be driven at any time, remem
bering that the Lord of the AA-orld had none.2 It has been often
our lot, as may be seen in the history of these foundations,
to live in a house that is, or Avas, not our own, and the truth
is that I have never seen one cf the nuns distressed about it.
May it please His Divine Majesty, of His infinite goodness
and mercy, that Ave fail not to reach the everlasting dwelling-
places ! Amen, amen.
3 The nuns some years after this, but after the death of the Saint,
were obliged to leave the house owing to the difficult temper of Don
Pedro. They retired to the hospice of the Rosary, close to the
Dominican house of S. Stephan (Yepes, ii., 23). They left that house
in the year 1614, and settled outside the Villamayor Gate (Reforma,
lib. iii. ch. xxiii. § 3). The house Avas almost ruined by the Portuguese
during the war of succession (De la Fuente).
* S. Luke. ix. 58.

524 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XX.

CHAPTER XX.
THE MONASTERY OF OUR LADY OF THE ANNUNCIATION,
ALBA DE TORMES, IN THE YEAR 15/1.
1. Two months had not passed since I took possession,
on All Souls Day,1 of the house in Salamanca, when I Avas
urged, on the part of the steward of the duke of Alba and his
wife,2 to found a monastery in that town. I was not very
willing to do so, for it Avould be necessary, because it was a
small place, to have an endowment, and my inclination Avas
never to have any. The father master Fra Dominic Banes,
my confessor, of whom I spoke in the beginning of the history
of these foundations, being then in Salamanca, rebuked me,
and said that, as the council3 alloAved endoAvments, it would
not be well if I refrained from founding a monastery for that
reason — that I did not understand the matter, for an endoAv-
ment need- not hinder the nuns from being poor and most
perfect. Before I say more I will tell Avho the foundress was,
and how our Lord made her the foundress of this house.
IHS.4
2. Teresa cle Layz, the foundress of the monastery of the
Annunciation of our Lady of Alba de Tormes, Avas the daugh
ter of parents of noble birth, ancient lineage, and honoured an
cestry, who, because they Avere not so Avealthy as they were
well-born, had settled in a place called Tordillos, some two
leagues from Alba. It is A-ery sad, because so much vanity
is in the Avorld, that people should willingly undergo the loss
of instruction, and of many other things AA'hich help to give
light to the soul, which is inseparable from dAvelling in small
villages, rather than gh',e up one of those distinctions which
that which men call their honour carries with it. They had
* Ch. xix. § 2.
' Francis Velasquez and Teresa de Layz obtained the help of Don
Juan de Ovalle and his wife, the Saint's sister Juana, in this negotiation
(Ribera, ii. 17).
• See ch. ix. § 3, note (3).
* Thus in the original MS.

CH. XX.] ALBA DE TORMES. 525
four daughters already Avhen Teresa Avas born, and were much
distressed Avhen they saAv that she too Avas a girl.
3. It certainly is a thing much to be lamented that mortal
men, not knowing Avhat is best for them, as persons Avholly
ignorant of the judgments of God, discerning neither the
great blessings that come by daughters nor the great evil>
that come by sons, should seem so umvilling to leave it in
His hands to Avhom everything is knoAvn and by Avhom all
things are made, but must fret themselves to death about that
in which they should rather rejoice. As people whose faith
is asleep, they will not seriously consider nor remember that
it is God who thus ordains — that they may leave it all in His
hands; and noAv, Avhen they are so blind as not to do so, it is
a great ignorance not to understand hoAV little they gain by
their fretting. O my God, in Avhat a different light shall
we look on our ignorances in that day Avhen the truth of all
things shall be made known! Hoav many will haA-e to go to
hell because of their sons, and also how many mothers will go
to heaven by the help of their daughters !
4. To go back to Avhat I Avas saying, things came to this
pass, that, as if the infant's life was of no importance to them,
she was left alone on the third day after she Avas born, and
nobody thought of her from morning till night. One good
thing they had done — they had had her baptised by a priest
as soon as she Avas born. When night came, a woman who had
the charge of her, and Avho knew what had happened, ran to
see if she Avas dead, and Avith her some others who had come
to visit the mother, and Avho Avere Avitnesses of Avhat I am
going to say. The Avoman, in tears, took the child into her
arms and said, "Hoav, my child? Are you not a Christian?"
as much as to say that she had been cruelly dealt Avith. The
child raised its head and said, "Yes, I am." She never spoke
again till she had reached the age at Avhich children usually
speak. They who kneAV her Avere amazed, and her mother
then began to cherish and caress her, and used often to say she
should like to live to see what God would do with the child.
She brought her up most admirably, teaching her the practice
of all virtue.
5. When the time had come they wanted her to marry:
she refused, having no wish to do so ; but when she found
that it was Francis Velasquez, founder also of this house, and
now her husband, who sought her in marriage, though she

526 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XX.
had never seen him in all her life, yet, merely on hearing his
name spoken, she made up her mind to be married if they
would let her marry him. Our Lord saw that this Avas neces
sary for the doing of that good work which they have done
together for the services of His Majesty. Francis Velasquez
is not only a Avealthy and good man, but he is one Avho so
loves his wife that he does her pleasure in everything, and
for good reasons, because AA'hatever may be required in a
Avife our Lord has most abundantly supplied. She is not only
careful of his house, but is also exceedingly good, for when
her husband took her to Alba, his native place, and the
quarter-masters of the duke assigned a lodging in her house
to a young knight, she felt it so much that she hated the place,
for, being young and very beautiful, evil might have happened
if she had not been so good, seeing that Satan began to suggest
evil thoughts to the knight.
6. She, perceiving this, but without saying anything
about it to her husband, asked him to take her elsewhere;
he did so, and brought her to Salamanca, Avhere they
lived in great happiness and Avorldly prosperity, for
he held an office1 on account of which everybody Avished
much to satisfy and please him. One trouble only they had —
our Lord left them childless. She used to practise many
devotions and make many prayers to obtain children cf our
Lord, and never begged anything else frcm Him but children
who when she Avas dead Avere to praise His Majesty; for she
thought it hard that all should end with her, and that when
her time Avas come she should leave none behind to praise
God. She told me herself that she had no other reason for
desiring children, and she is a Avcman of great truthfulness;
she is so pious and so good a Christian, as I have already said,
that she makes me give thanks to Gcd Avhen I see her good
works, and consider how anxious she is ahvays to please Him,
and to spend all her time unceasingly in His service.
7. She passed many years having this desire, praying
also to S. Andrew, who she was told would intercede for her
in her trouble. One night, after her many devotions Avere over
which she used habitually to make, she heard a voice, when
she had laid down to sleep, saying. "Do not wish for children:
* Ribera, ii. 17, says he knew Velasquez in Salamanca, where he
was treasurer of the University, having the care of its pronerty, and
the duty of paying their salaries to the professors and regents.

CH. XX.] ALBA DE TORMES. 527
Avhy damn thyself?" She Avas very much astonished and
alarmed, but for all this the wish to have children never left
her; for, as the end she had in vieAV Avas so good, she
could not see Avhy she should be damned for it, and so she
went on praying to our Lord for children, and making special
prayers to S. Andrew in particular. On one occasion, enter
taining this desire, she does not knoAV Avhether she was awake
or asleep — be that as it may, she knoAvs by the results it Avas
a good vision — she seemed to be in a certain house in the
court of which, beneath the gallery, was a Avell, and there
she saw a meadow fresh and green, covered with Avhite
fioAvers in such great beauty that she cannot describe Avhat
she saAv. Close to the well she beheld S. Andrew in a most
venerable and beautiful form, so that it Avas a great joy to
look upon him : he said to her, "These children are different
from those whom thcu desirest." She wished the great joy
she had in that place might net come to an end, but it did nor
last. She saw distinctly it was S. Andrew, without being told
so by anybody, and also that it was our Lord's Avill that she
should found a monastery; Avhereby we may see that the
vision was as much intellectual as imaginary — that it could
not be fancy cr an illusion cf Satan.
8. In the first place, it Avas no fancy, because of the great
results that flowed from it, for from that moment she never
again wished for children: she Avas so persuaded in her heart
that it Avas the will of God that she neither asked or even
desired to have children any mere. Next, it is clear also that
the voice came net from Satan, because of the effects of it;
for nothing that comes from him can do any good, as the
founding of a monastery can, Avherein our Lord is greatly
served. And, again, it could not be from Satan, because it
took place more than six years before the monastery Avas,
founded, and Satan cannot know what is coming. Being
much amazed at the vision, she said to her husband that
they might as wel} found a monastery, seeing that it was not
God's will they should have children. As he was so good,
and loved her so much, her husband Avas delighted at it, and
they began to consider Avhere they should make a foundation.
She was for the place where she was born : he suggestetd to
her many good reasons against it, in order that she might see
it would not do to build it there.
9. While they were discussing the matter the duchess of

528 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XX.
Alba sent for the husband, and when he had come asked him
to return to Alba, and there undertake a charge and office she
gave him in her household. He, Avhen he saAV Avhat she required
of him and had spoken to him about it, accepted it, though
much less profitable than his office in Salamanca. His wife
Avhen she heard of it Avas much distressed, because, as I said be
fore, she hated the place ; but on being assured by him that no
lodgers would be admitted into the house she Avas somewhat
satisfied, though still very sorry, because she liked Salamanca
better. He bought a. house and sent for her; she came in
great grief, and was more grieved still when she saw the
house, for, though it was in a A'ery good situation and large,
yet it had not many rooms, and so she passed the night in
very great sadness. The next morning, on entering the court,
she saAv on that very side of it the well beside which she had
seen S. AndreAv ; everything Avas precisely as she had seen in
the vision — I mean the place itself — but she did not see the
Saint, or the meadow, or the flowers, though then and ahvays
present to. her imagination. On seeing this she Avas troubled,
and made up her mind to found a monastery on the spot.
She was now comforted and in peace, Avithout any Avish to
go elsewhere to live, and they began to buy other houses
near, till they had acquired ground enough.
10. She was very anxious to find out what order it
should belong to, her wish being that the nuns should be few,
and the enclosure strict. In discussing the matter with two
religious of different orders,, very good and learned men, she
Avas recommended by both to do some other good Avork in
preference, because nuns, for the most part, are discontented
people. Many other things of that kind they said to her;
for, as Satan hated the work, he wished to hinder it, and so he
made them consider the reasons they were giving as very
weighty. As they insisted so much upon it that there was no
good in founding a monastery, and as Satan too, Avho had a
greater interest in hindering it, made her afraid and uneasy,
she resolved not to go on with her work, and said so to her
husband; and then, as people of that kind told them it was
not right, and as they had no other object but that of serving
our Lord, they thought it right to forego their purpose.
Accordingly they agreed to marry a nephew of hers, a child
of her sister whom she loved much, to a niece of her husband,
and to give them a great portion of their property, and with the

CH. XX.] ALBA DE TORMES. 52i>
remainder to make provision for their OAvn souls: the nepheAv
was very goud and very young.
11. They Avere both bent on this, and perfectly satisfied
with their plan. But, as our Lord had other designs, their
agreement was of little worth, for within a fortnight the
nephew became so ill that in a few days our' Lord took him
to Himself. To her it Avas a most bitter sorrOAv: the resolution
they had come to, of giving up that Avhich God wished them
to do, in order to enrich the nephew, had been the occasion
of his death, and she fell into a great fear. She called to
mind what had happened to the prophet Jonas because he
would not obey Gcd, for it seemed as if God Avas chastising
her by taking from her a nephew Avhom she loved so much.
From that day fcrth she was resolved to let nothing hinder
the founding of the monastery, and so was her husband,
though they did not knoAv Iioav to compass their end. God
put into her heart — so it seems — that which is noAv done;
and they to Avhom she spoke and described the kind of monas
tery she wished to have — in particular her confessor, a Fran
ciscan friar, a learned and distinguished man — ridiculed it.
for they thought she would never find Avhat she Avas seeking.
She was in verj' great trouble.
12. This friar happened to go, about this time, to a
certain place where he was told of these monasteries of our
Lady of Carmel Avhich Avere being then established. Having
obtained much information about them, he returned and
told her that he had now learnt that she could found her
monastery, and in the way she wished. He told her what
had happened, and recommended her to find means of
speaking to me. She did so. We had a great deal of trouble
in making the arrangement, for I have ahvays laboured
to have the monasteries Avhich are endowed sufficiently
furnished, so that there shall be no need for the nuns to apply
to their kindred or to anybody else, that they shall have in
the house Avhatever is necessary in food and raiment, and that
the sick shall be AA-ell cared for, because many inconveniences
result from the Avant of what is necessary. I have never been
without the courage and the confidence necessary for founding
monasteries A\-ithout revenues, for I was certain God would
never fail them ; but I have no heart for founding monasteries
to be endowed and that scantily ; I think it better not to
found them at all. At last they became reasonable, and

530 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XX.
assigned a sufficient endowment for the number of nuns; they
also did that Avhich I thought much of — they left their OAvn
house and gave it to us, going themsehes to live in one that
was in a Avretched state. . The Most Holy Sacrament Avas
reserved and the foundation made on the feast of the Con
version of S. Paul, in the year 1571, to the honour and glory
of God; and in that house, I believe, His Majesty is well
served. May it please Him ever to prosper it!1
13. I began by giving seme account of particular sisters
in these monasteries, thinking that when people came to read
what I am Avriting those sisters would net be then alive: my
purpose was to encourage these Avho came to us to go on-
Avards, according to such a good beginning. Afterwards I
considered that there might be found seme one who would do
it better, and more in detail, and without the fear that troubles
me, for I have been thinking that I shall be considered as an
interested person. I have therefore omitted many things
which they who have seen and knoAvn them cannot help
regarding as miraculous, because supernatural. I will not
speak on this subject, neither will I speak of those things
which our Lord visibly granted to our prayers. In the dates
of the foundations I suspect I am occasionally in error, though
I am as careful as I can be to refresh my memory. As it
is not a matter of much importance, and the correction can be
made hereafter, I speak to the best of my recollection : it will
make but little difference if there should be some mistakes.
1 The Saint went from Alba to Salamanca, having made Juana of
the Holy Ghost prioress, and Maria of the Most Holy Sacrament sub-
prioress (Ribera, ii. ch. xvii).

.H. XXI.] SEGOVIA. 531

CHAPTER XXI.
THE MONASTERY OF S. JOSEPH, SEGOVIA, 1574  FOUNDED ON THE
FEAST OF S. JOSEPH, 1574.
1. I have already said1 that after founding the monas
teries in Salamanca and in Alba, but before the nuns of
Salamanca Avere settled in a house of their own, I was sent
by the father-general, Fra Pedro Fernandez, then apostolic
commissary, to the monastery of the Incarnation in Avila lor
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.2 I Avas in prayer there one day Avhen
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 Avas ordered, and I had heard from the father-
master, Fra Pedro Fernandez, the apostolic commissary, that
he did not Avish me to make any more foundations. I saAv
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 Avas thinking cf this our Lord bade me
speak to him about it, for he Avould give his consent.
2. I Avas in Salamanca at the time, and Avrcte to the
commissary saying that he Avas aAvare the most reverend the
father-general had commanded me never to fail to make
foundations Avherever an opportunity occurred; that the
bishop3 and city of SegOA'ia had consented to admit a monas-
* Ch. xix. § 6. 2 lb. § 7.
* Don Diego de Covarrubias y Leyva (Ribera, iii. 2). He AA'as born
in Toledo, July 25, 1512; studied canon law in Salamanca under the
celebrated Navarre, Avhom he speaks of as prsceptor metis ornatissimus,
Martinus Azpilcuela (Relect. in C. Peccatum, par. 2, § 9); and in 1543
was made professor there of canon law himself; bishop successively
of Ciudad Rodrigo, of Segovia, and of Cuenca, when Don Caspar de
Quiroga, the grand inquisitor, was made archbishop of Toledo. The
chronicler says he died in Madrid Avhen still bishop of Segovia, Sep
tember 27, 1577; the Bollandists on the 26th (n. 768). Fra Michael a
S. Joseph, in his Bibl. Critic, voce "Didacus Cov.," says he died in
Segovia October 1, being then sixty-five years of age. He Avas a man
of great learning and greater piety. Nine years after his death his
body Avas found not only incorrupt but fragrant (Reforma de los
Descalcos, lib. iv. ch. xxiv. § 7).

•">32 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXI.
tery of our order, which I Avould found if he Avould order
me; that I Avas informing him of the fact for the satisfaction
of my conscience, and whatever orders he might give I should
be safe and contented. These, I believe, Avere the Avords 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 com
manded me at once to make the foundation, and gave his per
mission, at Avhich I Avas much astonished, remembering what I
had heard him say on the subject. From Salamanca I found
means to haA'e a house hired for us,1 for since the foundations
in Toledo and Valladolid Avere made I had felt it Avas better,
for many reasons, to take possession first, and then look for a
house of our own. My chief reason Avas, that I had no money
Avherewith to buy a house; that, the monastery once founded,
our Lord would provide one fortliAvith ; and that a better site
might be then selected.
3. There lived there a lady, Dona Ana de Jimena,2 who
had been the wife of the heir to an entailed estate. She had
A-isited me once in Avila, and Avas a A-ery great servant of
God. Her vocation had always been that of a nun. Ac
cordingly, when the monastery Avas established, she came in
with a daughter of hers, Avho had led a most pious life;
and for the trouble she had had as wife and widow our
Lord repaid her tAvofold 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 Ave needed.
Avhether 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 AA-as 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.*
' Dona Ana de Jimena, widow of Francisco Barros de Bracamonte,
and her cousin Don Andres de Jimena^ hired the house (Reforma de los
Descalcos, lib. iii. ch. xxvii. § 2).
* See Relation, iv. § 1.
* The Saint took with her from Salamanca the nuns Maria 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 Inner Fortress,

CH. XXI.] SEGOVIA. 533
4. On the feast of S. Joseph the Most Holy Sacrament
was reserA'ed, and, though I had the sanction both of the
bishop and of the city, I Avould not enter but in secret the
night before.1 It was a long time noAv since the sanction
had been given, and, as I Avas in the Incarnation, having a
superior other than the most reverend the father-general,
I had not been able to make the foundation. The bishop's
permission, who was there2 Avhen the city asked it of him,
Avas a A-erbal one, given to a nobleman, Andres de Jimena,
AA-ho asked for it on our behalf. He did not take the trouble
to haA-e it in Avriting, 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, a barefooted friar3
Avho had come with the father Julian of Avila, and another
servant cf God AA'ho had travelled with us, Antonio Gaytan.
5. This was a nobleman from Alba,* who had once been
very Avorldly, but whom our Lord had called some years since.
He so trampled on the world that his Avhole soul was intent
only on serving our Lord more and more. I have said Avho
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 Avho were with us there Avas not one who served
vi. 4, § 6. From Alba de Tormes she took Avith her Guiomar of Jesus,
and from Avila her cousin Isabel of S. Paul, Avho returned with the
Saint Avhen the foundation had been completed (Ribera, iii. 2).
1 The Saint and her companions were lodged this night in the
house of Dona Ana de Jimena (Reforma, lib. iii. ch. xxvii.. § 3).
1 The bishop Avas absent when the Saint arriA-ed in Segovia, being
detained in Madrid on business as president of Castile (Reforma, lib. iii.
ch. xxvii. § 3).
* This was none other than S. John of the Cross who had said
the mass (Reforma, lib. iii. ch. xxvii. § 3). Julian of Avila hid himself
under the staircase (Ribera, iii. 2).
' He seems to have left Segovia, when the Saint had obtained a
house, for Salamanca, to which place the Saint sent him a letter. No.
47, but 57 vol. ii. ed. Doblado. 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.

534 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH.. XXI.
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,
Avhereby it seems clear that God called him and Father Julian
of Avila to the Avork; Father Julian, hoAvever, has been Avith
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 jour
ney Avas about God, for the instruction of those who travelled
with us and Avho met us on the road, and thus did they serve
His Majesty in every way.
6. It is only right, my daughters, that those of you
who shall read the story of these foundations should know
hoAV 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 derh-e
some advantage from your prayers ; for if you kneAV the hard
ships they endured night and day, and how toilsome were
the journeys they made, you Avould mcst willingly do so.
7. The A-icar-general Avould not quit the church Avithout
leaving a constable at the door, I knoAv not for AA'hat purpose.
It helped to frighten a little those Avho Avere there: as for
myself, I never cared much Avhat might happen after taking
possession; all my fear is before. I sent for certain persons,
relatives of one of the sisters1 Avho 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 Avell
enough, so he said later; what he wanted Avas to have been
told of it beforehand; that, I believe, Avould have been much
worse for us. At last they settled Avith him that he Avas to
leave us in possession of the monastery, but he would not let
us have the Most Holy Sacrament.
8. That gave us no concern; we remained there some
months till we bought a house,2 and with it, too, many laAV-
suits. We had had one already with the Franciscan friars
for another which we bought close by; about another house
Ave had to go to law with the friars of the order for the Ransom
1 This was Isabel of Jesus (Reforma, lib. iii. ch. xxvii. § 3).
' They bought it from Diego Porraz (De la Fuente).

CH. XXI.] SEGOVIA. 535
of Captives, and vr.zh the chap:er, Avhich had a rent-charge
on it. O Jesus, what it is to have to contend against many
minds! When I thought everything Avas 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. A nephew of the bishop1 did all he could for us — he
Avas prior and canon of the church; so also did the licentiate
Herrera, a very great servant of God. At last, when Ave
had paid money enough, everything was settled. Our law
suit with the friars of the order of Ransom remained, and it
was necessary for us to go Avith the utmost secrecy to our
house. When they saAv us in possession, which was a day
or tAA-o before Michaelmas, they thought it better to compro
mise the matter fcr a sum of money. The greatest anxiety
which these troubles cccnsioned me Avas that it wanted only
seven or eight daA-s to complete my three years in the Incar
nation.2 10. It pleased our Lord that eA'erything should be so
1 This was Don Jean de Orosco y Covarrubias de Leyva, after
wards bishop of Gu-iix. Going from the episcopal palace to the
cathedral on the <iay 5. Teresa took possession, he saw the cross over
the door of the house, and when he heard it Avas a Carmelite monas
tery Avent in, and, after praying awhile, asked permission to say mass.
It Avas granted, and sfter 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 fce -sras bound to help her, for she was a cousin
of his aunt Dona Msria de Tapia. Don Juan helped the monastery
to the utmost of his power, heard the confession of the sisters, and
for some time Avas himself their only chaplain. The vicar-general
did not spare even tie nephew of the bishop when he found fault
with S. Teresa, and Ribera (iiL 2) says he inveighed bitterly against
him for saying mass in tie chapel. Don Juan de Orosco narrates the
facts himself in a letUr dated Guadix, 20th May, 16C6, 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. ii. p. 306.
3 The three years ended October 6, 1574, and the nuns, who when
she was sent to rale 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 tien inter\-ened, and the Saint returned to her
own monastery, where she was elected prioress (Reforma de I :.*
Descalcos, lib. iii. ch. xxxi. § 4).

536 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXII.
Avell settled as to leave nothing in dispute, and two or three
days afterwards I went to the Incarnation. Blessed for ever
be His name Avho has been always so good to me, and let
all creatures praise Him! Amen.

CHAPTER XXII.
THE FOUNDATION OF THE MONASTERY OF THE GLORIOUS S. JOSEPH
DEL SALVADOR IN VEAS, ON THE FEAST OF S. MATHIAS, 1575.
1. At the time at which I have been speaking, when they
sent me from the Incarnation to Salamanca, there came to me,
when I Avas in the latter place, a messenger from the town
of Veas with letters from a lady there, the parish priest, and
other persons, all asking me to go thither and found a monas
tery, for they had a house ready, so that nothing was wanting
but my going thither to make the foundation.1
2. I made inquiries of the messenger. He told me great
things of the country, and justly so, for it is very pleasant,
and the climate is good. But when I considered the many
leagues that were betAveen that place and this I thought it
a folly, especially as I must have an order from the apostolic
commissary, who disliked, or at least did not like, my making
any more foundations. I Avished, therefore, to say in reply
that I could not, without telling him anything further. After
wards it struck me that, as the commissary was then in Sala
manca, it Avould not be right to send such an answer without
having his opinion, because of the commandment I had re
ceived from the most reverend our father-general, not to
omit making a foundation if occasion offered.
3. When he saw the letters he sent me word that he
did not think it right to give pain to the writers ; that he was
edified by their devotion ; that I was to write to them and say
that as soon as they should have obtained the permission of
the order2 provision would be made for the foundation. He
added, also, that I need not trouble myself — permission would
not be given, for he had heard of the knights by other ways,
1 This was in 1573 (Reforma de los Descalcos, lib. iii. ch. xxxii. § 11).
Veas was subject to the jurisdiction of a military order, that of
the knights of S. James; see below, § 13.

CH. XXII.] VEAS. 537
and people had not been able for many years to obtain their
consent; but I was to send a friendly answer. I think of this
sometimes, how, when our Lord Avills anything, though we
will it not, it happens Avithout our knoAvledge that Ave become
the means of doing it; so it was now Avith the father doctor,
Fra Pedro Fernandez, the commissary;1 accordingly, when the
permission Avas obtained he could not Avithhold his own, and
the house was founded in that Avay.
IHS.
4. The monastery of the blessed S. Joseph in the town
of Veas Avas founded on S. Mathias's day, in the year 1575.
This was the way it began, to the honour and glory of God.
In the town dwelt Sancho Rodriguez de Sandoval, a nobleman
of ancient descent and wealthy. He Avas married to a lady
whose name is Dona Catalina Godinez. Among the children
whom our Lord gave them are two daughters — the eldest,
Dona Catalina Godinez f the younger, Dona Maria de Sando
val; they are the founders of the monastery. The elder was
fourteen years of age when our Lord called her unto His serv
ice. Until then she was very far from giving up the world : on
the contrary, she thought so much of herself that she looked
upon every offer of marriage which her father brought to
her as not fitting for her.
1 S. Pius V., applied to once more by Philip II., undertook the
reform of the Carmelites, and ordered all the friars in Andalusia
to submit to the visitation of the ordinary, who was to be assisted
by the Dominicans in ail those places Avhere Dominicans had a
monastery. The Carmelites resisted and made loud outcries, so
that the king was compelled to beg the Pope to recall the order
and apply another remedy. Thereupon his Holiness determined
that the Carmelites should be visited by Dominicans, and appointed
as his delegate and visitor for the province of Castille Fra Pedro
Fernandez, prior of Talavera de la Reina; and for the province of
Andalusia, Fra Francesco de Vargas, prior of S. Paul's, Cordova.
The bulls of these visitors have been lost, but it is believed that
their authority was given them before May, 1570; they- were made
visitors for four years (Reforma de los Descalcos, lib. ii. ch. xxxviii.
§ 4). Fra Antonio of S. Joseph, in a note on Lett. 52, Lett. 9 vol.
ii. ed. Doblado, says that the original bulls were preserved in the
house of the Carmelite nuns in Toledo, and that Fra Pedro Fernandez
was created by S. Pius V. visitor of the order August 20, 1569, and
was to continue to discharge the duties of his office for four years.
* Born in 1534 (Reforma de los Descalcos, lib. iii. ch. xxxii. § 2).

538 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXII.
5. One day, in an inner room beyond that in Avhich
her father Avas, Avho had not yet risen, she happened to read
on a crucifix that was there the title on the upper part of
the cross, Avhen in a moment, as she was reading it, our Lord
changed her heart. She had been thinking of an offer of mar
riage made to her, which Avas an exceedingly gocd one, and
saying to herself, "Plow little satisfies my father provided
I marry an eldest son! AA'hile I intend that my family shall
have its beginning in me." She had no Avish to be married,
for she thought it a meanness to be subject to any one, neither
did she know Avhence her pride arose. Our Lord kneAV how
to cure it, blessed be His compassion!
6. Accordingly, Avhile she was reading the title a light
seemed to have entered her soul, as the sun enters into a dark
room, whereby she saw the tru.h. In that light she fixed her
eyes on our Lord nailed to the cross shedding His blood, and
thought of the ill-treatment He received and of His great
humility, and then how differently she was demeaning her
self in her pride. She must have spent some time thus, for
our Lord threAv her into a trance,1 Avherein His Majesty
made her see deeply into her OAvn wretchedness and to Avish
that everybody saAV into it. He filled her with so great a
desire of suffering for God that she wished she could undergo
all the torments of the martyrs, giving her at the same time
so earnest a longing for humiliation in her humility, with a
loathing of self, that, if it had not been an offence against
God, she could have wished herself one of the most abandoned
of Avomen, in order that everybody might regard her Avith
loathing; accordingly, she began to hate herself, having most
earnest desires for penance, which she afterwards carried
into act. She made a vow of chastity and poverty on the
spot, and wished so much to be subject to others that she
Avould have been glad if they had taken her there to be a slave
in the country of the Moors. ,
7. All these virtues have been so lasting that it is plain
they Avere a supernatural gift of our Lord, as will appear later,
in order that all may praise Him. Blessed for ever and ever
be Thou, O my God, who in a moment undoest a soul and
then createst it anew! What does it mean, O Lord? I should
1 Our Lord showed her in a vision her own heart, full of cor
ruption and loathsome worms (Reforma de los Descalgos, lib. iii. ch'.
xxxii. .§ 2). .-.-.'. '.,..' .

CH. XXII.] VEAS. 539
like now to repeat the question of the apostles, Avho Avhen
Thou hadst healed the blind man asked if his parents had
sinned.1 I ask, Who deserved so sovereign a grace"? It was
not she, for the thoughts from Avhich Thou didst withdraw
her, when Thou gavest her that grace, are what I have de
scribed. O Lord, hoAV high are Thy judgments! Thou
knowest what Thou doest, and I do not knoAv what I am
saying, for Thy works and Thy judgments are beyond all
comprehension. Glory be unto Thee for ever, who canst do
still greater things; for if it Avere not so what Avould become
of me? But her mother must have had some share in this,
for, as she was a most devout Christian, it is possible that
Thou, full of compassion, must in Thy goodness have granted
her to see in this life so great a virtue in her daughters. I
think sometimes that Thou bestowest like graces on those who
love Thee, and art so merciful unto them as to give them chil
dren in whom they shall serve Thee.
8. While she Avas thus occupied she heard so loud a
noise2 overhead in the room that she thought the whole place
must be tumbling down. The sounds seemed to descend to
the ground in a corner of the room, and to come towards her
in the spot Avhere she was standing. She heard also loud
roaring cries, which lasted for some time: so strange were
they that her father, who, as I have just said, had not yet
risen, Avas greatly alarmed and began to quake with fear, and
then, like a man beside himself, having put on his dressing-
gOAvn, rushed into her room SAVord in hand, and, pale Avith ter
ror, asked her what the noise came from. She ansAvered him
that she had seen nothing. Pie looked into another room be
yond and seeing nothing told her to go to her mother, whom he
asked not to leave her daughter alone, telling her Avhat he had
heard. 9. This shoAvs plainly enough what Satan must feel Avhen
he sees a soul Avhich he thinks his own rescued from his
hands. As he hates our Avelfare so much, I am not surprised
that when he beholds our merciful Lord bestOAving so many
graces at once he should be alarmed, and show his anger
so plainly, especially if he sees that, through the wealth of
grace treasured up in that soul, he is to lose others he looked
1 S. John ix. 2.
* The chronicler says the noise was as the bellowing of bulls
(Reforma, lib. iii. ch. xxxii. § 2).

540 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXII.
on as his own. I «n persuaded myself that our Lord never
grants a grace so great without communicating it also to
other persons besides. She never spoke of this to anybody,
but she had a very strong desire to enter religion, and fre
quently asked her parents for their consent; they Avould never
give it.
10. At the end of three years, during Avhich she had often
asked their consent, seeing that they Avould never give way,
she dressed herself very simply on the feast of S. Joseph.1
She told her mother, and her mother only, Avhose consent
to her becoming a nun could be more easily had, but she
Avould not venture to tell her father, and so went to church
trusting that, once seen in public in that dress, she might not
be made to change; and so it came to pass. During those
three years she used to set aside certain hours for prayer, and
to mortify herself in every Avay she could, as our Lord taught
her. She Avould go into the courtyard, moisten her face,
and then expose it to the sun, in order that, being thereby
disfigured, she might escape from the offers of marriage with
which she was harassed still.
11. She Avas unwilling to command others, but, as she
had the charge of her father's household, she must give orders
to the women therein, for she could not help it: that done,
she Avould wait till they Avere asleep, and then go and kiss
their feet, distressed at being waited on by those Avho Avere
better than herself. As she was occupied all day Avi.h her
father and mother, she spent the whole night, Avhen she might
have been asleep, in prayer, so that very often she hardly
slept at all ; which seems impossible, Avere it not that it was
all supernatural. Her penances and disciplines were many, for
she had no director, and so told nobody cf them. Among other
things she did Avas this : she once Avore her father's coat of
mail next her flesh during the whole of Lent. She Avould
retire for prayer into a lonely place, Avhere the deA-il used to
mock her in strange ways. Very often she began to pray at
ten o'clock at night, and did not rise therefrom till it Avas day.
12. She passed nearly four years in these practices, when
our Lord — for she had to render Him other and higher serv
ices — began to send her most grievous and painful sicknesses
such as a continual fever, Avith dropsy and disease of the
heart. He sent her also a cancer in the breast, which was
1 In the year 1551 (Reforma de los Descalqos, § 6).

CH. XXII.] VEAS. 541
cut out. In short, her illnesses lasted about seventeen years,
and she Avas scarcely ever weil. After five years, during which
God Avas thus merciful to her, her father died;1 and her sister,
being fourteen years old,2 though very fond of sIioav, dressed
herself simply a year after her sister made the change, and
began also to give herself unto prayer, the mother encouraging
them both in their good desires and practices, and alloAving
them to occupy themselves in an admirable Avork, but foreign
to their condition, that of teaching little girls to Avork and
read; not for any payment, but simply for the opportunity
hereby had of teaching them their catechism and their prayers.
A great good was wrought, for many went to them, and the
good habits in Avhich they were thus trained when quite
young may be traced in them at this day. This did not k.st
long, for the devil, vexed to see so much good done, persuaded
the parents that it was mean in them to alloAv. their daughters
to be taught for nothing.3 This, together with illnesses noAv
beginning, made them give up that work.
13. FiA'e years aLer the father's death the mother also
1 Dona Catalina, seeing that while her father lived it was impos
sible for her to enter religion, prayed to God for either the means of
entering or the removal of her strong desires to leave the Avorld.
She then heard a voice saying to her, "Do not distress thyself; thy
father will die Avithin two or three Aveeks. Bid Lim be ready." She
was very unAvilling to do this, but as the time was passing away she
said to her father, in a pleasant way, "You are in better health,
I think, than you have ever been." Don Sancho replied, "Well,
I never was better in all my life." Whereupon the daughter said,
"Then it is a sign that death is near, and remember that in our family
we ahvays die in August. You should put everything in order."
Don Sancho Avas so much struck by Avhat his child said that he set
his affairs in order at once, made Lis preparations for death, and on
the third day God took him to Himself (Reforma, lib. iii. ch. xxxii.
§ 8). It was in August, 1555.
Mt was in the year 1552 (Reforma, ibid. § 8).
* This sarcasm of the Saint is expressive, and hits off the stupidity
of Spaniards in her day. It is likely enough that there was no school
there for little girls. Two young ladies of noble birth give them
selves up out of charity to the gratuitous education of children;
but people calling themselves gentlemen find that their daughters
must not mix with the children of the poor, nor be educated for
nothing, as they were. They would rather haA'e them ignorant.
That the country is behindhand has been laid to the charge of the
religious orders. Would it not have been better to lay the fault at
the door of vanity and easygoingness, the natural vices of the
country? (De la Fuente.)

542 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXII.
died,1 and Dona Catalina, as her vocation had always been that
of a nun — only she could not obtain her father's consent —
Avished to become one at once. Her kindred advised her,
as there Avas no monastery in Veas, that, having means suffi
cient for a foundation, the sisters should found a monastery
in their own place, Avhich would be a greater service to our
Lord. As the place belonged to a commandery of the knights
of S. James, a license from the council of the orders was
necessary, and so she began to make efforts to obtain it. It
was so difficult to get that four years Avent by in much labour
and expense, and nothing was done till a petition Avas drawn
up and presented to the king. The difficulty being so great,
it came to pass that her kindred told her it Avas folly to persist,
and Avould have her give up her plan; moreover, as she Avas
almost always in her bed, suffering so much, as I said before,
they said that into no monastery could she be received as
a nun. 14. Her answer Avas, that if within a month our Lord
gave her again her health it AA-ould be a sign to them that
He Avas pleased Avith her plan, and she Avould herself go to
court to bring it about.2 When she said this she had been
for six months without leaving her bed, and for eight months
had been scarcely able to move herself in it. At this time she-
had been for eight years in a continual feA-er, with consump
tion and dropsy ; she Avas also wasted by an inflammation of
the lh'er, which was so violent that the burning heat of it
was felt through the bedclothes, and singed her shifts. It
seems incredible, but I heard so myself from the physician of
Avhom I made inquiries about the illnesses she then had, and
at which he was greatly amazed. She had also rheumatic
gout and sciatica.
15. On the vigil of S. Sebastian, which was a Saturday,3
1 In 1560, about two years before the Saint founded her first
monastery in Avila.
2 She made this answer December 19, 1571, according to Yepes,
ii. 27; but Ribera, iii. 3, says it Avas on the 29th December, having
in the previous August received from our Lord a promise that her
health would be restored to her in time to go to Madrid in Lent,
as the Saint tells us below (§ 17).
s The vigil of S. Sebastian fell on a Saturday in 1572. But the
chronicler of the order says the miracle was wrought in 1557.
(Reforma, lib. iii. ch. xxxii. § ii.) . In that year the vigil was on a
Tuesday.

CH. XXII.] VEAS. 543
our Lord restored her to health so completely that she could
not hide the fact, that the miracle might not become known.
Her account is that at the moment our Lord Avas about to
heal her she had an inAvard quaking, Avhich made her sister
think she Avas dying; she herself Avas conscious of some very-
great change in her body, and of another in her soul ; she felt
so well. She had now a greater joy in her health, because it
enabled her to prosecute the affair of the monastery, than she
had had in suffering, for from the very first Avhen God called
her she so hated herself that she did not regard her sufferings.
She says that her desire to suffer Avas so strong that she used
to pray God with her whole heart to try her in all manner of
suffering. 16. His Majesty did not fail to fulfil her desire, for in
eight years she was bled more than five hundred times, and
cupped so often besides that the marks were still to be seen
in her flesh. Sometimes salt was applied, because one of the
physicians said it Avas good for drawing out the poisonous
humours which caused the pain in her side : this she underwent
more than twenty times. What is more Avonderful still is
this: — Avhenever the physician told her that this remedy was
to be had recourse to, she used to long for the coming of the
time Avhen it was to be used, without any fear Avhatever, and
she herself encouraged the physicians when they cauterised
the cancer, which Avas often done, and on other occasions
when such violent means Avere used. She says that what
made her wish for suffering Avas the desire to know if those
longings she had to be a martyr Avere real.
17. When she found herself suddenly well she spoke to
her confessor and physician about removing into another place,
that they might be able to say that a change of residence had
done it. They refused: so far from it, the physicians pub
lished it abroad, for they looked on her state as in
curable, because the blood that issued from her mouth was so
corrupt that they said it was the lungs themselves. She con
tinued three days in bed, and would not venture to leave it,
lest her restoration to health should become known; but, as
she could not hide it any more than she Avas able to hide her
sickness, it was of little service to her. She told me that,
one day in the month of August previously, she begged our
Lord either to take from her the great desire she had to be
a nun and found a monastery, or to furnish her with the

544 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXII.
means of accomplishing that desire, and, if the latter were
the divine will, that she was completely assured that she
would be well in time to go to the court in Lent for the
license. 18. She says too that, though her ailments were at that
time much more grievous to bear, she never ceased to hepe
that our Lord Aveuld grant her that grace. And, though siie
received the Sacrament cf the last anointing tAvice — once in
such imminent peril that the physician said there was net time
enough to send for the Holy Gil, and that she Avould be dead
before it could be brought to her — she never abandoned her
trust in our Lord, being certain that she Avas to die a nun.
I do not mean that she was anointed tAvice betAveen August
and the feast cf S. Sebastian — it was before that time. When
her brothers and kindred saw the goodness of our Lord to her,
and the miracle He wrought in the sudden restoration of her
health, they Avould not venture to hinder her journey, though
they regarded it as a folly. She Avas three months in Madrid,
and her request was in the end refused. She then presented
her petition to the king, Avho, Avhen he saAv it related to the
barefooted nuns of Carmel, ordered it to be granted forthwith.
19. When the monastery came to be founded it was
plain she had treated the matter Avith God, for the superiors,
though so far away, and the revenue so scanty, were ready
to accept it. What Plis Majesty Avills must be done Avithout
fail. Accordingly the nuns arrived in the beginning of Lent,
1575 ; the people came forth in procession to receive them Avith
solemn rejoicings. There Avas great joy everywhere: even
the little children showed it to be a work pleasing to our
Lord. The monastery, under the invocation of S. Joseph
of the Redeemer, was founded in Lent on the feast of S.
Mathias.1 JOn Thursday after the first Sunday in Lent. The poverty of this
house was so great that some years afterwards the superiors of the
order resolved to break it up, and in order to make the dispersion
of the nuns the more easy to the other houses, issued an order, in
the expectation that the elder nuns would die, that no more novices
should be admitted. Thus it subsisted for many years, but there was
no death among the nuns. The superiors at last recalled the order
about novices, and on the very day that recall was known in the
monastery postulants came in, and the old nuns began to die. (Fra
Anton of S. Joseph, notes on fragment 71, vol. iv. ed. Doblado, num
bered 81 among the letters by Don Vicente ) The nuns were dispersed

CH. XXII.] VEAS. 545
20. On the same day the tAvo sisters, to their great joy,
received the habit.1 The health of Doha Catalina improved
still. Her humility, obedience, and desire to be thought noth
ing of sIioav plainly hoAV real Avere her good desires for the
service of our Lord. Unto Him be glory for eA'er and ever!
21. The sister told me, among other things, that, about
tAventy years before, she Avent to rest one night anxious
to find the most perfect order in the Avorld, that she might
become a nun in it; and that, as she thinks, she began to
dream she Avas Avalking on a A-ery steep and narrow path in
the utmost danger cf falling doAvn a precipice, when she saAV a
barefooted friar, Avho said to her, "Sister, come Avi.h me."
On seeing Fra Juan de la Miseria,2 a lay brother of the order,
who came to Yeas Avhen I av^s there, she said that he seemed
to be the very person she had seen. The friar took her to a
house Avherein Avere a great many nuns, but there was no
light in it beyond that given by the lighted candles which
the nuns carried in their hands. She asked them to tell her
Avhat order it Avas; all kept silence, and, lifting up their veils,
shoAved countenances cheerful and smiling. She assures me
that she then saAV the faces cf the very sisters she has seen
here, and that the prioress took her by the hand and said to
her, "Child, I Avant ycu here," and showed her the constitu
tions and the rules. When she aAveke frcm her dream she
was very joyous, for it seemed to her that she had been in
heaven, and Avrote down Avhat she remembered of the rules.
For a long time she said nothing cf this to her confessor or
to anybody else, and nobody could tell her Avhat order that
Avas. 22. A father of the Society came to the place who knew
her wishes; she showed him the paper, saying that if she
in the civil wars, and the monastery exists no longer. The church
is now parochial, and some of the nuns Avere living in 1861, in the
monastery of Jaen (De la Fuente).
1 Dona Catalina was in religion Catherine of Jesus, and her sister
Maria of Jesus; both made their profession September 11, 1576
(De la Fuente). The eldest wished to be a lay sister, and it required
the authority of S. Teresa to make her a chcir nun (§ 22 below).
She was afterwards prioress of the house, dying in 1536. The younger
sister was prioress of Cordova when Ribera was writing the life of
the Saint (Ribera, iii. 3).
5 See ch. xvii. § 5, note 3.

545 BOOK Ot-' THE FOUNDATIONS.- [CH. XXII,
could find that order she should be happy, for she Avould enter
it at once. The father kneAV cur monasteries, and so he told
her it was the rule of the order of our Lady of Carmel; he
did net, hoAveA-er, say this clearly in as many Avords so as to
make her understand, but only that it was the rule of the
monasteries I was founding; and thus it came about that she
sent me a messenger, as I said before.1 When my ansAver
Avas received she Avas so ill that her confessor told her she
must be quiet, for if she were in the monastery they would
send her away; it was therefore very unlikely they would
receive her in her present state. She Avas very much dis
tressed at this, and, turning to our Lord in great earnestness,
said, "O my Lord and my God, I knoAv by faith that Thou
canst do all things ; then, O life of my soul, either take aAvay
from me these desires or give to me the means of carrying
them into effect."
23. This she said in great truthfulness, beseeching our
Lady, by the sorrow she felt when she looked on our Lord
dead in her arms, to intercede for her. She heard a voice
Avithin herself saying, "Belie\re and hope: I am almighty:
thou shalt have thy health ; for to Him who is able to hinder
thee from dying of so many diseases, all of them in themselves
deadly, it is more easy to take them aAvay." These words,
she says, gave her such strength and confidence that she
could not doubt of the fulfilment of her desire, though her
sufferings became much more grievous until our Lord
restored her to health, as I have already said. These things
certainly seem incredible, and, if I had not learnt them of
her physician, of those of her household, and others, I should
not have been disinclined to think — for I am so wicked —
that there AA'as some exaggeration in the story.
24. Although delicate, her health is now such that
she can keep the rule, and her constitution is good; she is
exceedingly cheerful, and in every way, as I said before, so
humble that we all praise our Lord for it. The two sisters
gave all they possessed to the order without any conditions
whatever, and if they should not be received as nuns they
required no compensation. Her detachment from kindred
and her native place is great, and she has even a strong
desire to go far away, and is very importunate on this point
1 See § 1, above.

CH. XXIH.] SEAILLE. 547.
with her superiors; yet so great is her obedience that she
abides there in a certain contentment. It was under
obedience that she received the veil, for there was no per
suading her to be a choir nun — she Avould be a lay sister —
till I Avrote to her, giving her many reasons, and finding fault
Avith her for having a will of her own instead of yielding
to the father provincial. I told her that this was not the
Avay to increase her merit, Avith much beside, treating her
somewhat sharply. But it is her greatest joy to be thus
spoken to, and in this Avay she Avas won over very much against
her will. I know of nothing about this soul that is not
pleasing unto Gcd, and she is so to all. May it please His
Majesty to protect her with His arm, and increase her good
ness, and the grace Pie has given her, to His own further
service and honour! Amen.1

CHAPTER XXIII.
THE FOUNDATION OF THE MONASTERY OF THE GLORIOUS S. JOSEPH
OF CARMEL IN THE CITY OF SEVILLE  THE FIRST MASS SAID ON
THE FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY, 1576.
1. When I was staying in the town of Veas,2 waiting
for the permission of the council of the orders for the founda-
1 The final arrangements for the foundations in Veas were made
when the Saint was prioress of her own house in Avila; the three
years of her priorate in her old house, the monastery of the Incarna
tion, being ended October 6th, 1574. She was in the monastery of
Valladolid at Christmas, but returned to Avila after visiting her sisters
in Medina del Campo early in the year 1575. (See below, ch. xxvii. § 5.)
Then, leaving AA"ila for Veas, she went through Toledo, and took with
her from the house there Mary of S. Joseph and Elizabeth of S Fran
cis, afterwards prioress in Lisbon and Seville. She also sent for Anne
of Jesus from Salamanca. From Toledo she went to Malagon, and
from that monastery took Avith her Mary of the Visitation, Isabel
of S. Jerome, Leonor of S. Gabriel, and Beatriz of S. Michael. Anne
of Jesus was made prioress, arid the sub-prioress was Mary of the
Visitation (Ribera, iii 3; Yepes, ii. 27; Reforma de los Descalcos, lib. iii.,
ch. xxxiii. § 1).
' When the Saint was staying here she received letters from Don
Alvaro de Mendoza, bishop of Avila, and from the nuns there, inform
ing her that the officers of the Inquisition Avere searching, for the
"Life," written by herself (see Relation, vii. §§ 8, 16"! ,

548 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXIII.
tion in Caravaca, there came to see me a father of our order,
a barefooted friar, by name the master Fra Jerome of the
Mother of God Gratian,1 who, living in Alcala a feAv years
before, had taken our habit. He was a man of great learning,
understanding, and modest}', united Avith great goodness
throughout his life, and our Lady seems to have chosen him
for the furtherance of this order under the primitive rule
when he Avas in Alcala, very far from taking our habit,
though not from being a religious, for, though his parents
had other vieAvs about him because of the king's favour and his
great abilities, he was far otherAvise minded himself.
2. From the time he began his studies his father Avished
him to apply himself to the study of the laAvs; he, though
very young, felt so much on the subject that he prevailed
on his father by dint of tears, to let him learn theology.
When he had taken his doctor's degree he wished to enter the
Society of Jesus,2 and Avas accepted, but, for some reason
or other, was required to Avait a few days. He told me that
all his Avorldly ease Avas a torture to him, for he did not
think of the right road to heaven; and he always kept certain
hours of prayer, and was most recollected and modest.
3. At this time a great friend of his, Fra Juan of Jesus,3
* He came to Veas in April, 1575 (see Relation, vi. § 1). Jerome
Gratian was born in Valladolid June 6th, 1545. His father was Diego
Gratian de Alderete, secretary to Charles V. and to Philip IL, and his
mother was Juana de Antisco, daughter of the Polish ambassador.
He Avas sent to the Jesuits in Madrid, where he laid the foundations
of his learning, and in 1560 was sent to the university of Alcala de
Henares, where in 1564 he took the degree of doctor in theology.
In 1569 he was ordained priest (Reforma, lib. iii. ch. xx. § 4, et seq.).
2 Fra Gratian's character was more Jesuit than Carmelite. His
great love of preaching and of the confessional, his learning, the
peculiar bent of his mind, and other gifts adapted for the active
life, seem to belong rather to the Jesuits than to the religious whose
life is r.lmost wholly contemplative. Nevertheless the Reform of
Carmel required an active, intelligent, and quick man, and S. Teresa
found him in the person of Fra Gratian. On the other hand, S.
Teresa, accustomed to the direction of Jesuits, found in her order
a man with their gifts, and made a vow of obedience to him. When
the reform was made and SI Teresa dead, Fra Gratian seemed out
of his place, and was expelled from the order. He wished then to
become a Jesuit, but it was not thought prudent to admit him (De la
Fuente). ' Fra Juan of Jesus was born in the town of Sanahuja, in the
diocese of Urgel, at the foot of the Pyrenees, in Catalonia. His father

CH. XXIII.] SEVILLE. 549
also a doctor, became a friar of our order in the monastery
of Pastrana. I kneAV not if it Avas a letter he Avrote to him
on the greatness and antiquity of our order, or something
else, that first moved him;. for Gratian took great pleasure
in learning everything about the order and in consulting
ancient authors thereupon, and frequently — so he says — had
scruples about neglecting his other studies, not being able
to give up this, spending therein even his hours of recreation.
Oh, the Avisdom and power of God! how helpless we are
when Ave Avould thAvart His will! Our Lord saAv hoAV neces
sary for the Avork he had begun was a man like this. Often
do I praise Him for being so gracious unto us, for if I had
anxiously prayed to His Majesty for a person able to arrange
everything for our order Avhen it began I could not have
asked for such a one as His Majesty has given us. May He
be blessed for ever!
4. He Avas very far from thinking of taking our habit when
he AA-as asked to go to Pastrana to make arrangements with the
prioress of the monastery of our order, not then removed
thence,1 about the reception of a nun. Oh, the Avays of His
divine Majesty! If he had made up his mind to leave Alcala
for the purpose of taking the habit he would probably haA-e
found so many to dissuade him that he might never have
taken it. But the Virgin, our Lady, to Avhom he is extremely
devout, would reward him by giving him her habit, and so
I think that she interceded with God for him, and obtained
for him that grace. The cause even of his taking the habit,
and of his being so devoted to the order, was this glorious
Virgin, who Avould not that one Avho longed so earnestly
to serve her should be Avithout the means of doing so; for
was Pedro Bullon, and his mother Isabel Roca, both most devout
Christians. Fra Juan was sent to Barcelona, where he made all
his studies, and there was made doctor in theology. He obtained
a benefice and Avas ordained priest. Some time after he went to
Alcala, and there saw how empty were all learned distinctions. One
day, in the monastery founded by Maria of Jesus (Life, ch. xxxv!.
§ 29), he heard Jerome Gralian, then a secular priest, preach a sermon
in which he spoke ot the antiquity of the order, and of the many saints
it had given to the church of God. He went thence to Pastrana, for
the reputation of the monastery had filled the university of Alcala,
and in the beginning of the year 1573 made his profession (Reforma
lib. iv. ch. xxxix. § 6, 7). * See ch. xvii. § 15.

550 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXIII.
she is wont to help those who wish to place themselves under
her protection. 5. As a boy in Madrid he used often to go to an image
of our Lady to Avhich he had a great devotion — where it Avas
I do not remember. He used to address her as his love, and
it was the image he most frequently visited. She must have
obtained from her Son for him that purity in Avhich he ahvays
lived. He says that he saw her eyes sometimes — so he
thought — filled Avith tears over the many offences committed
against her Son. That made him very eager and earnest for
the salvation of souls, and gave him a sense of pain Avhenever
he saw people sin against God. So greatly is he under the
dominion of this desire for the salvation of souls that he
regards all troubles as nothing if he thinks he can do any
good thereby. I have seen this to be true in the many troubles
he has undergone.
6. The Virgin then brought him to Pastrana, he being all
the while under a mistake, for he thought he Avas going
thither to obtain the habit for a nun, and God was leading
him thither to take it himself. Oh, the secrets of God ! Hoav,
without our seeking, He goeth" about preparing us for His
graces, and how He rewarded this soul for the good works
it had done, for the good example it had ahvays given, and
for its earnest desire to serve His glorious Mother! for His
Majesty must ever repay this desire Avith exceeding great
rewards. 7. Arrived in Pastrana, he went to speak to the prioress1
about the reception of the nun Avho was to take the habit, and
it seems that the prioress told him to pray to our Lord that
he might enter the order himself. She saw how pleasing Avas
his address — and it is so much so that for the most part
those who converse with him come to love him; it is a grace
from our Lord, and he is extremely beloved therefore by all
his subjects, both friars and nuns; for, though he overlooks
no fault — herein he is very exact regarding the prosperity of
the order — he does it all with such winning sweetness that no
one is able to complain of him.
8. It was with the prioress as with everybody else — she
felt an immense desire that he should enter the order, spoke
of it to her sisters, and told them all to consider it as of great
importance to them, for there were then very few or scarcely
1 Isabel of S. Dominic. See ch. xvii. § 14.

CH. XXIII.] SEVILLE. 551
any like him, and to pray to our Lord not to let him go aAvay
except in the habit. This prioress is a very great servant of
God, and I believe His Majesty would have listened to her
prayers alone : Avhat, then, must He have done to the prayers
of the holy sisters Avho Avere there? Every one of them took
the matter into her OAvn especial care, and made continual
supplication to His Majesty in fasting, discipline, and prayer;
and in the end He Avas pleased to be gracious unto us.
9. When Father Gratian went to the monastery of the
friars, and beheld so much devotion and good Aviil in the
service of our Lord, and above all that this was the order
of His glorious Mother, whom he so earnestly desired to
serve, his heart began to be mov-ed, and he had no Avish to
return to the world, though Satan suggested many difficulties
particularly the distress of his father and mother, who loved
him much, and relied much on him to provide for their
children.1 They had many sons and daughters.2 He, casting
that care upon God, for whom he was leaving everything,
determined to become the subject cf the Virgin and put on
her habit; and so they gave it to him, to the great joy of
everybody, especially cf the nuns and the prioress, who gaA-e
earnest thanks to our Lord, thinking that G°d had done this
for them in anSAA-er to their prayers.3
10. During the year of prcbation he AA-as as humble as
the least of the novices. His goodness was once tried in a
special way : in the absence of the prior, a young and unlearned
friar took his place as the next elder, but Avhose abilities Avere
very poor, and Avho had no discretion in gOA'ernment ; he Avas
also without experience, for he had but lately entered. The
1 Though the father of Gratian was secretary to Philip IL, and
high in his favour, he Avas far from being wealthy. Some of his
daughters, sisters of Gratian, had to be received as nuns Avithout a
doAvry, and out of charity, because of the poverty of the family
(De la Fuente, who adds, thinking probably of other secretaries,
Quantum mutatus ob illo!).
' They had twenty children, six of whom became Carmelites;
but of the six one had to leave through ill-health (Fra Anton, of
S. Joseph, note to Letter 24 of vol. ii. ed. Doblado; Letter 192, ed.
De la Fuente).
' Fra Jerome took the habit, Avithout returning to Alcala, on the
feast cf the Annunciation, March 25, 1572, and Avas professed March
28, 1573 (Reforma, lib. Iii. ch. xxi. §§ 6, 7).

552 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [dl. XXIII.
way he ruled them and the mortifications he made them
undergo Avere so severe that each time I think of it I am
astonished that they Avere able to bear it, especially such
persons as they were; and they needed the spirit which God
gave them to endure it. It was found out afterwards that this
friar was very subject to melancholy, and wherever he may
be, even as a subject, it is a trial to live Avith him; what then
must it have been when he had to govern others? His
melancholy temper has great mastery over him, and yet he is
a good religious, and God sometimes allows the mistake to
be made of putting persons of this kind in authority for the
perfecting of the virtue of obedience in those Pie loves.
11. It must have been so in this case, for God gave to
the father Fra Jerome of the Mother of God, who merited
therein, the most clear light in the matter of obedience for
the instruction of his subjects, having made himself so good
a beginning in the practice thereof. And, that he might not
be without experience in everything necessary for us, he was
subject to most distressing temptations for three months
preceding his profession; but he, as one who had to be a
skilful leader of the Virgin's children, resisted them so well
that, Avhen Satan Avas most urgent with him to leave the order
he defended himself by making a promise never to leave it,
and to take the vows. He gave me a certain Avork he had
Avritten in the midst of these heavy temptations; it filled me
with great devotion, and plainly shows what courage our
Lord had given him.
12. It may seem absurd that he should have told me
much about his soul: our Lord, perhaps, Avould have it so
in order that I might write of it here, to show forth His
praise in His creatures, for I know that he never revealed
so much to his confessor or to any one else. Now and then
there were reasons for it: he thought that I, with my many
years, and because of things he had heard of me, might have
some experience in such matters. He told me these things,
and others Avhich I shall not Avrite of, that I may not be
tedious, when Ave were conversing about other matters. I have
laid great constraint upon myself herein, lest I should give
him pain if what I am writing should ever fall into his hands.
I am not able, nor did I think it right — for this writing, if
ever he should see it, will not be shown him for a long time —
to refrain from speaking of one who has rendered such great

CH. XXIII.] SEVILLE. 553
services in the reneAval of the primitive rule; for, though he
Avas not the first to make a beginning, he came in due time,
for I should have been occasionally sorry that the reform
had been begun if my trust in the mercy of God had not been
so great. 13. I am speaking of the houses of the friars, for those
of the nuns have, by the goodness of God, prospered even
until noAv, and those of the friars have not failed; but they
had in them an element of rapid decline because, not forming
a province by themselves, they were governed by the fathers
of the mitigated rule. Those Avho could have governed them
had no authority, such as Fra Antonio of Jesus,1 who was
the first to make a beginning; nor had they any constitutions
given them by the most reA-erend the father general. In every
house they did as they pleased. Before the constitutions were
given them, and before they had a settled government of
their own, there was trouble enough, some of them being for
this and others for that. I was often in great distress about
them. Our Lord sent the father-master Fra Jerome of the
Mother of Gcd to our relief, for he Avas made commissary
apostolic,2 and had to rule and govern both the friars and
the nuns of the barefooted Carmelites. He made the constitu
tions of the friars;3 Ave had ours already from the most
reverend our father-general, and thus it Avas that he made
none for us, only for them, in A-irtue of his apostolic authority
and of the good gifts, as I said before, Avhich our Lord had
1 Fra Antonio became a source of some anxiety to the Saint a few
years after this, and before she had Avritten the whole of this book.
See Lett. 270, but Lett 33 vol. ii. ed. Doblado; and Lett. 320, but
Lett. 27 vol. iii. ed. Doblado.
2 See below, ch. xxiv. § i. note C).
1 The nuncio, Monsignor Ormaneto, in 1575 made Fra Jerome
superior of the Carmelites in Spain, and accordingly in his visitation
in that year the constitutions were made Avhich Fra Jerome gave to the
friars to observe. The constitutions of the nuns had been already
drawn up by S. Teresa, by authority given her by the Sovereign
Pontiff, Pius IV., who had also approved of them. But, as these were
drawn up for the monastery of S. Joseph under the jurisdiction of
the ordinary, the Saint did not give them to the other monasteries
till she had the sanction of the general. She conceals the fact that
she had written them herself, and says most truly that the later
monasteries received them as the constitutions of the general, who
had simply approved of them for the nev/ houses.

554 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXIV.
given him. The first time he made his visitation he ordered
everything so wisely and so well, thereby showing plainly
that His Divine Majesty was keeping him, and that our Lady
had chosen him to be the succour of her order; and I pray
her earnestly to obtain from her Son help for him always,
and the grace to advance more and more in His service.
Amen.

CHAPTER XXIV.
THE FOUNDATION OF S. JOSEPH OF CARMEL IN THE CITY
OF SEVILLE.
I. When the father-master Fra Jerome Gratian came to
see me in Veas,1 as I have just said,2 Ave had never met before,
1 Fra Jerome made his profession March 21, 1573, and on the
4th of August folloAving was created visitor of Andalusia by Fra
Baltasar of Jesus, prior of Pastrana, acting under the authority of
Fra Francis de Vargas, Dominican, and apostolic visitor of the
Carmelites in Andalusia. Notwithstanding his ofnce, he would not
leave his monastery of Pastrana without the permission of his
superiors, and the visitor apostolic Fra Pedro Fernandez would not
grant it. Fra Mariano (see ch. xvii. § 5) therefore applied to the Fra
Angel de Salazar, the provincial, for leave to go to Seville on business
which he had not settled when he took the habit. He applied also
for leave to be accompanied by any father he might name. Nothing
was said of the real reason, and Fra Jerome's name was not uttered.
The provincial gaA'e the leave required. Fra Mariano chose Fra
Jerome to be his companion, and the two friars left Castille for Anda
lusia. In Toledo, whither they went to see Fra Antonio of Jesus,
they were overtaken by a mandate of the general of the order,
commanding Fra Mariano to become a priest; and he, against his
will, was then made sub-deacon on Ember Saturday, in September.
They found Fra Francis de Vargas in his monastery of Granada,
being then provincial of his order, who received them with great
joy, and gave all his powers to Fra Jerome. The Carmelite provincial
having heard of the ordination of Fra Mariano, and having some
suspicion that the journey was not meant only for his private affairs,
recalled the two friars to Pastrana. They replied that they were
ready to obey, but were unable, because under the obedience of Fra
Francis de Vargas, the apostolic visitor. They then hastened to
Seville, where Fra Jerome remained (not now subject to the pro
vincial) till he was sent for to Madrid, because of the storm that began
to threaten the reform. He preached in Seville during Lent, 1575,
and then, leaving that city, arrived in Veas in April, while the Saint
was still there (Reforma, lib. iii. ch. xxi., xxii.; and ch. xxxvi. § 3).
* Ch. xxiii. § 1.

CH. XXIV.] SEVILLE. 555
though I had wished it much ; letters, however, had
occasionally passed between us. I rejoiced extremely when
I 'heard he was in the town, for I was longing to see him
because of the good accounts I had had of him; but I rejoiced
still more Avhen I had begun to converse Avith him, for he
pleased me so much that I did not think that they who had
spoken so highly of him really knew him at all. I was in
great trouble at the time, but Avhen I saw him our Lord
seemed to sIioav me all the good he Avas to do for us, and
therefore during those days I felt such exceeding comfort
and happiness that I Avas in truth astonished at myself. At
that time, hoAvever, his authority did net reach beyond
Andalusia;1 but when he was in Veas the nuncio2 sent for
him, and then gave him jurisdiction over the barefooted friars
and nuns of the province of Castille.3 My spirit so exulted
1 The Carmelite friars, unwilling to be reformed, obtained from
Gregory XIII., en the 3rd day of August, 1574, the recall of the powers
given to the two Dominican A-i;Ucrs by S. Pius V., so far as it enabled
them to A'isit monasteries which the general or his vicars might visit.
But as the papal brief did not touch the powers of the nuncio, who
Avas himself commissioned to reform the order, the nuncio, to save
the reform from the ruin that threatened it, made Fra Francisco de
Vargas and Fra Jerome of the Mother of God visitors of Andalusia,
September 22nd of the same year. To make this act safe, the nuncio
sent to Rome for advice, and the secretary of His Holiness told him
that his powers had been left intact (Reforma, lib. iii. ch. xxxix. § 4).
' Monsigriore Nicholas Ormaneto one of the most zealous prelates
of the sixteenth century. He had been in England with Cardinal
Pole, and was afterwards present at the council of Trent. He was
vicar-general of S. Charles in Milan, and afterwards bishop of Padua.
He came to Spain in 1572, and in June, 1577, died in such extreme
poverty, the fruits of continual almsgiving, that he had to be buried
at the expense of the king, Philip II. (De la Fuente), Avho had the
greatest respect for him, and who ordered his burial to be celebrated
with the magnificence due to a prelate of such great worth (Reforma,
lib. iv. ch. xxiii. § 1).
' Fra Jerome Avas in Seville when the nuncio made him visitor of
Andalusia, in September, 1574. That first commission was not acted
on by Fra Jerome, except in the commandment he gave S. Teresa
to found a house in Seville. The second commission, by which he
was made visitor of Castille also, was signed August 3, 1575, after
he had seen S. Teresa in Veas. The nuncio gave him powers to
reform the order both in Andalusia and Castille, and thus armed he
began to make his visitation, Avhich in Castille lasted three months.
At this time he gave certain constitutions founded on the primitive

556 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXIV.
in this that during those days I could not thank our Lord
enough, and I had no wish to do anything else.
2. At this time they obtained the licence for making
a foundation in Caravaca,1 but it was not such as I required
for my purpose; and it became, therefore, necessary for them
to send again to the court, for I Avrote to the foundresses that
the foundation Avould be made only on certain conditions,
not therein expressed; and thus it became necessary to apply
to the court again. It Avas very inconvenient for me to remain
there so long, and I wished to return to Castille; but, as the
father Fra Jerome, to whom the monastery was noAv subject —
for he was commissary over the whole province of Castille2 —
was there at the time, and, as I could do nothing without his
consent, I communicated on the subject Avith him. He
thought that if I were once gone there would be an end of
the foundation of Caravaca, and also that it Avould be greatly
for the service of God to found a house in Seville,3 which to
rule, and on the practices of Fra Antonio of Jesus and S. John of the
Cross, who had been in the order longer than he had been (Reforma,
lib. iii. ch. xxxix. § 3; ch. xli. § 4; ch. xiii, § 1. See above, ch. xxiii.
§ 12). 1 See ch. xxvi. below.
1 The Carmelite fathers who observed the mitigated rule, when
they saw that Fra Jerome of the Mother of God had obtained from
Fra Francis de Vargas powers to protect those Avho kept the primitive
rule, suspected that he had also, as was the fact, received powers to
reform them. They immediately begged the general in Rome to
obtain from Gregory XIII. the revocation of the powers entrusted
to the two Dominican visitors, and thereby those granted by one of
them to Fra Jerome. That was done, but the general waited for
the publication of the brief till May 2, 1575, Avhen the general chapter
of the order was to meet at Piacenza. This was known in Spain,
but, as the powers of the nuncio were not touched by the briefs,
Ormaneto made Fra Jerome visitor of Andalusia and Castille (Re
forma de los Descalgos, lib. iii. ch. xxxvi. §§ 1, 2). Most of the previous
editions, and perhaps all the translations," including that of F.
Bouix and that of Martinez, adopted by the Bollandists, have "pro
vince of Andalusia" instead of "province of Castille."
* Ch. xxiv. § 3. Fra Jerome stayed about three weeks in Veas
(letter 57, but 49 vol. i. ed. Doblado), and commanded the Samt to
ask our Lord whether the foundation in Madrid or that in Seville
should be the next. The Saint obeyed, and the answer Avas Madrid.
Thereupon Fra Jerome bade her prepare for that of Seville, and the
Saint began at once to make her arrangements. Two or three days

CH. XXIV.] SEVILLE. 557
him seemed very easy, because persons in authority there,
and willing to give him a house at once, had asked it of him.
The archbishop of Seville, too, was so well disposed towards
the order that he believed he Avould be greatly pleased, and
accordingly it Avas agreed that the prioress and the nuns
whom I Avas to take to Caravaca should go to Seville. I had
always resolutely refrained, for certain reasons, from making
any foundations in Andalusia, and if I had known Avhen I
Avent thither that Veas Avas in the province of Andalusia
I should not have gone at all. Though the place is not in
Andalusia, I think it is four or five leagues distant from the
boundaries of that country; it is, hoAvever, in the province,
and that is the source of the mistake. But Avhen I saw that
it Avas the will of my superior I yielded at once, for our Lord
has given me the grace to think that my superiors are ahvays
in the right. Yet I had made up my mind to found a house
elseAvhere, and had some very grave reasons for not going
to Seville. 3 Preparations for the journey were made at once,
for the heat was beginning. The commissary, father Gratian,
went to the nuncio, who had sent for him, and Ave to SeA'ille1
with my good companions, father Julian of Avila, Antonio
Gaytan, and a barefooted friar.2 We traA-elled in carriages
aftenvards Fra Jerome asked her why she obeyed him, who was
guided in the matter simply by reasons of his own, rather than our
Lord, who had reA-ealed to her that He wished her to go to Madrid.
She replied that she could not be so sure of any revelation as she was
of his order, and that it was her duty to obey him as her immediate
superior. He ordered her to pray once more, and then our Lord bade
her go to Seville (Yepes, ii. 28)
1 The Saint, according to her letter (see the preceding note)
intended to leave Veas May 16, 1575, but did so only on the 18th,
Wednesday before Pentecost, taking with her Mary of S. Joseph,
Isabel of S. Francis, Mary of the Holy Ghost, Isabel of S. Jerome,
Leonor of St. Gabriel and Anne of S. Albert. The last was not to
remain in Seville, for the Saint intended her to be the prioress of
Caravaca (Reforma de los Descalqos, lib. iii. ch. xxxvii. § 3).
* He was an ecclesiastic, native of Villarubia, who had followed
the Saint from Malagon with his two sisters, who were to become
Carmelites. He himself had received the habit in Veas from Fra
Jerome, and taken the name of Gregory Nazianzen. Soon after he
was made master of novices In Seville, where he was professed
March 27, 1576. One of the novices under him was the famous Doria,
Nicholas Jesu Maria. At the same time, in Veas, Julian of Avila

558 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [cH. XXIV.
well covered, for that is ever our way of travelling, and Avhen
we came to an inn we took a room, good or bad as it might
be, at the door of which a sister received Avhat Ave had need
of, and even those who travelled Avith us never entered it. We
made all the haste Ave could, yet we reached Seville only on
the Thursday1 before the feast of the Most Holy Trinity,
having suffered on the road from the heat, Avhich Avas very
great; for, though we did not travel on the holy days, I must
tell you, my sisters, that, as the sun in its strength struck
the carriages, to go into them was like going into purgatory.
Sometimes by thinking of hell, at other times that we were
doing and suffering something for God, the sisters traA'elled
in great cheerfulness and jcy, for the six sisters whp were
with me had such courage that 1 think I could have ventured
to go with them into the country of the Turks, and that they
would have been so brave as to do so; or to speak more
correctly, that our Lord would have made them brave enough
to suffer for Him, for that Avas their desire and their conversa
tion, being exceedingly given to prayer and mortification,
for, as they were to live so far aAvay, I took care they should
be such as were fitted for the work; and all my care Avas
necessary, so great Avere the troubles that arose, some of
which, and they were the heaviest, I will not speak of, because
it might touch certain persons.
4. One day before Pentecost God sent them a very
heayy cross, which was my falling into a very violent fever.
They called upon God, and that, I believe, was the cause of
its going no further, for I neA-er had before in my whole life
a fever of that kind that did not become much worse. It Avas
so violent that I seemed to have fallen into a lethargy, so
Unconscious was I. They threAv water over my face, but it
was so warm, because of the heat, that it gave me hardly
any refreshment at all. I cannot help telling you of the poor
lodging we had in this our need; they gave us a small room
like a shed, which had no windoAV, into which the sun poured
whenever the door was opened. You must remember that
received the Carmelite scapular from Fra Jerome. There Catherine
of Jesus — Catalina de Sandoval — saw Fra Juan de la Miseria on his
way to Seville, and recognised the friar she had seen in a vision
twenty years before (Refcrma de los Descalcos, lib. iii. ch. xxxvi. § 6).
See ch. xxii. § 21.
1 May 26th, 1575.

CH. XXIV.] SEVILLE. 559
the heat there is not like that of Castille, being much more
oppressive. 5. They laid me on a bed, but as it Avas so uneven I would
have preferred being laid on the floor. I could not lie on it, for
it seemed as if made of sharp stones. What illness is ! in
health everything is easy to bear. At last I thought it best
to rise and go on, for it seemed to me easier to bear the heat
of the sun in the open country than in that little room. Oh,
those poor souls in hell ! for them there is no change ; for
that seems a relief, even if it be from one suffering to another.
It has happened to me to have a very A'iolent pain in one
side, and to find an apparent relief in changing my place,
though I had another pain as violent in the other: it Avas
so noA\-. I Avas not at all distressed, so far as I remember,
at my illness : the sisters felt it much more than I did. It
Avas the good pleasure of our Lord that its extreme violence
did not last more than one day.
6. A little before, I do not know if it was two days,
something else befell us that placed us in no slight danger
Avhen crossing the Guadalquivir in a boat. When they had
to ferry the carriages across they could not keep close to
the rope, and they had therefore to make a tack in the river,
although in tacking also the rope Avas of some help to them ;
hoAvever, it happened that those who held the rope either let
it go or lost it, I do not know Avhich, and the boat went off
Avith the carriages away from the rope, and without oars.
I Avas more concerned for the distress of the ferryman than
about the danger ; Ave began to pray, and the boatman to shout.
A nobleman in a neighbouring castle AA-as looking on, and,
pitying our condition, sent people to our succour, for at that
moment Ave had not yet lost the rope, and our brethren Avith
all their might Avere holding on to it; the force of the current,
however, Avas too much for them, and some of them were even
throAvn doAvn. A little boy of the ferryman, whom I shall
never forget, stirred up my devotion exceedingly; he must
have been, I think, about ten or eleven years old ; his distress
at the sight of his father in trouble was such as to make me
give praise to our Lord. But, as His Majesty ever tempers
our trials Avith His compassion, so it was at this time, for
the boat struck on a sandbank, on one side of Avhich the Avater
was shallow, whereby they could come to our relief. We
should have found it very hard to recover our road, because

560 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXIV.
it was now night, if one Avho had come from the castle had not
become our guide. I did not intend to speak of these things,
which are of little importance, for I haA-e said enough of the
difficulties we met in our journeys — I have been pressed much
to speak more at length.
7. A trouble far greater than those I have mentioned
befell us on the last day of Whitsuntide. We hurried on so
as to reach Cordova early in the morning, that Ave might hear
mass unseen by anybody. We Avere directed to go for greater
retirement to a church on the other side of the bridge. When
we were ready to cross we Avere Avithout the permission
necessary for carriages, which only the governor could give,
and as people Avere not yet up tAvo hours passed away before
it was obtained, and a great crowd came about us to find
out who were the traA-ellers. We did not care much about
this, for as we were perfectly concealed they could not see
us. When permission to cross Avas given the carriages could
not pass through the gate of the bridge ; it was found necessary
to use the saw, or something of that kind, I knoAv not what.
and that occasioned the Avaste of more time.
8. At last when we reached the church in Avhich father
Julian of Avila was to say mass we found it full of people,
for it was dedicated to the Holy Ghost; it Avas a great solem
nity, and a sermon was preached: of this Ave knew nothing.
When I saw it all I was greatly distressed, and thought it
would have been better for us to haA-e gone on without hearing
mass than be in the midst of so much confusion. Father
Julian of Avila did not think so, and as he Avas a theologian
we had all of us to yield to his opinion; all the others Avho
Avere with me would perhaps have folloAved mine, and it
Avould have been very wrong. I do not know, hoAvever, that
I should have trusted to my own opinion alone. We alighted
close to the'church ; though nobody could see our faces, for we
always wore our large veils, it was enough to disturb every
body to see us in them, and in our white mantles of coarse
cloth which we wear, and in our sandals of hemp: so it
happened. The surprise, indeed, was great for me and for
everybody: as for myself, it must have taken away my fever
altogether. As we were entering- the church a good man
came up to me, and made a passage for us through the croAvd.
I begged -him to take us to one of the chapels; he did so, and
closed it upon us, nor did he leave us before he had led us

CH. XXIV.] SEVILLE. 561
out of the church again. A few days later he came to Seville,
and said to a father of our order that he thought that because
of the service he had rendered us God had been very good to
him, for a large estate, of wliich he had no expectation, had
come into his possession. I tell you, my daughters, that these
were some of the worst moments I ever passed, though you
may perhaps think nothing of it, for the people were in con
fusion as if bulls had broken in among them. I therefore did
not wait for the usual hour for quitting that place, though
there was no place near where we could take our rest at noon :
we found it under a bridge.1
9. On reaching the house in Seville2 Avhich the father
Fra Mariano had hired for us — he had had directions to do so —
I thought eAerything was clone ; for, as I said, before,3 the
archbishop4 Avas very favourable to the barefooted Carmelites,
and had occasionally written to myself showing me great
affection; it was not enough, however, to spare me much
suffering, for so God did Avill it. The archbishop is a great
enemy of all monasteries of nuns founded in poverty, and he
has his reasons. The mischief, or, to speak more correctly, the
good, so far as this foundation is concerned, lay in silence
on this point, for if they had told him all before I had set out on
my journey I am certain he never Avould have given his con
sent. But the father-commissary and father Mariano, most
fully persuaded that he would give it, that my coming Avould
be a very great pleasure to him, and that they Avere doing him a
very great service in bringing me, said nothing to him before
hand, and, as I Avas saying, they might have committed a great
mistake if they had told him, thinking they Avere doing right;
for in founding the other monasteries the first thing I sought
was the sanction of the ordinary, according to the decree of
1 It was on this day and at this place that the Saint made the
vow of obedience to Fra Jerome of the Mother of God, of Avhich
she speaks in Relation iii. § 3. See Relation vi, § 3.
"• On Thursday, May 26, 1575, within the octave of Pentecost.
See above, § 4.
* See § 3 above.
4 The archbishop of Sevilte was the celebrated Don Cristobal de
Roxas y Sandoval, previously bishop of Oviedo and CordoA-a. He
was translated to Seville in 1571, and lived till 1580. He had been
present in the Council of Trent, and Avas very zealous for ecclesiastical
(': c: : • .! — -t c' n—'frbie to t';e poor (Dc la Fuente).

562 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXIV.
the council.1 Flere we not only took it for granted but
looked on the monastery as a great service done to the arch
bishop, as indeed it was, and as he acknowledged afterwards;
only it was our Lord's good pleasure that no foundation
should be made Avithout great suffering for me, some in one
way, some in another.
10. Having reached the house hired for us, as I said
before, I meant to take possession at once, as I was in the
habit of doing, that we might say the divine office, but father
Mariano— it was he Avho was there — began to suggest delay,
for he, to avoid giving me pain, would not tell me everything.
But, as his reasons were insufficient, I saw where the difficulty
lay — no permission had been given; and so he asked me to
allow the monastery to be endowed, or something of that
kind ; but I do not remember what it Avas. At last he told me
that the archbishop Avas not disposed to sanction a monastery
of nuns — that he had never sanctioned one since he became
archbishop, nor even during the many years he had been here
and in Cordova, great servant of God as he is; still less
would he sanction a monastery founded in poverty.
11. This was nothing else but saying that the monastery
was not to be founded at all. In the first place, it would have
been very sad for me to do this in the city of Seville ; I might,
however, have done it in those parts of the country Avhere
I had founded monasteries endoAved; it Avas in small villages
Avhere they must have been so founded, or not at all, because
there were no other means of sustaining them. In the next
place, we had not a farthing remaining after paying the
expenses of the journey, and we had brought nothing Avith us
except that which Ave had on, a tunic or two and a hood, and
what served as a covering for us in the carriages; and
then to send back those who had come Avith us we should have
had to borrow money. Antonio Gaytan had a friend there,
and he lent us some, and father Mariano begged some for
furnishing the house ; we had no house of our own, and thus
the foundation seemed impossible.
12. The archbishop allowed us, but it must have been
after urgent pressing on the part of Mariano, to have mass
1 Nee de cetero similia loca erigantur sine episcopi, in cujus
dicecesi erigenda sunt, licentia prius obtenta (Cone. Trident. Sess. -
xxv. c. iii).

CH. XXIV.] SEVILLE. 563
said on the feast of the Most Holy Trinity,1 and that was the
first. He sent a message to the effect that no bell was to be
rung or eA-en set up, but that was done already. We continued
thus for a fortnight, and I know I had made up my mind, but
for the father-commissary and father Mariano, to go back with
my nuns, with very little regret, to Veas, to make the founda
tion in Caravaca. I had much more to bear with during those
days — hoAV long it Avas I know not, for I do not remember —
I think it Avas more than a month — for our immediate de
parture Avould have been less intolerable, seeing that the
existence of the monastery had been made known already.
Father Mariano Avould never let me write to the archbishop,
but he Avon him over by degrees himself, and by the help of
letters of the father-commissary from Madrid.
13. One thing set me at ease from much scruple; this
was that mass had been said Avith the archbishop's leave,
and Ave ahvays said our office in choir. He sent some people
to visit me, and to tell me that he would come soon himself.
It AA-as one of his chaplains whom he had sent to say the
first mass. I saAv clearly by this that all that happened seemed
to have no other end but to keep me in pain. The sources
of that pain, hoAvever, Avere not in anything I or my nuns
had to suffer, but in the distress of the father-commissary,
who Avas much afflicted because he had ordered me to go
thither; and his distress would have been very great if any
mishap occurred, and there Avere many things to bring that
about. 14. At this time, too, the fathers of the mitigation came to
knoAv Avhy the foundation had been made.2 I showed them
my letters from the most reverend our father-general. They
Avere satisfied Avith them, but if they had knoAvn what the
archbishop Avas doing I do not think they would have been
so; but of that they knew nothing, for everybody believed
that the foundation gave him very great joy and pleasure.
1 May 29, 1575.
2 The Saint speaks of this visit in a letter to the general, written
from Seville, June IS, 1575 (Lett. 59; but Lett. 72 vol. iv. ed. Doblado).
The prior of the Carmelites of the Observance, Fra Miguel de Ulloa,
was one of the visitors. They asked by what authority the monastery
had been erected, and on being shown the letter of the general asked
for a copy of It. The Saint knew that the copy might be made use
of against her, and refused to grant it. (Note of Fra Anton of
S. Joseph.)

564 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXV.
It pleased God at last that he came to see us, when I spoke
to him of tlie harm he Avas doing us. In the end he told me
to do AA'hat I liked and as I liked, and from that time forth
Avas gracious and kind to us on every occasion that offered.1

CHAPTER XXV.
S. JOSEPH OF SEVILLE.
1. No one would suppose that in a city so rich as Seville,
and among a people so wealthy, I should have had less help
in making a foundation than in any other place Avherein
I had been.2 They did so little for me that I sometimes
thought it would not be well for us to have a monastery
there. I do not know Avhether it be that part of the earth
Avhere I have heard people say the devils, by the permission
of God, have more power to tempt us.3 They pressed hard
1 The archbishop wished the nuns to come to Seville from the
first, but he did not wish them to have a separate monastery of their
OAvn order. His purpose Avas to distribute them among the several
monasteries Avithin his jurisdiction, in order that by their fervour
and good example those monasteries might be reformed and made
better (Yepes, ii. ch. 28).
1 The nuns liA-ed in the most extreme poverty, sleeping on the
floor; and the dishes for their table, lent by their neighbours for the
first day, Avere sent for on the next and returned. In a few days a
charitable lady, Dona Leonor de Valera, heard of their distress, and
gave alms secretly to a good woman, whose devotion it Avas to succour
the needy. But the poor Carmelites were hardly the better for the
charity of Dona Leonor, though intended for them alone, because the
good woman who Avas to carry it to them took it into her head that
they were not in great want, and divided the alms among others
(Reforma, lib. iii. ch. xxxvii. § 5).
* The Saint was a Castilian by birth and education and was not
without a certain prejudice against the people of Andalusia, against
whom the proverb runs, Jesus y Cruses y pedradas en los Andaluzes.
The Castilians, who are a most sincere sort of people, have made
this proverb against the Andalusians who are more crafty and deceit
ful, as living near the sea and learning of strangers. They call upon
the holy name of Jesus to assist them against those people, make
the sign of the cross as they do against the deA-il, and, thinking all
this too little, add, they must throw stones at them. (Pineda, in voce
"Jesus.")

CH. XXV.] SEVILLE. 565
upon me, for never in any other place was I so weak and
coAvardly. Certainly I did not knoAv myself, though I did
not lose my ordinary trust in our Lord. I was, hoAvever,
so different from Avhat I usually am ever since I began these
foundations, that I felt our Lord Avas in some measure with
drawing His hand, that He might abide in Himself, and that
I might see that any courage I had before was not mine.
2. I remained there from the time already mentioned
till a little before Lent;1 I never thought of buying a house,
and I had not the means of doing so, neither Avas there any one
who would be surety for us. As for those Avho had spoken
so much to the father, the apostolic visitor, about entering
the order, and Avho had asked him to bring the nuns to Seville,
they must have seen later that our life was too austere, and
that they could not bear it. One only came to us, of Avhom
I shall speak later.2 And now the time Avas come to order me
to leave Andalusia, for other matters were now pressing here.3
It was a very great grief to me to leave the nuns without a
house of their own, though I saw that I was of no use what
soever there, for that grace Avhich God gh'es me of finding
some one to help us in our work God did not give me there.
3. It pleased God that a brother of mine, Lorenzo de
Cepeda, arrived at this time from the Indies, where he had
been living for more than thirty-four years. He took it more
to heart than I did that the nuns had no house of their OAvn,
and helped us much, especially in finding for us the house
wherein they dAvell now. I, too, was then much more urgent
in my prayers to our Lord, begging Him not to let me leave
them Avithout a house, and I made the sisters pray to Flim
for the same object, and to the glorious S. Joseph; Ave had
many processions and made many prayers to our Lady. Rely
ing on these, and seeing my brother bent on helping us, I
began to treat about the purchase of certain houses, and,
though the matter seemed to be arranged, yet all came to
nothing 1 Ash Wednesday fell on March 7 in 1576, and the Saint had
arrived in Seville on Thursday, May 26, 1575. See ch. xxiv. § 9.
* See ch. xxvi. § 3.
* The Saint had now been ordered by the provincial to leave
Seville and take up her residence in some other monastery, the
choice of which was, however, left to her.

566 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXV..
4. When I was in prayer one day, beseeching God to
give them a house, seeing that they were His brides and
Avere so anxious to please Flim, Fle said to me, "I have heard
you ; let Me be." I was very glad, considering the house
already gained, and so it Avas — His Majesty saved us from
buying one Avith which everybody Avas pleased because the
site Avas good ; it Avas so old and in so ruinous a state that we
were buying merely the site, and that for a little less than
the house Ave are in cost us. When the matter was settled,
and nothing remained but the draAving up of the deeds, I
Avas not at all satisfied; it seemed to me that the last word
I had heard in prayer was not fulfilled in that house, for that
Avord, as I understood it, meant that God would give us a good
house; and it Avas His pleasure to do so, for the very person
Avho had sold the house, notAvithstanding his great gain
thereby, made difficulties about the deeds when the time
for signing them had come. We were, therefore, free to aban
don our bargain without difficulty on our part; and it was a
great grace of our Lord to us, for those avIio might have had
to live in it would neA-er in all their life have finished the
repairs it needed ; it Avould have been a great trouble to them,
and their means Avere scanty.
5. We had much help herein from a servant of God,
who almost from the day of our arrival, Avhen he knew that
we had no one to say mass, came every day to say it, though
his house was far aAvay, and the heat excessive. He Avas
Garcia Alvarez,1 a very good man, and respected in the city
for his good deeds, and to Avhich alone he Avas ahvays deA-oted,
and if he had been AA'ealthy Ave should neA'er have been in
any want. As he kneAV the house Avell, he thought it very
foolish to give so much for it, told us so every day, and wanted
us to speak about it no more. He and my brother went to see
1 This good priest became chaplain and confessor to the nuns,
and in November of this year began to make the Saint uneasy. He
interfered with the discipline of the house, kept his penitents long
in the confessional, and introduced into the monastery any confessor
a nun might Avish to consult. When the prioress, Mary of St. Joseph,
remonstrated Avith him, he went about the city and consulted others
as to whether a prioress could meddle with anything relating to
confession. S. Teresa applied to Fra Pedro Fernandez, the A-isitor,
Avho, being at Seville, inquired into the matter, and ordered the
prioress to dismiss the indiscreet confessor. (Note of Fra Anton of
S. Joseph to Lett. 113; but 84 vol. ii. ed. Doblado.)

CH. XXV.] SEVILLE. 567
that wherein the sisters are now living, and returned so
pleased with it— and justly so, for our Lord meant it for us—
that in two or three days the deeds were drawn up,
6. We had some trouble in moving into it, for they who
were then living in it would not go out, and the Franciscan
friars, who lived close by, came at once to beg of us not to go
in on any account. If the deeds had not been drawn up and
signed I might have thanked our Lord to have the contract
set aside, for we were in danger of paying 6000 ducats, the
price of the house, without being able to take possession.
Not so did the prioress1 look on it; she thanked God the
bargain could not be broken,2 for Flis Majesty gave her more
faith and courage than to me in all that related to that house,
and she must have greater courage than I have in everything,
for she is much better than I am. We were in this trouble
for more than a month; then it pleased God that we should
remove, the prioress and myself Avith the two other nuns;
we did so by night, and in great fear, that the friars might
know nothing about it before Ave took possession; they Avho
went Avith us said that they thought every shadoAV they saAv
was a friar.
7. Early in the morning the good Garcia Alvarez, who
came Avith us, said the first mass,3 and we had no fear now.
O Jesus, what fears I have had Avhen taking possession ! If
when doing no evil, but serving God, such fears are felt, what
must it be Avith these persons Avho go about doing evil against
Gcd and their neighbour? I know not what gain they can
have, or Avhat pleasure they can seek Avith such odds against
them. 8. My brother Avas not here then, for he had taken sanc-
* This was Mary of S. Joseph, born in Molina, of Aragon, and a
professed nun in the monastery of Malagon (Reforma de los Descalgos,
lib iii. c. xxxvii. § 4) Her name in the world Avas Maria de Salazar;
she was living with Doria Luisa de la Cerda when the Saint visited
the latter in 1562, and Avas prioress of Lisbon when Ribera wrote the
Life of S. Teresa (Ribera, i. 8).
2 The house belonged to Pedro Pablo, a minor canon of the
Cathedral, and was in the street called La Pageria. The house wis
good, but the neighbourhood evil, and the nuns removed to another
in 1586 (Reforma, lib. iii. c. xlvi. § 1).
'Julian of Avila had returned in the beginning of June, 1575 (Lett.
58; Lett. 54 vol. iii. ed. Doblado).

568 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CII. XXV.
tuaiy on account of a certain mistake made in the deed,1 which
was drawn up in a hurry— a mistake that involved a great
loss to the. monastery— and as my brother was our security
they wished to take him to prison As he Avas a stranger his
imprisonment would have distressed us, and as it was we
were in trouble, for until he assigned some of his property
as security there Avas trouble enough. Later on the matter
Avas arranged satisfactorily, though, to give us more trouble,
Ave did not escape litigation for a time. We shut ourselves
up in certain rooms on the ground floor, and my brother
was there all day among the Avorkmen, and supplied us with
food, and indeed had done so for many days before, for, as
everybody did not know of the monastery, because it Avas a
private house, we received but scanty alms except from the
prior of the Carthusians of Las Cuevas, a great servant of
God. lie was a native of Avila, and of the Pantoja family.2
God inspired him with such great affection for us from the
time we came here, and I belieA'e it will last, so that he will
help us to the end of his life. It is only reasonable, therefore,
my sisters, if you should read this, that you should pray to
God for one who has done so much for us, and for others
also, Avhether he be living or dead. I write this for that end:
to this holy man Ave owe much.
9. We Avere thus occupied for more than a month — so I
believe, but my memory is so bad in reckoning time, and so
I might be wrong; more or less must ahvays be understood
when I speak of days, and it does not matter much. My
brother Avas very busy during this month in converting cer
tain rooms into a church, and in furnishing it throughout,
so that none of the labour fell upon us.
10. When it was finished I wished to have the Most Holy
Sacrament reserved without noise — for I very much dislike
giving trouble when it can be helped — and said so to the
1 The notary Avho drew up the deeds made the mistake, as appears
from a letter of the Saint to Fra Mariano, May 9, 1576 (Lett. 73;
but Lett. 33 vol. iii. ed. Doblado). Her brother, Don Lorenzo, took
refuge in the monastery of the Carmelites with Fra Jerome of the
Mother of God. and Avas there on the 29th April, 1576, as the Saint
writes of it on that day (Lett. 72; but Lett. 47 vol. i. ed. Doblado).
* His name was Fernando Pantoja, according to De la Fuente
(Lett. 228; Lett. 17 vol. i. ed. Doblado); but Bouix gives him the name
of Gonzalve (Lett. 208, vol. iii. p. 26).

CH. XXV.] SEVILLE. 569
father Garcia Alvarez. He spoke about it to the father prior
of Las Cuevas, and they considered our affairs as if they
were their own. Their opinion Avas that it could not be done
as I Avished, for if the monastery Avas to be knoAvn in SeA-ille
the Most Holy must be solemnly reserved, and they Avent to
the archbishop. It Avas settled among them all that the Most
Holy Sacrament should be brought Avith great solemnity
from one of the parish churches. The archbishop ordered
the clergy and certain confraternities to join the procession,
and the streets to be decorated.
11. The good Garcia Alvarez adorned our cloister, which
I have said served us then for a passage, and the church Avith
the utmost care. He prepared handsome altars and arranged
many devices. Among these Avas a fountain of orange-ftoAver
Avater, Avhich Ave had neither wished for nor had anything
to do with; it Avas afterAvards a great joy to us. It Avas a
comfort to us to witness such solemn preparations for our
feast, so much decoration of the streets, the music, and the
minstrelsy. The hofj prior of Las Cuevas told me that he
had never seen anything like it in Seville, and that he
looked on it all as being visibly the work of God :
he was in the procession himself, Avhich Avas an unusual act on
his pait. The archbishop carried the Most Holy Sacrament.1
You see here, my children, the poor Carmelites honoured of
all,2 Avho shortly before seemed as if they could not get a drop
of Avater, though there was plenty in the river. The people
came in crowds.
12. A strange thing happened, according to the account
of those Avho saw it. After many salvoes of artillery and
rockets discharged, Avhen the procession Avas OA'er and night
was coming on, the people Avished to have more, Avhen some
powder, I know not how, took fire ; and it Avas a great marvel
to all that he who had it was not killed. A huge flame rushed
upwards to the top of the cloisters, the ceiling of which was
covered with silk hangings, Avhich everybody expected to see
burnt to ashes ; but it Avas not damaged in the slightest degree,
1 June 3, 1576, on the Sunday within the octave of the Ascension.
See below, ch. xxvi. § 1.
" At the end of the function the Saint knelt before the archbishop
and begged his blessing, but to her great confusion the archbishop,
in the presence of a great croAvd, begged the Saint to bless him
(Reforma de los Descalcos, lib. iii. ch. xlviii. § 1).

570 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXVI.
though made of purple and gold. But Avhat I am going to
say is astonishing: the stoneAvork of the cloisters close under
the silk Avas black with smoke, Avhile the silk above remained
unsoiled as if the fire had never reached it. Everybody was
amazed at the sight. The nuns gave thanks to our Lord,
for they could never have paid for the hangings. Satan must
have been so vexed at the solemnity which had been kept,
and at the sight of another house of God, that he Avould have
his revenge somehoAv, and His Majesty would not let him.
May He be blessed for ever and ever !

CHAPTER XXVI.
S. JOSEPH OF SEVILLE  OF THE FIRST NUN WHO ENTERED THE
HOUSE.
1. You can well imagine, my daughters, the joy we had
that day. Mine, I may say, Avas very great, especially when
I saw that I Avas leaving the sisters in so good a house, so
well placed, the monastery known, and Avith nuns in it Avho
could pay the greater part of the sum it cost, so that by the
help of those avIio should come to fill up the number, however
small their doAvry, they might live Avithout being in debt.
What gave me the greatest joy of all Avas, that I had had a
share in. their troubles, and Avhen I had to rest myself I went
aAvay. This festival took place on the Sunday before Pente
cost, 1576. Immediately after, on the Monday, I left the
place, to escape the great heat then beginning, and to avoid
travelling, if' possible, in Whitsuntide, and to keep the feast
in Malagon, where I wished much to stop a day; that is why
I made such haste to be gone.1
1 The Saint left Seville June 4, 1576, attended by her brother Don
Lorenzo. Fra Gregorio Nazianzen, now professed, v/ent with her.
She was in Malagon on the 11th, where she was still in the beginning
of July. By order of Fra Jerome she went to Avila, but soon
returned to Toledo, bringing with her as her companion and secretary
the venerable Anne of S. Bartholomew. On the 9th day of August
the Saint was in Toledo, watching the storm that had burst on the
order, and waiting for the calm.

CH. XXVI.] SEVILLE. 571
2. It was not our Lord's pleasure that I should hear
mass even once in the church ; the joy of the nuns Avas ser
iously disturbed by my departure, which they felt much. We
had been together for a year, and had suffered so much, as I
have already said; but I do not recount here our greatest
troubles. I believe myself that, Avith the exception of the
foundation in Avila, Avith Avhich none other is to be compared,
I never had so much to endure anywhere as here, because my
trials Avere for the most part interior. May His Divine
Majesty grant that He may be always served in this house !
as I trust Fle will be, for if it be so everything else is as
nothing. Flis Majesty has begun to draw good souls into
the house. As to those in it whom I took Avith me, five in
number, I have already said Iioav good they Avere : that is
only a part of Avhat might be said of them, and that the least.
3. I will speak of the first who entered, because her
story will give you pleasure. She was the daughter of most
pious Christians, her father a highlander. When she was still
a child, about seven years of age, an aunt of hers begged her
mother to let her have her, as she had no children of her
own. She took her home, and must have caressed her and
shoAvn her love for her, as Avas natural, for certain women
in her service, who, before the child came, had hopes of in
heriting some portion of her property, seeing clearly from the
love shown her that the aunt Avould leave her the greater
part, agreed together to have her removed out of the Avay
by a diabolic act, Avhich Avas, to accuse the child of an intent
to murder the aunt, and of having gi\-en some money to one
of them for the purchase of corrosive sublimate. This Avas
told to the aunt, and as all the three said the same thing she
believed them ; the mother of the child, Avho is a most excellent
woman, did so also.
4. The mother took the child and carried her home,
thinking that in her she Avas nurturing a very Avicked Avoman.
Beatriz of the Mother of God— for that is her name — told me
that for more than a year her mother continued to whip
and torture her, and to make her sleep on the bare floor,
because she Avanted her to confess so great a Avickedness.
When the poor child said she had done no evil, and that she
did not know what corrosive sublimate Avas, her mother
thought the worse of her, as one possessed of a spirit to hide
her sin. The poor mother was distressed when she saAV her

572 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [cii. XXVI.
thus hardened in her denial, thinking she could never be
reformed. It is strange the child did not accuse herself to
escape such chastisements, but as she Avas innocent God gave
her strength always to speak the truth.
5. But, as His Majesty helps those Avho do no wrong,
Fle chastised two of those Avomen so severely that they seemed
to be mad ; they sent for the child secretly to come to her aunt,
and begged her to forgive them, and unsaid everything now
they Avere at death's door. The third woman did as much —
she died in childbirth. In a Avord, all the three died in great
pain : it Avas a chastisement for that Avhich they had made
the innocent child to suffer. I knoAv all this, not from herself
only, for afterAvards her mother, Avhen she saAv her a nun,
distressed at the evil treatment she had receh-ed at her hands,
recounted it to me Avith other matters; she had been most
cruelly treated. God permitted the mother, Avho had no other
child, and Avho was a A-ery good Christian, to be thus cruel
to her OAvn daughter, Avhom she loved exceedingly. She is
a most truthful and pious person.
6. When the child was a little more than twelve years
of age she read in some book the life of S. Anne, and conceived
a great devotion to the saints of Mount Carmel, it being said
there that the mother of S. Anne — I think her name was
Merenciana — used to comrerse often with them. Hence her
devotion to the order of our Lady became so strong that she
made a vow of chastity, and promised to become a Carmelite
nun. Whenever she could she spent many hours alone and
in prayer. God and our Lady gaA-e her great and very special
graces. She Avanted to become a nun at once, but durst not
on account of her father and mother; besides, she did not
knoAv where to find the order, Avhich was strange, for, though
there Avas a monastery of the mitigation in Seville, she ne\-er
kneAV of it till she. heard of our monasteries many years
afterwards. 7. When she Avas old enough to be married her father
and mother considered on whom they should bestow her,
she being still very young. They had now however, no
other child, for her brothers Avere all dead, and she, the least
cherished, alone remained. She had one brother living when
that affair happened of Avhich I have been speaking, and he had
defended her, saying that the story was not to be believed.
When the marriage Avas already settled they spoke to her

CH. XXVI.] SEVILLE. 573
about it, thinking that she Avould make no objection; but she
told them that she had made a voav never to marry, and that
she never would be married even if they Avere to kill her.
8. Fler father and mother took it into their heads that
she had misbehaved herself in some way, and therefore would
not marry: it Avas a delusion of Satan, or a self-deception
which God permitted to make a martyr of her. So they,
having promised her in marriage, and seeing what an affront
it was to the bridegroom, beat her so much and treated her
so cruelly — even Avishing to strangle her, for they used to
throttle her — that it Avas fortunate they did not kill her. God,
Avho had chosen her for other things, gaA-e her life. She told
me that at last she scarcely felt the ill-treatment at all, for she
used to think of the sufferings of S. Agnes, Avhich our Lord
brought to her recollection, and that she rejoiced to suffer
something for His sake, and did nothing else but offer up her
wrongs to Him. They thought she Avould die, for she was
three months in bed unable to move.
9. It seems very strange that a young girl, Avho never
left her mother's side, and Avhose father, as I have heard, was
so prudent, could be thought so ill of, for she Avas always
pious and modest, and so charitable that whatever she could
get she gave aAvay in alms. When our Lord wishes to give
any one the grace to suffer He has many Avays of doing so.
Some years after this, hoAvever, He made them see the good
ness of their child ; they would then give her Avhat she Avanted
for her alms-deeds, and the persecutions Avere changed into
caresses. Nevertheless, eA-erything Avas a trial to her because
of her Avish to be a nun, and so she lived on, as she told me,
in great distress and sadness of heart.
10. Some thirteen or fourteen years before father Gratian
went to Seville, and Avhen there Avas no talk of barefooted
Carmelite friars, this happened : — She Avas with her father and
mother and tAvo Avomen from the neighbourhood when a friar
of our order came in, clad in serge as they are now and bare
footed. They say his countenance Avas cheerful and venerable,
but he Avas so old, however, that his beard, which was long,
looked like silver threads; he stood close beside her, and
began to address her in a language Avhich neither she nor any
of the others understood, and when he had done speaking he
made the sign of the cross over her three times, saying,
"Beatriz, God make thee strong," and went away. While he

574 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [fH. XXVI.'
remained nobody stirred: they were amazed. Her father
asked her who he was. She thought that he knew him.1 They
rose up in haste to look for him, but they saw him no more.
She was greatly consoled herself, and all were amazed, for
what they had seen Avas the Avork of God, and in consequence
of it they made much of her, as I have just said. All these
years, I believe fourteen, passed aAvay, she herself always
serving our Lord, and praying Him to fulfil her desire.
11. She Avas in great distress when the father-master
Fra Jerome Gratian came to the neighbourhood. One day
she Avent to hear a sermon in one of the churches of Triana —
it was there her father was living — not knoAving who the
preacher Avas to be, and there saAv the father-master Gratian
go to receive the benediction. When she saw him in his
habit and barefooted she thought at once of him whom she
had seen before ; the habit was the same, but the age and the
countenance Avere not, for father Gratian Avas not yet thirty
years of age. She told me that she almost fainted away in
the excess of her joy, for, though she had heard that there
was a monastery in Triana, she did not knoAv it belonged to
the Carmelites. From that day forth she tried to go to
confession to father Gratian ; it was the will of God, however,
that she should have no little trouble, for she applied to him
as often as tAvelve times — it might be more or less — but he
never Avould hear her confession. She was young and
beautiful, for she must have been then not twenty-seven, and
he, being extremely careful, would not have any relations
with persons like her.
12. One day in the church — she too was most careful
herself — a woman asked her what the matter Avas, for she
was weeping. She said that she had made so many efforts
to speak to that father, Avho Avas then hearing confessions, and
all to no purpose. The woman took her to the confessional,
and asked him to hear her confession; and so she made a
general confession to him. He, when he saAv so noble a soul,
was greatly comforted himself, and comforted her too by
telling her that Carmelite nuns might be coming, and that he
would make them receive her immediately; and so it came to
* She admitted in after times to her confessors and others whom
she could trust that it was the great prophet Elias. It was a tradition
in the order also that Beatriz had then a vision of the prophet of_
Mount Carmel (Reforma, lib. iii. ch. xxxviii. § 8).

CH. XXVI.] SEVILLE. 575
pass, and the first thing he ordered me to do Avas to receive
her the first of all, for he was satisfied Avith her spirit, and
told her so. When Ave came she took much pains to keep our
arrival from the knowledge of her father and mother, for if
they kneAV of it she Avould have had no opportunity of coming
to us. And so, on the very day of the feast of the Most Holy
Trinity, she left the women who used to attend her behind,
for her mother did not go Avith her to confession, and the
monastery of the Carmelites, Avhere she always confessed, and
to which she gave great alms, as Avell as her father and mother
for her sake, was at some distance.
13. She had arranged Avith a very great servant of God
to take her, and told the Avomen Avho used to attend her that
the Avoman Avith Avhom she Avas going out Avas very Avell
knoAvn in Seville as a great servant of God, given to good
works, and that she Avould return immediately. They accord
ingly let her take Avith her the habit and mantle of frieze;
how she carried them I know not, unless it Avas her joy that
made everything light. Her only fear Avas that somebody
might stop her and find out what she Avas carrying, for she
was Avalking out in a Avay most unusual for her. What cannot
the love of God do? She had noAv no respect of persons, and
thought of nothing but of the possibility of her desire being
frustrated; we opened the door to her at once. I sent word
to her mother, Avho came as if beside herself, but said that
she saAv that God Avas gracious to her child, and, though
she Avas distressed because she could not speak to her, yet
she was not immoderately so, as others are; on the contrary,
she gave us at once very large alms.
14, The bride of Jesus Christ began to rejoice in the
happiness so much desired. She Avas so humble, and so
pleased Avith whatever she had to do, that we found some
trouble' in taking the broom out of her hands. She Avho had
been made so much of at home. found all her recreation in
hard work. The great happiness she felt caused her to gain
flesh at once, Avhich so struck her father and mother that
they were glad to see her in the monastery.
15. Some tAvo or three months before the time of her
profession, that she might not have so much joy without
suffering, she fell into most grievous temptations ; not because
she Avas not determined to make her profession, but because
she thought the religious life most hard to bear. She forgot

576 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [dl. XXVII.
all the years during Avhich she had suffered so much to gain
the blessing she hoav had, and Satan tormented her so cruelly
that she could not help herself. Nevertheless, doing violence
to herself, she conquered him, and in the midst of her torments
made a resolution to be professed.1 Three days before her
profession our Lord, who Avould not let her strength be tried
any longer, visited and consoled her in a -most special way,
and put Satan to flight.
16. She was noAv so consoled that during those three days
she seemed to be beside herself with joy, and for good reasons
— the grace she had received Avas great. Within a few days
after she entered the monastery her father died, and her
mother took the habit in the same house, giving to it by
way of alms all she possessed. The mother and child are
living in the greatest joy, edifying all the nuns, and serving
Him who has bestOAved upon them so great a grace. More
over, a year had not passed by Avhen there came another, very
much against the will of her father and mother. Thus our
Lord gees on, filling this His house Avith souls so eager to
serve Flim that neither the austerities nor the strictness of
enclosure can stand in their Avay. May He be blessed for
ever and ever! May Fle be praised for ever and ever! Amen.

CHAPTER XXVII.
THE FOUNDATION OF THE MONASTERY OF S. JOSEPH IN CARAVACA.
1. When I was in S. Joseph's, Avila, about to depart
for the foundation in Veas, of which I have spoken already,2
Avith everything settled except the immediate preparations for
1 Beatriz of the Mother of God fell away for an instant, and was
the cause of great sorrow and trouble to the Saint and to the monas
tery of Seville. The confessor of the house was not a prudent man;
the prioress, Mary of S. Joseph, says he Avas "ignorant, puzzle-headed,
and inexperienced;" he interfered with the discipline of the house,
and on being checked, complained, and led away some of the nuns
who had been overindulged by his feeble direction. Among those
who failed was Beatriz of the Mother of God, and perhaps the chief
of the faction. She soon saw her errors and repented, living ever
after a most admirable life, which ended in 1623.
* Ch. xxii.

CH. XXMI.J CARAVACA. 577
the journey, there came to me a special messenger from a lady
who lived in Caravaca, called Doha Catalina,1 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 Avhich they must have arranged with that lady,
who is the person who helped them in that foundation. They
Avere children of the greatest persons in that tOAvn.2 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 Avork like this. They kneAV Avhat
our Lord had done in the foundation of these monasteries,
having heard of them from the fathers of the Society of
Jesus, Avho ahvays countenanced and helped us.
2. When I saAv the earnestness and fervour of these
souls, Avho sent so far for the order of our Lady, my devotion
was kindled, and I felt a great Avish to further their good
intention. Having ascertained that the place was near Veas,
I took with me more nuns than I wras in the habit of doing,
purposing to go thither Avhen the foundation in Veas should
be settled; for, judging by the letters, I thought we could
not fail in making the arrangement.
3. But my plans Avere of little use, for our Lord had
decreed otherAvise, as I said in the history of the foundation
of Seville.3 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 Avas,4 that it Avas so far away,
and Avhat a labour it would be to visit the nuns, and that
superiors might take it amiss, I Avas not very Avilling to go
1 Dona Catalina de Otalora Avas the wife of the licentiate Mufioz,
a member of the council of the Indies and of the council of Castille.
The young ladies were Dona Francisca de Saojosa, a cousin of Dona
Catalina; Dona Francisca de Moya, and Dona Francisca de Tauste
(Ribera, iii. 7). The daughter of 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, 16C5 (Fra Anton of S. Joseph, note to
Lett. 70; but Lett. 47 vol. iii. ed. Doblado).
2 Tres donzel'.as nobles (Reforma, lib. iii. ch. xliv. § 1).
" Ch. xxiv. § 2.
* Caravaca is in the old kingdom of Murcia, and famous for a
miraculous cross.

578 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. K It. XXVII.
and make that foundation. HoAvever, as I had raised certain
expectations, I begged the father Julian of AA'ila 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 Aery much neglected, not by those who Avere
to become nuns, but by Dona Catalina, who Avas the chief
person concerned in it, and who lodged the young women
in a room by themselves, as if they were already Avithdrawn
from the Avorld.
4. The nuns Avere so earnest, especially tAvo of them —
I am speaking of those Avho Avere to become nuns — that they
completely Avon OA'er Julian of Avila and Antonio Gaytan — so
much so that they had the deeds drawn up before they
returned, and came away leaA'ing the nuns in great joy. They
Avere so pleased themselves with them and the country that
they did nothing else but say so, at the same time admitting
the road Avas bad. When I saw the matter settled but the
licence delayed, I sent back again the good Antonio Gaytan,
who, out of affection for me, willingly undertook all this
trouble. Fle and Julian of Avila Avere A-ery 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 Avhere they were to take possession,
and. where the nuns were to remain till they found a proper
house. Fle remained, therefore, many days there; it was in
the house of Rodrigo de Moya, Avho, as I said before, was
the father of one of the young girls, and Avho had given us
a part of it. He was there many days exceedingly well
pleased, busy with this.
5. When they had obtained the licence, and Avhen I Avas
about setting out on my journey, I heard that by one of the
clauses thereof the house was to be subject to the com-
mandery, and that the nuns were to yield obedience to the
knights.1 That I could not allow, because it was to be a
1 The jurisdiction of Caravaca was divided betAveen the knights
and the bishop of Carthagena, at this time Don Gomez Tapeta; but
the Saint did not trouble the bishop, and afterwards, when the vicar-
general of Don Gomez raised some difficulties about the monastery,
the Saint wrote from Seville, February 19, 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 Fra Antonio
on Lett. 70; but Lett. 47 vol. iii. ed. Doblado). \~

CH. XXVII.] CARAVACA. 579
house of the order of our Lady of Carmel, nnd 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,1 was so good to me that on my Avriting 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 Avay of living in these monas
teries, and of our observance of the primitive rule, he helped
us in everything : and so I 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/ who Avas then, as now, the father-
master Fra Jerome Gratian of the Mother of God, as I said
before ; and the poor children continued shut up till the
following NeAV Year's Day. It was in February they had
sent the message to AA'ila.3 The licence noAv was very soon
obtained, but, as I was so far aAvay, and in the midst of so
much trouble myself,4 I could not help them, and Avas very
sorry for them. They Avrote to me Aery often in their great
distress, and I could not bear to keep them in that state any
longer. 6. As it was impossible for me to go myself, both
because of the great distance and because this foundation0
was not yet completely made, the father-master Fra Jerome
1 Philip IL, for five years king of England, as husband of Mary
the queen.2 Fra Jerome was visitor apostolic of the Carmelites of Andalusia,
and provincial of the barefooted Carmelites, men and women, of the
Reform of S. Teresa in Castille and Andalusia, by delegation of the
nuncio, who gave him the title of provincial since August 3, 1575.
This was the beginning of the separation which afterwards took place
betAveen the friars of the mitigation and those of S. Teresa. Of the
latter Fra Jerome was the first provincial, but that election was made
March 4, 1581 (Reforma, lib. iii. ch. xli. § 2; lib. v. ch. ix. § 5).
3 The Saint was in Valladolid January 4, 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, Lett. 54; but.
Lett. 4 vol. iv. ed. Doblado.) 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.
4 This Avas the dispute between the old friars and those of her
reform. (See below, § 18.)
' Of Seville.

5S0 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [dl. XXVIL
Gratian, Avho, as I have said before, Avas apostolic visitor
at the time, resolved that the nuns Avho Avere intended for
the foundation there, and who AA'ere then in S. Joseph's of
Malagon, should go thither, though I could not go with
them. 7. I arranged that the prioress1 should be one, avIio I
Avas confident Avould do exceedingly well, for she is much
better than I am. Taking with them Avhatever Avas necessary,
they departed with two of our fathers of the barefooted
Carmelites, 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 Avith them, because the place was
so far off and the Aveather so bad, for it Avas uoav the end of
December. The nuns on their arrival were received with
great joy in the place, particularly by those who Avere shut
up so closely. The monastery was founded, and the Most
Flely Sacrament carried in on the feast of the Name of Jesus,
1576.2 Tavo 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 Avith one of her sisters.3
1 Anne of S. Albert. She was sent from Seville, where she was at
this time, and Avas to take with her from Malagon the nuns whom
the Saint had left there for the foundation in Caravaca. These Avere
Barbara of the Holy Ghost, sub-prioress; Anne of the Incarnation,
Juana of S. Jerome, and Catherine of the Assumption (Ribera, iii. 7).
Anne of S. Albert was the daughter of Alonso 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 Carana, and from the
last of them she seems to have been prioress in 15S8. (See note of Fra
Anton, of S. Joseph on Lett. 156; but 63 vol. 4 ed. Doblado.)
2 "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 de los Descalcos, lib. iii. ch. xliv. § 2).
3 She put on the habit, however, in about two or three months after
this, Avhen Fra Jerome came to visit the house, receiving it at his
hands. The names in religion of the three were, Frances of the
Mother of God, Frances of the Cross, and Frances of S. Joseph
(Ribera, iii. 7). According to F. Bouix, the latter is the one Avho left
the monastery for a time, for Ribera says that he gives their names
in religion in the order in which he had given their names in the
world; thus, Francesca de Tauste is Frances of S. Joseph. But Don

CH XXVII.] CARAVACA. 581
8. Behold, my daughters, the judgments of God, and the
obligation Ave are under to serve Him, seeing that He has
allowed us to persevere and make our profession, and to dAvell
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 Avas about to enter
on the fruition of that Avhich she had so' much desired, her
strength failed her and her low spirits preA-ailed, on Avhich,
my children, Ave often lay the blame of our imperfections
and caprices.
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 Avhat has been Avell 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 Aveakness.
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 Avay consent to any mitigation of it.
Consider that the door is opened for very great laxity by
very little things, and that the Avorld may come in before
you are aware of it. Remember that what you possess in
peace has been Avrought 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 niost ready to carry on the work
He has begun if Ave do not hinder Him. Where do you think
a poor woman like myself, under obedience, Avithout a farthing
in the world, or any one to help her, found the means to do
so great a Avork? My brother, Avho helped in the foundation
of Seville, had some means, courage, and good dispositions
wherewith to help us, but he Avas then in the Indies.
10. Behold, my daughters, behold the hand of God:
He did not honour me in this because of my illustrious birth ;
Vicente de la Fuente, from the roll sent to the chapter held in Alcala
in 1581, gives the professions in Caravaca thus: — Frances of the Cross
and Frances of S. Joseph professed October 27, 1577, while the pro
fession of Frances of the Mother of God Avas made June, 1578. She,
according to Ribera, was Frances de Sarjosa, for she is the first
named by him.

5tS2 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [dl. XXVII.
in whatever light you may look upon it, you will find it to be
Flis work. It is not right Ave should in any Avay impair it,
even were it to cost us our life, our good name, and our
peace; still less Avhen Ave have all these together, for life
is to live in such a Avay as not to be afraid of death, or of
anything that may happen Avhile it lasts, in the possession
of that continual joy fulness which you noAv 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 Avhich 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
saAV them die Avho 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 cour
ageous — seeing that His Majesty loves it, He Avill not withhold
His mercy.
11. Have no fear that you will ever be in want of any
thing; never fail to receh'e those Avho come to be nuns merely
because they are Avithout Avorldly 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 gh'e you that tAvofold which you should
have had Avith them. I have had great experience in this.
His Majesty knows well that, so far as I can remember, I
never failed to receh'e one because she was poor, provided
I was pleased Avith her in other respects. They are my
witnesses, and they are many, Avho have been received simply
for God, as you know yourselves. And I can assure you
that my joy was not so great Avhen 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 Avere poor cheered
my spirit, and gaA'e me so much pleasure as to make me weep
for joy: that is the truth. Then, if Avhen we had to buy and
build our houses He helped us also therein, why should He
not help us now that Ave have AvhereAvithal to live? Believe
me, my daughters, you will suffer loss there where you think
you are gaining.
12. When one comes Avith means, under no obligations
to bestoAV them on others, who perhaps need them not, it

CH. XXVII.] CARAVACA. 583
is right she should give them to you by way of alms;1 1
confess that if she did othenvise she Avould show but little
affection for you. Always, hoAvever, make her who comes
understand that she must act herein as learned men shall
advise her for the greater service of God, for it would be
a serious evil if we claimed the property of any one that came
to us for any other end but that. We make a much greater
gain — that is, Ave act in much greater perfection — when she
dees that Avhich is a duty to God, than by receiving anything
she may bring Avith her, for we all of us have no aim, and
Ged grant Ave may never have, other than the service of
Flis Majesty in and by everything.
13. Though I am myself a Avretched and Avicked woman,
I say this to His honour and glory, and that you may have
joy in the Avay Avherein these Flis 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 Avhen I thought
I should not prosper Avith any of them unless I turned aside
from my intention, Avould I in any Avay do, nor have I done
— I am speaking of these foundations — anything Avhatever,
if I but kneAV it, that SAverved 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 knoAV, very learned men and great servants of God; and
I do not remember that I ever even thought of following
any other course.
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 knoAv
myself; our Lord, Avho is the true judge, knoAvs it; and I, too,
see very clearly that the Avork Avas not mine, but God's, Avho
willed it should be done; and, as it Avas His own work, He
'The Saint Avas always willing to admit the poor in their poverty,
but she was inexorable Avith the Avealthy Avho attempted to place
their children in the monasteries and retained their dowers. In a letter
to the prioress of Seville (Lett. 93, but 65 vol. iii. ed. Doblado) she
forbids the reception of Blanca of Jesus Maria without her dower,
though she was the daughter of Dona Leonor de Velera, who had
given alms to the house when it Avas in distress. The Saint says
that the father Avas a man who would never give a farthing if he
could help it (Fra Anton, of S. Joseph). His greed may be the
explanation of his wife's conduct in employing others to administer
her alms. (See ch. xxv. § 1, note \)

584 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXVII.
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 knoAv that the houses have been
founded without Avronging anybody to this day. Blessed be
He who has done it all, and quickened the charity of those
Avho haA'e helped us! May it please His Majesty to protect
us always, and give us His grace, that Ave may not be
ungrateful for such great mercies! Amen.
15. You have seen already, my daughters, that Ave 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 Avould 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 it1 —
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 Avhen 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 that I Avas 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
Avas so; at least, I was delivered in a moment from all my
sufferings, outward and inward.
16. When I had my health I bore all my bodily toils with
joy. Then, I had not a little to bear Avhen 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, and 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 Avhen I considered that I
might never see them again, and saAv 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
1 The Saint made no allusion to it. See ch. xxii.

CH. XXVII.] CARAVACA. 585
of no use, for the love they have for me is great and real,
as may be clearly seen in many aa^s.
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 command
ment subsequently given. This is not all, for he wrote me
to say of the foundation of each house that it gave him the
very greatest pleasure Avhen 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 Avhen I Avas pleasing him, for he is
my superior, and, besides, I have a great affection for him.
18. Either His Majesty Avas pleased to give me some
rest at last, or Satan Avas A-exed because so many houses Avere
founded for the service of our Lord. It is Avell known that
it Avas not the will of our father-general, for on my begging
him not to order me to found any more houses he Avrote 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.1 Before
I came aAvay from Seville there Avas brought to me from the
general-chapter,2 which I think ought to have highly con
sidered the increase of the order, a decree, made by the
deputies assembled, 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 Avas something like
sending me to prison,3 for there are no nuns whom the provin-
1 See Letter 210, addressed to F. Hernandez, S. J., October 4,
1578; Lett 7 vol. 3 ed. Doblado. 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."
1 A general chapter of the order Avas held in Piacenza May 22,
1575, Whitsunday, in which the general published the brief of Gregory
XIII. by Avhich the powers of the Dominican visitors were recalled.
At the same time a decree was made for the supression of the houses
in Andalusia which were founded for the observance of the primitive
rule, and Fra Jerome Tostado of Portugal was appointed by the
general to execute the decree (Reforma de los Descalgos, lib. iii. c xl.
§§ 1, 5).
3 The general ordered S. Teresa to choose some one monastery
to reside in for the future, which she was not to leave without per
mission. The order was sent to the provincial of Castille, Fra Angel
de Salazar, who transmitted it to Fra Miguel de Ulloa in Seville. The

586 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [dl. XXVII,
cial 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 AA-as this — our father-
general Avas displeased with me, certainly not Avith reason,
but on account of the reports of persons who had given way
to passion ; and this it Avas that gave me pain. At the same
time two other and very grave charges were brought against
me, but they Avere not true.1
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 Avhat King
David did before the ark of our Lord;2 I wished then to do
nothing else, for my joy was such that I could not hide it.
latter kept it by him, and did not make it knoAvn to the Saint till
after he had learned that she was aware it had come into his hands.
As it Avas close upon Christmas when Fra Miguel communciated 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 Avinter, and charged her to remain in Seville for the
present. Fra Jerome, moreover, had the right to do so, even if the
general had meant to have the order executed at once, for he Avas
the delegate of the nuncio, and his powers Avere too high for the
general to touch: he Avas, in fact, above the general himself. The
Saint gives an account of her conduct to the general, in a letter
written early in the year 1576, and, as a proof of her obedience and
reverence for him, tells him that, though the provincial of the order
had 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. (Lett 71; but 13 vol. i. ed. Doblado.)
1 One of the charges Avas, that she travelled in a way unbecoming
poverty from Seville to Toledo, Avhen she returned into her monastery
in the latter place. But she traA-elled 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. (See Avisos at the
end of Letter 79, published in its integrity for the first time by Don
Vicente.) The other charge may have been that which Yepes refers
to in his letter to Fra Luis de Leon, namely, that the last thing to
be said of any woman was said of the Saint — lo ultimo que de una
mujrr se puede decir. The letter is printed by Don Vicente, vol. i.
p. 567. r '
* 2 Kings vi. 14.

CH. XXVII.] CARAVACA. 587
What the reason was I knoAv not, for in the other slanders
and contradictions nothing of the kind happened; one at
least of the charges was most serious.1 The prohibition to
make foundations, if it had not been for the displeasure of
the most reverend general, Avould have been a great comfort
to me, and Avhat I often longed for Avas that I might end my
life in peace; hoAvever, they Avho obtained that prohibition
were not thinking of this, for they thought they Avere causing
me the greatest affliction in the Avorld; they had probably
other goed intentions.
20. Sometimes, too, I had a joy in the contradictions and
reproaches I met with Avhile employed in making these found
ations; some persons Avere against me Avith good intentions,
others had other reasons, but I do not remember that I eAer
felt so great a joy as this in any trouble that befell me.2 I
confess that at any other time any one of the three trials
that came upon me all at once Avould haA-e 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 knoAv that he Avho 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 to-day, of another to
morrow; that of Avhich they once speak well they soon revile.
1 The Saint was accused of heresy, and this is probably Avhat 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 Avith 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 allowed
to hear her confessions, believing her story, helped to bring the
officials of the Inquisition into the monastery. Accordingly one
morning Fra Jerome, going to see the Saint, found the house sur
rounded with the men of the holy office, Avith others inside searching
the monastery, and the poor priest at the corner of the street Avaiting
to see all the nuns carried to prison. Fra Jerome, in the greatest
alarm, as we learn from Lett. 116 (Lett. 22 vol. iv. ed. Doblado),
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. The relation viii. (see Life, p. 381) was written on this occasion
and submitted to the father Alvarez (Reforma de los Descalgos, lib.
iii. ch. xlvi. and xlvii.).
' See Life, ch. xxxi. § 13.

588 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXVII.
Blessed be Thou, my God and my Lord, who never changest,
never! Amen. Whosoever shall serve Thee to the end shall
live Avithout end in Thy eternity.
21. I began to write the history of these foundations
at the commandment of the father the doctor Ripalda of
the Society of Jesus, as I said Avhen I began; he Avas 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 Avriting because of my many occupations,
and I would not go on with it because I Avas not then con
fessing to him — he had gone to another part of the country —
and also because it cost me so much toil and labour to Avrite,
though I look on my labour as well bestowed because
always under obedience. When I had made up my mind
to Avrite no more I was ordered to finish the work1 by the
father the commissary apostolic, who is at present the Fra
Jerome Gratian of the Mother of God.
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
1 The history of the foundation of S. Joseph, AA-ila, was Avritten by
direction of Fra Garcia of Toledo, and is added to the Life, (see ch.
xxxii). Then she was commanded by father Ripalda, S. J., to write
the history of the other foundations, which she began to do in Sala
manca on the feast of S. Bartholomew, 1573 (prol. § 5), and brought it
doAvn 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 Fra
Jerome to finish the book, and she then added the rest, beginning
with ch. xxi. down to the end of ch. xxii. (Reforma de los Descalgos,
lib. v. ch. xxxvii. §§ 4, 5). Fra Jerome laid his command upon her
soon after her arrival in Toledo, for on the 24th of July, 1576, she
writes to her brother, Don Lorenzo, to send her the papers she had
already written (see Lett. 79). This part of that letter had been omitted
in all editions previous to that of Don Vicente; it corresponds with
Lett. 49 vol. ii. ed. Doblado. And in another letter, dated October 5,
1576, published in its integrity for the first time by Bouix (vol. ii. p.
479), and from him by Don Vicente (vol. ii. p. 342), the Saint says
she Avas then going to begin to write, our Lord having told her
that it would be to the profit of many souls.

CH. XXVIII.] CARAVACA. 589
in everything to those Avho, finding therein anything amiss,
shall blot it out.
23. I finish to-day, the vigil of S. Eugenius, November
14th, 1576, in the monastery of S. Joseph, Toledo, where
I am staying by the order of the commissary apostolic, Fra
Jerome Gratian of the Mother of God, whom Ave now have
as the superior of the barefooted Carmelites, men and Avomen,
of the primitive rule, being at the same time visitor of those
Avho keep the rule of the mitigation in Andalusia, to the
honour and glory of Jesus Christ our Lord, Avho reigneth
and Avill reign for ever. Amen.
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 Fle Avould 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 Flimself. As you are
not to see this so long as I live, let me have some adA'antage
after I am dead from the Aveariness of writing, and from the
great desire I had Avhile Avriting to be able to say something
that might be a comfort to you, if it should be thought right
for you to read it.1

CHAPTER XXVIII.
JESUS.
THE FOUNDATION OF VILLANUEVA DE LA JARA.
1. When the foundation in SeA'ille had been made no
other foundations Avere made for more than four years; the
reason was that great persecutions2 of the friars and nuns
* In the original MS. preserved in the Escurial, relation x. is
inserted here, as also in the printed editions prior to that of Don
Vicente. ' Fra Jerome Tostado was in Barcelona in March, 1576, furnished
with jurisdiction over the whole order in Spain (Lett. 73; Lett. 33 vol.
i. ed. Doblado) ; and in Madrid, August 5th, he and Fra Jerome
Gratian met. The fathers of the mitigation had held a chapter in
Moraleja May 12th, but into which they summoned three friars only
of the reform; the rest Avere regarded as excommunicated because
their houses had been founded without the permission of the father

550 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXATIL
arose all at once, so that the order Avas on the brink of ruin,
and, though there had been persecutions enough before, none
had been so severe. Satan showed clearly what he thought
general. Tavo of the three friars, those from Pastrana and Alcala,
went to the nuncio Ormaneto for advice, Avho told them to attend the
chapter, but to consent to nothing at variance with their own usages.
The elections were over when the two friars arrived; the chapter
decreed that there should be no distinctions in the order hereafter,
the friars Avere to live together in the practice of tl.e same uses, and
the habits' of all Avere to be alike. In short, the reform of S. Teresa
was to be rooted out. Fra Juan of Jesus, prior of Mancera, spoke for
his brethren, and to'.d the assembled fathers that their decrees would
not be observed in the houses of the reform (Reforma, lib. iii. ch. i.).
Then, in August, Fra Jerome Tostado, attempted to use Lis powers as
vicar of the general; but Fra Jerome Gratian confronted him with the
authority of the nuncio, Avho, representing the Pope, had powers which
the general could not touch. Tostado left for Portugal at the end of
the month, and on September 8, 1576, Fra Jerome Gratian, as visitor
by delegation of the nuncio, held the chapter of Almodovar, and
severed the friars of the reform from those of the mitigation, Fra
Antonio of Jesus being cl.osen defmitor. This was the answer to the
chapter of'Moralcja. The next year, on the death of the nuncio,
Fra Jerome Tostado returned, and, in the Avords of the chronicler,
"unsheathed the sword of his poAver in Madrid," by forbidding the
further admission of novices, and commanding the friars of the
reform to be subject to those of the mitigation. He then summoned
all in authority among the reformed to attend him. These for the
most part hid themselves. In September, 1577, S. Teresa, who had
come to Avila in July for the purpose of restoring the monastery of
S. Joseph to the order — it had been founded under the jurisdiction
of the bishop — implored the king, Philip IL, to protect the friars
and nuns of the reform. The king placed the matter in the hands of
his council, and thereupon- the attorney-general asked Fra Tostado
to show his authority before he proceeded further. There Avas a
lawsuit in due form, and a conflict of jurisdictions, in which the vicar,
as was to be expected, lost Lis cause. But the neAv nuncio was not
afraid of the council; he therefore took up the question, renewed some
of the decrees of the vicar, and forbade further foundations. Never
theless, on the prayers of the friars of the reform, he said that the
prohibition Avas to be valid only Avhere there were friars of the miti
gation already in possession. He sent for Fra Jerome Gratian, and
asked him to give up his faculties received from the former nuncio,
for it was on these that the friars relied; but Fra Jerome forgot
himself, declined, and went to the king, who told him to refuse
(Reforma, lib. iv. ch. xxv.). The vicar lost his cause November 5, 1577
(the Bollandists believe it was in December, n. 1780), and departed
for Rome (ib. ch. xxviii. § 1), for the cause Avas lost only by the,
intervention of the civil power, and so far the friars of the mitigation
were not yet defeated.

CH. XXVIII.] VTLLANUEVA DE LA JARA. 591
of the blessed beginning Avhich our Lord had made, and that
he felt it to be His Avork, seeing that it prospered. The friars
suffered much, especially the foremost among them, from the
false accusations brought against them, and the opposition
made to them by nearly all the fathers of the mitigation.
The most reverend our father-general, though a most saintly
man, and though he had given authority for the foundation
of all the monasteries except the first, that of S. Joseph in
Avila, made by authority of the Pope, Avas so influenced by
the fathers of the mitigation that he would allow no more
friars of the primitive observance; nevertheless he was always
friendly to the monasteries of the nuns.
2. Now, because I had helped herein, he Avas made to
show his displeasure against me, and that was the greatest
trouble I had to bear while making these foundations, and
I had to bear many ; for to give up helping in the furtherance
of this work, which I saAV clearly Avas for the service of cur
Lord and the advancement of our order, men of the highest
learning, to Avhom I confessed, and by Avhom I Avas advised,
Avould not allow me ; and then to go against Avhat I saw Avas
the Avill of my superior Avas a very death, for, beside my
obligation as his subject, I had a most tender affection for
him, and it Avas justly due to him. The truth is I wished
to please him herein, but I could not, because I was under
visitors apostolic, whom I Avas bound to obey.
3. A saintly nuncio1 died, Avho greatly encouraged every
thing that Avas good, and Avho therefore had a great respect
for the barefooted friars. Another came,2 Avhom God seemed
* See ch. xxiv. § 1 (note 2).
2 Valdemoro, prior of the Carmelites of the mitigation in Avila,
to the great scandal of the city, in 1576, removed S. John of the Cross
and Fra German of S. Mathias from Avila, where they were living
in a small house as confessors and chaplains of the nuns of the
Incarnation (Lett. 71; Lett. 13 vol. i. ed. Doblado). But the nuncio,
Monsignore Ormaneto, had the friars brought back from Medina,
whither Valdemoro had sent them, and those of the mitigation were
forbidden by him to meddle with the monastery of the Incarnation.
After the death of Ormaneto and the arrival of Monsignore Sega, the
new nuncio, the observant friars took courage, and on the night of
December 3, 1577, seized on the confessors of the nuns, and hurried
them away secretly to prison. S. Teresa appealed to Philip II. for
help against persons Avho had no authority over the confessors, or,
at least, who had shown none. (Lett. 170; Lett. 1 vol. iv. ed. Doblado.)

592 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXVIII.
to have sent for the purpose of trying us by sufferings;1 he
Avas in some Avay related to the Pope, and must have been a
great servant of God, but he began by favouring very much
the friars of the mitigation.2 The information he received
from them concerning us convinced him that it Avas not right
Fra Fernando Maldonado, prior of Toledo, had done this act of wrong,
and it was the more reprehensible because the nuncio, Monsignore
Sega, himself had, if unwillingly, given orders not to interfere with
S. John of the Cross (Reforma, lib. iv. c. xxvii. § 2, 3). Fra Fernando
acted under the orders of Fra Jerome Tostado, the vicar, and took
S. John of the Cross with him to Toledo, where he shut him up in a
narrow cell, into which the light entered only by a loophole, Avhere his
food was bread and Avater; the Avhole community gave him the
discipline, at first every night, later on thrice in the week, and towards
the end of his captivity on Fridays only. S. Teresa said she Avould
rather see him in the hands of the Moors than in those of the friars
of the mitigation. (Lett. 170 and Lett, 173; Lett. 77 vol. iii. ed.
Doblado.) The king could give but little help, for the friars of the
mitigation, however harsh and mistaken, Avere Avithin their rights,
and the authority of the nuncio Avas on their side.
1 In October, 1577, the nuns of the Incarnation in Avila elected S.
Teresa their prioress. Some of the nuns opposed to the Saint appealed
against the election to Fra Juan Gutierrez, the provincial. He came
to the monastery, by orders from Fra Jerome Tostado, as he said,
and, ignoring the election, summoned the nuns to elect a prioress.
They obeyed him, and S. Teresa Avas chosen (Reforma, lib. iv. c. xx\'i.
§ 4). Fifty-five nuns voted for her, but the provincial rejected the
votes, and declared those who gave them excommunicated. He
came back another day, and summoned the nuns to elect a prioress.
He was told by them that they had made an election, and Avhen they
Avere told by him they Avere excommunicated forty-four nuns elected
Anne of Toledo, but the others said they would obey her only as the
deputy of the prioress. That election Avas confirmed by Fra Jerome
Tostado. (Lett. 166; Lett. 76 vol. iii. ed. Doblado.) The nuns were
for fifty days not allowed to hear mass or communicate with any out
side the monastery, and the latter prohibition was in force so late as
January 16, 1578. (Lett. 178; Lett 3 vol. i. ed. Doblado.) This election
added to the trouble of the Saint, and made both the friars of the miti
gation and the nuncio very angry Avith her.
2 Monsignore Philip Sega, bishop of Ripa Transona at this time,
translated the next year to Piacenza, a most learned and admirable
prelate, but unhappily very much under the influence of the Carmelites
of the mitigation, and ill disposed towards the Saint (Reforma de los
Descalgos, lib. iv. c. xxii. § 2). The Bollandists, n. 761, say of him,
"Optime ac sanctissime gestis conspicuum," and that he was made
cardinal by Innocent IX. He Avas appointed nuncio in Spain before
the death of Ormaneto (Bollandists, n. 756).

l.H. XXVIII.] VILLANUEVA DE LA JARA. 593
to go on Avith Avhat Ave had begun, and so he began to carry
out his purpose with the very greatest severity, censuring,
imprisoning, and banishing1 those Avho he thought might be
able to Avithstand him.
4. The)- AA'ho had most to suffer Avere the father Fra
Antonio of Jesus, Avho began the first monastery of the bare
footed Carmelites, and the father Fra Jerome Gratian, whom
the late nuncio had made visitor apostolic of those of the
mitigation : against him and the father Mariano of S. Benedict
his displeasure was great.2 I have already said who those
fathers Avere in writing of the previous foundations : others,
too, of the more graA-e fathers he put in penance, though
not so severely. Upon these he laid strict injunctions that
they were to meddle Avith none of our affairs. It was plain
1 Fra Antonio of Jesus, now that Fra Jerome had resigned his
authority, took upon himself, as the definitor elected in the chapter
of Almodovar held in August, 1576, Avith the sanction of the late
nuncio, to call another chapter of AlmodoA-ar, October 9, 1578. It is
true he had the advice of lawyers. To the chapter came, among
others, S. John of the Cross, who had miraculously escaped out of
prison. He, however, protested against the proceedings, but Avas
overruled. The friars erected the reform into a separate province,
and chose Fra Antonio as their provincial. Fra Juan of Jesus arrived
before the fathers separated, and urged upon them the illegality of
what they had done, but they shut him in a cell for a month lest he
should convince others of their Avrong. They chose tAvo fathers to
go to Rome to obtain the papal sanction. One of them, Fra Pedro
of the Angels, Avas told by S. John of the Cross, "You are going shoe
less to Rome, but you will return shod," as in fact he did, for he
returned to the mitigation, notAvithstanding the extreme austerity
of his life among the reformed. The friars kept their doings secret for
a Avhile, but it was necessary to let the nuncio know Avhat they had
done. He A-ery naturally was angry, and ordered the fathers to
retire into different monasteries. Fra Antonio, imprisoned at first in
Madrid, was sent to Roda; and this is the banishment to which the
Saint refers (Reforma de los Descalgos, lib. iv. c. xxxi. xxxii. xxxiii.
§ 1). The Saint herself begged Fra Jerome, in a letter, April 15, 1578,
to remain quiet, and abstain from attempting to do what it Avas not
lawful for them to meddle with, and advised recourse straightway
to the general of the order or to the Pope himself (Lett 188; Lett. 22
vol. i. ed. Doblado).
' He was sent at first to Atocha of the Dominicans, but, as the king
had a great affection for him, and might probably wish to see him,
the nuncio removed him to Pastrana, probably at the end of the year
for he Avas in Madrid November 13, 1578 (Reforma de los Descalgos, lib.
iv. c. xxxiii. § 1, and c. xxxiv. § 8, ad fin.).

594 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXVIII.
that all this came from God, and that His Majesty allowed
it for a greater good, and for the clearer manifestation of
the goodness of these fathers, as indeed it Avas. He made a
father of the mitigation our superior, Avho Avas to visit our
monasteries of nuns and friars.1 If he had found Avhat he
expected Ave should have been in serious straits, and Ave had
accordingly very much to suffer, as will be told by one who
is more able than I am to write. I do but touch the matter,
that the nuns Avho shall come after us may knoAV how great
are their obligations to make progress in perfection Avhen
they find that made easy to them which has cost so much
to us who are now alive. Some of them suffered in those
days from false accusations, which distressed me much more
than anything I had to suffer myself; for that, on the con
trary, Avas a great delight to me. I considered myself as the
cause of the Avhole tempest, and if they had throAvn me
into the sea Avith Jonas the storm Avould haAe ceased.2
1 He appointed Fra Juan Gutierrez de Ia Madalena and Fra Diego
de Cardenas, provincials respectively of Castille and Andalusia, with
Fra Angel de Salazar, prior of Valladolid, all of the mitigated ob
servance, to be visitors of the friars and nuns founded by S. Teresa,
and gaA'e them power to bring them back to the old usages of the
order. The decree was signed October 16, 1578 (Reforma de los
Descalgos, lib. iv. c. xxxvii. § 3).
2 When Fra Jerome Tostado Avas defeated by the council, the
nuncio took the cause into his OAvn hands, and commissioned friars
of the mitigation to visit the houses of the reformed, revoking, as he
had a right to do, July 22 (Fra Anton, of S. Joseph's note to Lett. 196;
Lett. 94 vol. ii. ed. Doblado), the powers granted by the late nuncio
to Fra Jerome of the Mother of God. In August, 157S, the visitors,
Avho were tAvo fathers of the province of Andalusia, Suarez and Coria
— they had come to Madrid, July 10 — went to Pastrana to receiA'e the
submission of Fra Antonio, Fra Jerome, and Fra Mariano. For a
moment the whole reform of S. Teresa was in imminent danger, for
there Avere thoughts of resistance. Fra Jerome happily took counsel
of a holy lay brother, who advised absolute obedience. The advice
was taken, as the friars yielded to the visitors, and resigned into their
hands the faculties received from the late nuncio. The three fathers
already named went to Madrid and humbled themselves before the
neAV nuncio. He, hoAvever, by way of penance, forbidding them to
hear or say mass or to communicate with anybody, relegated them to
certain religious houses; Fra Antonio to that of the barefooted
Franciscans, Mariano to Atocha of the Dominicans, and Fra Jerome
to the Carmel of Madrid. The king's council at the same time had
ordered all the decrees of the nuncio to be suppressed by the civil
poAver, and the nuncio when he heard of it believed that the friars

CH. XXVIII.] VTLLANLEVA DE LA JARA. 595
.Praised be God, avIio helps the truth, and so He did
at this time; for, as soon as our Catholic king Don Philip
knew Avhat Avas going on, and learnt hoAV the barefooted
Carmelites lived and kept their rule, he took our cause into
his own hands, and Avould have the nuncio not to be the sole
judge of it, but assigned four grave persons, three of whom
Avere religious, to be his assistants, in order that justice might
be really done us.1
were not sincere in their submission; hence the severity with which
he treated the three friars. The nuncio sent for Fra Juan of Jesus,
to Avhom he spoke Avith great harshness of S. Teresa herself. These
were his Avords: — "A restless gadabout woman — femina inquieta, anda-
riega — disobedient and stubborn, who, under the cloak of devotion,
invented Avicked opinions, going about breaking enclosure, contrary
to the decree of the Council of Trent and the orders of her superiors,
teaching as if she were a doctor, in contempt of the teaching of S.
Paul, who commanded women not to teach" (Reforma de los Descalgos,
lib. iv. ch. xxviii. xxx. § 2).
1 Don Luis Hurtado, de Mendoza, count of Tendilla, pleaded for
the friars with the nuncio, and, forgetting himself, used unbecoming
language. Quitting the presence of the nuncio, he went to Chumazero,
the attorney-general, v/hom he persuaded to use the civil courts in
defence of the friars. The issue Avas a decree of the council, sus
pending the execution of the orders of the nuncio till the friars of the
reform had a hearing. Copies of this decree Avere sent to the monas
teries, but all of them, one only excepted, that of Granada, declined the
king's protection in that form, and submitted to the nuncio. Granada
had been founded under difficulties, and greatly befriended by the
count; three of the fathers, hoAvever, left the house and made their
submission to the Aicar provincial of the observants (Reforma, lib.
iv. ch. xxxiii. § 4). The nuncio complained of the count's behavior to
the king, Avho disapproved, offered to rebuke the count, and ordered
the president of the council, Don Mauricio de Pazos, bishop elect of
Avila, to convey his displeasure to him. The president wrote to him,
for he had left Madrid, and received a reply explaining his conduct.
The letter Avas shown to the king, who was satisfied, and requested
Don Mauricio to send it to the nuncio, but not to let him knoAV that
he had seen it. On his return to Madrid the count called on the
nuncio, and again pleaded, but in courteous language, the cause of the
persecuted friars, who he said Avere, in the opinion of all men, more
worthy of encouragement than of the treatment hitherto received by
them. The nuncio, who was in good faith, and who firmly believed
all he had heard against them, told the count he should be glad to
have anybody whom the king might appoint as his assistants in the
process, for he had no interest to serve but that of justice. The
count asked him to put his offer in Avriting; the nuncio did so at once,
and the count took away the paper, which was immediately sent to

596 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXVIII.
5. One of these Avas the father master Fra Pedro Fernan
dez, a man of most saintly life, very learned and able. He had
been apostolic commissary and visitor of the fathers of the
mitigation of the province of Castille, and Ave also of the primi
tive rule Avere subject to him. He kneAV well and truly how
both the one and the other Avere living, for Ave all wished
for nothing but the making known our way of life. Then,
when I saw that the king had named him, I looked on the
matter as settled,1 as, by the goodness of God, it is. May
His Majesty grant it to be for His honour and glory ! Though
the noblemen of the realm and the bishops who took great
pains to put the truth before the nuncio were many in number,
yet it would all have been to little purpose if God had not
made use of the king.
6. We are under very great obligations, my sisters,
all of us, to remember him in our prayers to our Lord, together
Avith those2 who undertook His cause and that of our Lady the
Virgin, and so I earnestly recommend you to do so. You
the king. Philip II. was pleased, and appointed his chaplain Don
Luis Manrique, his preacher the Augustinian friar Lorencio de Villa-
vicencis, the two Dominicans, Fra Hernando del Castillo (also a royal
preacher) and Fra Pedro Fernandez, provincial of Castille (Reforma
de los Descalgos, lib, iv. ch. xxxvi.).
' Fra Pedro Fernandez had made his former visitations in great
¦humility and charity, travelling on foot. When he Avas making the
visit of Pastrana he lived with the friars and observed their rule. It
is, therefore, not to be wondered at that S. Teresa trusted him
(De la Fuente).
1 The assessors found the nuncio when they met, April 1, 1579,
under the dominion of prejudice, and could not prevail upon him to
hear anything in defence of the friars, whom he honestly believed
to be what their adversaries described. Therefore they called for all
the papers he had received, and these Avere produced, for the nuncio
felt that they would amply justify his previous acts. They then
called his attention to the fact that there was nothing in them but
accusations without a shadow of proof. The nuncio saAV at once that
he had been misled, and that he had read the papers in the light of
the wrong information given him by the Italian friars before he left
Rome, who probably were themselves innocently deceived. He with
drew the faculties he had given to the visitors who had dealt so
ruthlessly with their brethren, and appointed Fra Angel de Salazar
visitor, with strict orders to save the reform and release it from all
subjection to the friars of the observance. The faculties of Fra Angel
de Salazar were signed April 1, 1579 (Reforma de los Descalgos, lib. iv.
ch. xxxvii. § 1 — 3).

CH. XXVIII.] VILLANUEVA DE LA JARA. 597
will understand noAv, my sisters, what opportunity there
was for making foundations: Ave were all intent on prayer
and penance without ceasing, begging God to prosper our
foundations already made, if they were for His service.
7. In the beginning of these great troubles, which thus
briefly told may seem to you slight, and Avhich long endured
Avere heavy, there came to me in Toledo in the year 1576,
whither I had gone from making the foundation in Seville,1 an
ecclesiastic from Villanueva de la Jara with letters from the
municipality. The purport was to arrange with me for the
receiving into a monastery nine women,2 Avho Avere living
together in a hermitage of the glorious S. Anne, which Avas
in the neighbourhood. They had lived some years in a small
house close by it, and in such recollectedness and holiness
that the whole population was moved to make an effort to
fulfil their desire, Avhich was that of being nuns. I received
a letter also from a doctor, the parish priest of the place,
Augustin de Ervias,3 a learned and good man, and it Avas
his great goodness that made him help, so far as he could,
in this holy Avork.
8. As for myself I thought it was Avholly out of the
question that I should accept the monastery, for these reasons :
— 1. Because they whom I Avas to accept were so many,
and because I considered it would be a very difficult thing
to train in our way those Avho had been accustomed to live
in their own. 2. Because they had scarcely any means of
subsistence, and the place has hardly more than a thousand
1 Immediately on her arrival in Toledo, in the month of June, 1576
(Yepes, ii. 29).
1 Four young ladies went to see Dona Catalina de Cardona in her
penance in the desert, and were so moved of God at the sight that they
wished to follow her example. That seemed beyond their strength,
and through their brother, a priest, they obtained the advice of Don
Juan de Rojas, then parish priest of Villanueva de la Jara. By his
direction they lived together as religious, and soon after a widoAV with
four daughters, knowing of their AA'ay of life, came and joined them.
They sent word of all this to Dona Catalina in the desert about the
year 1572, who comforted them by telling them that they were to be
the beginning of a house of Carmel of the reform. The municipality
gave them the hermitage (Reforma de los Descalgos, lib. v. ch. iii. §§
2, 3). * Don Augustin had been canon of Cuenca; wearied of that dignity,
he exchanged it for the parish church of Villanueva, and Don Juan,
mentioned in the foregoing note, became canon of Cuenca (Ibid. § 4).

598 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXVIII.
inhabitants, Avhich Avould furnish but scanty help to those
who have to live on alms : though the municipality did offer
to maintain them, I did not think that Avas to be relied on.
3. They had no house. 4. They Avere far aAvay from the other
monasteries. And, though I was told they Avere A'ery good,
yet as I had not seen them I could not know Avhether they
had those gifts Avhich Ave claim for our monasteries, and
so I made up my mind to a thorough refusal.
9. To do this I must first speak to my confessor, the
doctor Velasquez, canon and professor in Toledo,1 a most
learned and excellent man, now bishop of Osma ; for I am
in the habit of never doing anything of my OAvn will, but
only at the will of persons such as he is. When he saAv the
letters and understood the matter he bade me not to refuse,
but to ansAver kindly; for if God made so many hearts agree
together on a thing it was plain He intended to be served
thereby. I did so, for I neither accepted nor yet refused
absolutely. Time passed on in importuning me and in search
ing out those who might persuade me to accept, till this year
1580, I all the while thinking it folly to do so. When I made
any reply I neA'er could reply altogether unfaA-ourably.
10. The father Fra Antonio of Jesus happened to come
to the monastery of our Lady of Succour, which lies three
leagues from the town of Villanueva, there to finish the term
of his banishment.2 He used to go and preach there, and the
prior of the monastery, Avho at this time is the father Fra
Gabriel of the Assumption,3 a most prudent man and servant
* See below, ch. xxx. § 1, note.
2 See § 3 above. The nuncio confined Fra Antonio at first in the
barefooted Franciscan monastery of S. Bernardin in Madrid, together
with Fra Gabriel of the Assumption. But, as the latter was Avanted in
his monastery of Roda, the nuncio sent him back, and Avith him Fra
Antonio, after a detention of some weeks in Madrid. This Avas in the
year 1578 (Reforma de los Descalgos, lib. iv. ch. xxxiii. § 1, and lib. v.
ch. iii. § 5).
* Fra Gabriel of the Assumption was a native of Pastrana; his
father Juan de Buencuchillo and his mother Ana Hernandez Ruiz were
persons of great consideration in the town. Fra Gabriel was about to
be married, but gave up the world, moved by our Lord, at the ceremony
of taking the habit by Mariano of S. Benedict and Juan de la Miseriai
in the chapel of Ruy Gomez, in 1569 (see ch. xvii. § 13). In the
octave of the Assumption of the same year he took the habit himself,
being the third novice Avho left the world for the reform of S. Teresa.

CH. XXVIII.] VILLANUEVA DE LA JARA. 599
of God, Avent also frequently to the same place, for they Avere
friends of doctor Ervias, and began an acquaintance with these
saintly sisters. Attracted by their goodness, and persuaded
by the people and the doctor, they took up the matter as if
it Avas their own, and began to persuade me, Avriting very
earnest letters ; and when I Avas in S. Joseph's in Malagon,
which is tA\enty-six leagues and further from Villanueva, the
father prior himself came to speak to me on the subject.
He told me how it could be done, and that, the monastery
once founded, the doctor Ervias would endow it Avith three
hundred ducats a year out of the revenues of the living he
held; that leave to do so could be had from Rome.1
11. This seemed to me very uncertain, for I thought it
might fail us after the foundation Avas made, yet Avith the
little Avhich the sisters possessed it might be well enough, and
so I gave many reasons, and in my opinion they were suffi
cient, to the father prior, to make him see that it would
never do to accept the monastery; I said further that he must
look well to it, he and father Antonio; that I left it on their
conscience, thinking that what I had told them was enough
to stop the matter. When he had left I reflected on his
great earnestness, and thought he might prevail on Fra Angel
de Salazar, our present superior, to accept the monastery;
and so I Avrote to Fra Angel immediately, begging him not
to grant his permission, telling him my reasons at the same
time. He wrote to me afterwards to say he would not have
granted it unless I wished it myself.
12. Six weeks, perhaps more passed away; Avhen
I Avas now thinking I had put a stop to it they sent me a
messenger with very pressing letters from the two fathers, as
Avell as from the municipality, by which they bound themseh-es
to furnish Avhatever Avas necessary ; doctor Ervias, too, under
taking to perform what I spoke of before. My dread of
receiving these sisters was very great; I thought they Avould
be a faction banded together against the sisters Avhom I
He was prior of La Roda during the troubles, and died in 1584, tAvo
years after the death of the Saint (Reforma, lib. ii. ch. xxviii. § 9; ch.
xxxvii. § 6; and lib. vi. ch. xxxiii.).
1 This offer of doctor Ervias was made in 1580, when the trouble*
of the order were nearly over. Fra Antonio had accompanied the prior
to Malagon, to press the matter on the Saint (Reforma, lib. v. ch. iii.
§5).

600 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXVIII.
might take thither, as it usually happens, and also because
1 saAv nu certain means of maintenance for them, for that
Avhich was offered was not such as I Avas bound to accept:
so I Avas in great doubt. Afterwards I sa-w it Avas the Avork
of Satan, for, though our Lord had given me courage, I Avas
then so faint of heart that I seemed to have no trust in God
at all. The prayers, however, of those blessed souls prevailed.
13. One day after communion, while I Avas commending
the matter to God, as I was often doing — fcr the reason Avhy
I answered favourably before was the fear I had I might
be hindering the progress of some souls, for my desire ever
is to help in any way to advance the glory of our Lord and
to increase the number of His servants— His Majesty rebuked
me severely, saying, "Where was the treasury that supplied
the means for the foundations already made?" I Avas to
accept the house without any misgiving: it would be greatly
to His honour and the progress of souls. So mighty are the
Avords of God, they not only enter the understanding, but
also enlighten it to see the truth and make the Avill ready
to act: so it was with me, for I was not only glad to accept
the monastery, but felt that I had been to blame for holding
back so long, and clinging so much to human considerations,
seeing that His Majesty had done so much for our holy
order in Avays undiscoverable by reason.
14. Having resolved to accept the foundation, I thought
it right to go thither myself with the nuns Avho Avere to remain
there, and that for many reasons Avhich suggested themselves,
though very much against my inclination, for I Avas very ill
Avhen I came to Malagon,1 and was so still. But, thinking
I should please our Lord by going, I Avrote to the superior
in order that he might command as he should judge best
He sent the licence for the foundation, Avith an order for me
to go there myself, and to take with me the nuns I preferred,2
1 The Saint had arrived in Malagon November 25, 1579. She had
gone from Toledo to Avila in July, 1577, where she remained in the
monastery of S. Joseph, given to the order by her during the perse
cution, till April 25, 1579, when peace was restored. She now visited
the monasteries and consolidated her work, which had been grievously
threatened, and in some places shattered, by the oppressive rule of the
fathers of the mitigation.
2 The Saint, writing to Mother Mary of S. Joseph, prioress of
Seville, February 1, 1580, says that Fra Angel de Salazar had sent the
pcrrrisrion five days before, i. e. January 28th, and that she meant to

CH. XXVIII.] ATLLANL'EVA DE LA JARA. 601
which made me very anxious because they would have to live
with those Avho Avere there already. Earnestly commending
the matter to our Lord, I took tAvo nuns out of the monastery
of S. Joseph in Toledo, one of whom Avas to be prioress, and
two out of that of Malagon, one to be sub-prioress ; and, as
Ave had prayed so much to our Lord, the choice could not haA-e
been better, Avhich gave me no slight pleasure, for in the
foundations begun Avith nuns only from our monasteries
everything falls happily into its own place.1
15. The father Fra Antonio of Jesus and the father Fra
Gabriel of the Assumption came to fetch us.2 The city
having furnished everything, we left Malagon on the Saturday
before Lent, February 13th, 1580. It was the pleasure of
God to send us such fine weather, and to me such health
that I seemed as if I had never been ill. I Avas amazed, and
considered how important it is for us never to think of our
own infirmities when we are employed in the service of our
Lord, Avhatever the difficulties before us may be, seeing that
He is able to make the weak strong and the sickly healthy;
and should He not do so it will be better for our soul if Ave
suffer and forget ourselves with our eyes fixed on His honour
and glory. Why are life and health given us but to be lost
for so grand a King and Lord? Believe me, .my sisters, no
harm will ever befall you if you travel on this road.
16. I confess myself that my wickedness and Aveakness
have put me very often in fear and doubt, but I cannot call
to mind any occasion since our Lord gave me the habit of a
barefooted Carmelite, nor for some years before, in Avhich.
take Avith her as sub-prioress Elvira of San Angelo, professed in Mala
gon; that the prioress Avas to be from Toledo, but she was then in
doubt Avhom she should choose (Lett. 272; Lett 63 vol. i. ed. Doblado).
1 The Saint had a general procession in the monastery to obtain
light for the purpose of choosing the nuns. With the sister Elvira
she took Ana of S. Augustin, and then, going with them and Anne of
S. Bartholomew, together Avith the friars who came for her, to Toledo,
she took from that monastery Maria of the Martyrs — not Anne of
the Mother of God, as Ribera relates — and Constance of the Cross
(Reforma de los Descalgos, lib. v. ch. iii. § 6).
2 The Saint, in a letter to Fra Jerome of the Mother of God, Feb
ruary 12, 1580, says that the two friars were come that day to Malagon.
and that they had brought with them a carriage and a cart. "Fra
Antonio is come in good health and fat; trouble fattens this year.
I think" (Lett. 276; Lett. 29 vol. iv. ed. Doblado).

602 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [dl. XXVIII.
of His mere compassion, He did not enable me by His grace
to overcome these temptations, and to venture upon that,
hoAvever difficult it might be, which I understood to be for
His greater glory. I see clearly that what I did myself was
very little, but God asks no more than a resolution of this
kind to do everything Himself. May He be blessed and
praised for ever! Amen.
17. We had to go to the monastery of our Lady of
Succour, already spoken of,1 which is three leagues from Valla-
nueva, and halt there to gh-e warning of our arrival, for so it
had been settled, and it was only reasonable I should in every
thing obey the fathers with Avhom we came. The monastery
stands in a desert and most pleasing solitude, and Avhen we
drew near the friars came forth in great orderliness to receive
their prior; as they advanced barefooted in their coarse cloaks
of serge they moved all to devotion, and I Avas melted at the
sight exceedingly, for I thought I was living in the flourishing
age of our holy fathers. On that plain they looked as Avhite
fragrant floAvers, and so I believe they are in the eyes of God,
for in my opinion He is most truly served there. They Avent
into the Church singing Te Deum in a voice that betrayed
their mortified lives. The church is entered underground
as through a cave, which figured that of our father Elias.
Certainly I went in Avi.h so much inAvard joy that I would
have looked on a much longer journey as profitably made,
though I was very sorry for the death of the saint by Avhom
our Lord founded the house ; I did not deserve to see her
though I desired it greatly.
18. I think it Avill not be a waste of time to say some
thing in this place of her life, and hoAV it came to pass that
our Lord would have the monastery founded Avhich, as I
learn, has been of so much advantage to many souls in the
country round about. I do so that you, my sisters, beholding
the penance done by this saint, may see how far we are behind
her, and make efforts to serve our Lord with reneAved courage ;
for there is no reason why we should do less than she did,
seeing that we are not sprung from so refined and noble a
race, for, though this be of no consequence, I speak of it
because she once lived in great comfort according to her rank,
for she was a child of the ducal house of Cardona, and was
1 § 10, above.

CH. XXVIII.] VILLANUEVA DE LA JARA. 603
knoAvn as Doha Catalina de Cardona.1 When she had Avritten
to me a certain number of times she signed herself simply
"The Sinner." Hoav she lived before our Lord bestowed on
her graces so great they Avill tell you Avho shall AA-rite her
life, and more particularly the great things that may be told
of it: lest it should not come to your knowledge, I will tell
you Avhat I have been told by certain persons who have con
versed Avith her, and Avho deserve to be believed.
19. This holy Avoman, Avhile living among great men
and ladies of high rank, was always careful about her soul
and did penance. Her desire of penance, and of withdraAving
into a place Avhere in solitude she could have the fruition
of God and spend herself in doing penance undisturbed by
others, greAV within her exceedingly. She spoke of it to her
confessors, and they Avould not give their consent; but, as
the world is now so very discreet, and the great Avorks of
God wrought in His saints, men and women, Avho served Him
in the deserts, are almost forgotten, I am not surprised that
they thought her desire foolish; but, as His Majesty neA-er
fails to further true desires to their end, He so ordered it
that she went to confession to a Franciscan friar, Fra Francis
de Torres,2 Avhom I knew very well, and look upon as a
saint, who many years ago gave himself Avith great fervour
1 Her father was Don Ramon de Cardona, descended from the
royal house of Aragon, and her mother was a near relative of the
princess of Salerno, into whose house she Avas taken. on her father's
death, when she Avas but eight years of age. She had a A-ision of her
father in purgatory, Avho told her that his release would be the
fruit of her penance. Thereupon she at once began to mortify and
discipline herself till she obtained her father's deliverance. The prin
cess of Salerno brought her to Spain, and, about the time Avhen S.
Teresa was laying the foundations of her reform. Dona Catalina,
who was four years younger, Avas moved to begin the life of heroic
austerity in the desert of which the Saint here speaks. When she
was living in Valladolid with the princess she recognised the heretic
in the popular preacher Cazalla when everybody else was running
after him. On the death of the princess she governed the household
for a time of Ruy Gomez, and had also under her care the prince
Don Carlos and his brother Don Juan of Austria. The former she
could not influence, but for the latter she had a most tender affection.
She led now a most austere life, eating no flesh, and fasting four
days in the week (Reforma, lib. iv. ch. i. — v.).
' She had the advice and encouragement also of S. Peter of
Alcantara (Reforma, lib. iv. ch. iv. § 10).

604 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXVHI.
to penance and prayer, and he had to endure much persecu
tion. He must have been able, if any, to discern clearly the
graces God bestOAvs on those who strive to be the recipients
of them, and so he told her she Avas not to hold back, but to
obey the call of His Majesty. I do not knoAV Avhether these
were his very Avords or not, but it is the substance of them,
for she immediately executed her purpose.1
20. She made herself known to a hermit2 Avho Avas in
Alcala, and begged him to go with her, and never tell any
body. They came to the place where the monastery stands;
there she found a small cave, Avhich hardly held her, in Avhich
the hermit left her. But Avhat must that love be that brought
her? for she did not think of any means of finding food, nor
of the dangers that might ensue, nor of the evil speaking that
would result from her disappearance. Oh, how deeply must
that holy soul have drank of the Avine of God! So filled
thereAvith was she that she would have none to hinder her in
the fruition of the Bridegroom, so determined to love the
world no more, seeing that she thus ran away from all its
comforts. Let us consider it well, my sisters, and mark
how she conquered it all at one bloAv ; for, though Avhat you do
is not less than Avhat she did when you enter this holy order
— Avhen you offer your will to God, and promise such lifelong
enclosure — perhaps the first fervours of seme of us pass aAvay,
and Ave become subject again in some things to our self-love.
May His Divine Majesty grant it be not so, and that Ave Avho
already are folloAvers of this holy woman in seeking to escape
from the world, may be very far away from it in everything in
our hearts.
1 Ruy Gomez went to visit an estate he had just purchased, and
Dona Catalina begged she might accompany him and the princess his
Avife. Ruy Gomez consented, and from his house in Estremera she
made her way, dressed as a man, to the desert, Avhere she spent her
life in the service of God (Reforma, lib. iv. ch. a-. §§ 2, 3).
2 He was a priest, Pifia by name, Avho, having visited the holy
places of Rome, Avithdrew into the mountain of Vera Cruz, near Old
Alcala, where he lived as a hermit, much reverenced by all for his
sanctity and the Avisdom of his counsel. He had some business with
the prince Ruy Gomez, and that brought him into relations with
Dofia Catalina, whom he knew before in Madrid. He approved of her
resolution, and then, Avith Martin Alonzo, a native of La Roda, Avho
had been chaplain of Ruy Gomez, they set out, she in man's clothing,
before dawn, and made their way to La Roda. They found a cave
for her, and there left her (Reforma, lib. iv. ch. v.).

CH. XXVIII.] VILLANUEVA DE LA JARA. 605
21. I have heard many details of the great austerity of
her life, and only the least portion thereof can be knoAvn; for
during the many years she dAvelt in that solitude Avith such
earnest desires of doing penance, and having no one to check
her, she must have treated her body fearfully. I will tel!
you Avhat some persons have heard her say herself, and among
them the nuns of S. Joseph in Toledo, Avhen she Avent to
see them. She spoke openly as if they were sisters, and sc
she did to other persons ; for her simplicity Avas great, and
her humility must have been so too. As she was one who
knew that she Avas nothing in herself, she Avas very far from
vainglory, and had a pleasure in speaking of the graces
which God bestOAved upon her, that through them His name
might be praised and glorified. This is a dangerous proceed
ing for those Avho have not reached her state, for it may seem
in them, at least, to be praise of self. Her openness and holy
simplicity must have saved her from that danger, for I never
heard that this imperfection was ever laid to her charge.
22. She said that she had been eight years in that cave,
living for many days together on the herbs of the field and on
roots ; for when the three loaves were finished which he Avho
Avent with her to the cave left behind she had nothing until
a poor shepherd came to the place:1 he supplied her after
wards with bread and meal — that Avas her food — cakes baked
on embers, and nothing else, of Avhich she took one in three
days. And it is most true, as the friars too Avho dwell there
are witnesses ; and at a later time, Avhen she Avas much Avasted,
they Avould make her occasionally eat a pilchard or something
else, Avhen she Avent about seeking means to found a monas
tery; but she felt it do her more harm than good. As for
Avine, I never heard that she drank any. Her disciplines were
inflicted Avith a heavy chain, and frequently lasted tAvo hours
and an hour and a half. The sackcloth she wore was of the
very coarsest kind, as I have learned from a certain person, a
Avoman who, returning from a pilgrimage, stayed Avith her
one night, and, Avhile feigning to be asleep, saw her take off
her sackcloth full of blood and wash it.
1 His name was Benitez. He and others knew that a hermit lived
somewhere in that country, for he had been seen in the church of
Fuen Santa, but none knew where he was living. Dona Catalina had
lived three years in the cave before Benitez found her gathering herbs
and roots for her support (Reforma, lib. iv. ch. ix. §§ 1, 2).

606 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXVHI.
23. What she had to bear from evil spirits AA-as still
worse, as she told the nuns mentioned before; they appeared
to her as huge mastiffs, leaping on her shoulders ; at other
times as serpents. She Avas not in the least afraid of them.
After she had founded the monastery she Avent still to the
cave, lived and slept in it, and left it only to be present at
the divine office. Before that she went to mass in a monas
tery of the Mercenarians,1 a quarter of a league distant, and
that sometimes on her knees. Her clothing was of kersey,
Avith a tunic of coarse cloth, and so fashioned that people
thought she was a man. When those years Avere over during
Avhich she lived so much alone it pleased our Lord to make
her knoAvn, and people out of devotion began to A-isit her in
such cfoAvds as Avere more than she could bear. She spoke
to all with great charity and love. As time Avent on the
people thronged around her more and more, and he Avho could
have speech of her thought much of it. She Avas so Avearied
herself that she said they Avere killing her. There came a day
when the Avhole plain was full of carriages. Soon after the
friars were established, there Avas no help for it but they must
raise her up on high that she might give them her blessing,
and in that way get rid of them. When she had been eight
years in the cave — it was now larger in size, for those who
came to see her had made it so2 — she had a most serious ill
ness, and thought she should die of it ; and all this took place
in that cave.
24. She began wishing for a monastery of friars in that
place, and did so for some time, not knoAving to Avhich order it
should belong. On one occasion our Lord showed her, Avhen
she was in prayer before a crucifix Avhich she ahvays had with
her, a white mantle, and she understood it belonged to the
* Friars of the order of our Lady de la Merced, founded for the
ransom of captives from the unbelievers by S. Peter Nolasco the
first general, S. Raymond de Peiiafort, and James I. king of Aragon.
The fourth vow of the friars is, that they will, if necessary, deliver
themselves up to the infidels for the release of prisoners.
' One night when she was praying she saw that the cave was
crumbling, for the earth had been loosened by the moisture. She
tried to escape, but was overwhelmed by the falling earth. In the
morning she was discovered half buried, and released, and at the
same time were discovered also her fearful instruments of penance.
The people cleared the cave, and in doing so made it larger, and
also protected it against the wet (Reforma, lib. iv. ch. x. § 5).

CH. XXVIII.] VILLANUEVA DE LA JARA. 607
barefooted Carmelites. She had never heard that there were
such friars in the AA-orld, and at that time only two monasteries
had been founded, those of Mancera and Pastrana.1 She must
have obtained the knoAvledge thereof after this; then, having
learnt that there Avas a monastery in Pastrana, and as she
had been very friendly in times past Avith the princess of
Eboli, wife of prince Ruy Gomez, to Avhom Pastrana belonged,
she set out for that place to find how she could have the
monaster}' she desired.2 There, in the monastery of Pastrana,
in the church of S. Peter, for that is its title, she took the
habit of our Lady,3 not, hoAvever, with the intention of be
coming a nun and making her profession, for she never had
any inclination to be a nun, because our Lord was leading her
by another way ; she thought that if she were once under
obedience they would tfnvart her in her purpose of living
austerely and in solitude.
25. In the presence of all the friars she received the
habit of our Lady of Carmel. Father Mariano Avas there at
the time. I have spoken of him before in the story of these
foundations,* and he told me myself that he fell into a trance
or rapture and lost all consciousness, and saw Avhile in that
state many friars and nuns lying dead ; some of them had their
heads cut off, and others their limbs and arms, as having
1 The friars left Duruelo, the first house, and established them
selves in Mancera, June 11, 1570. The house in Pastrana was founded
a year earlier, Tune 13, 1569. See ch. xiv. § 8, note; xvii. § 14, note.
After the vision she made inquiries about friars such as
she noAv understood to be our Lord's will to send to La Roda, and
all Avere amazed at her questions. A feAV days later a poor man Avho
had gone to Pastrana came to her and said, "Give me a reAvard; I
have seen your friars in Pastrana; the prince Ruy Gomez has built
them a monastery there " She then wrote to the prince, and he
communicated the letter to the friars. Fra Ambrosio Mariano Avas
sent to the cave for her, and brought her to Pastrana, not without
much persuasion, and some trouble in getting away without the knoAvl-
edge of the neighbourhood. On the 3rd of May, 1571, she came to
Pastrana, and the prince himself with the duke of Gandia, the
successor of S. Francis Borja, went out to meet her, with many
others (Reforma, lib. iv. chs. xi. xii.).
' She would have the habit of a lay brother, for she thought the
life of the Carmelite nuns too soft for her, and she Avas accordingly so
clothed, May 6, by the prior Fra Baltasar (Ibid. ch. xii. §§ 5, 6).
* See ch. xvii. § 5, note.

608 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXVIII.
suffered martyrdom; for that is the meaning of the vision.
He is not a man to say that he saAv Avhat he has not seen,
neither is he in the habit of falling into a trance, for that is
not the Avay by Avhich God is leading him. Pray to God,
my sisters, that the A'ision may be true, and that we in our
day may deserve to behold so great a blessing, and be our
selves among the martyrs.
26. In Pastrana the saintly Cardona began to seek the
means of founding a monastery, and in order to do so went
back to Madrid, out of Avhich she had gone away with so
much joy,1 which was no slight torment to her; and there
she did not escape trouble or the tongue that speaketh evil,
for whenever she went abroad she could not avoid the croAvd ;
it was thus wherever she Avas. She went next to Toledo,
Avhere she remained with our nuns. All of them assured
me that there was about her a fragrance as that of relics, so
strong that it moved them to give thanks to our Lord; it
clung even to her habit and her girdle which she left behind,
for they took her habit from her and gave her another; and
the nearer they came to her the more strongly did they per
ceive it, though her dress, owing to the heat which then pre-
A'ailed, was of a kind to be offensive rather than otherwise.
I know they would not say anything that Avas -not in every
Avay true; they had a great veneration for her. In Madrid
1 She Avent to Madrid accompanied by the fathers Fra Pedro of
the Apostles, Fra Ambrosio Mariano, and the brother Juan de la
Miseria. As she had been in the habit of giving her blessing to the
people who thronged around her in her cave, so she continued to do
in Madrid; and one day a zealous and good man told the nuncio,
Monsignore Ormaneto, that he had seen a Carmelite lay brother in a
carriage with ladies, giving his blessing like a bishop to the people.
The nuncio sent for Fra Ambrosio, whom he knew well ,and asked
him who the brother was. Fra Ambrosio told the whole truth, but the
nuncio would not be satisfied— he must see the woman herself and
try her spirit. Fra Ambrosio Avent for Dona Catalina and took her to
the nuncio; she as soon as she saw him gave him her blessing as
usual, but the nuncio was not pleased, asked the friar hoAV he came to
bring her to his presence in that dress, and asked her what spirit it
was that made her bless the people as if she were a bishop. The two
friars prostrated themselves before the nuncio and were silent, and he,
touched by their humility, bade them rise, and by conversing with
them understood the matter, and left Dona Catalina in peace, asking
her, however, to pray for the success of the Catholic league under
Don Juan (Reforma de los Descalgos, lib. iv. ch. xiv. § 4).

CH. XXVIII.] VILLANUEVA DE LA JARA. 609
and other places people gave her the means to found the
monastery, and Avhen she had the licence it Avas founded.1
27. The church Avas built Avhere her caA'e was, and
another Avas made for her on one side having in it a solid
tomb. There she remained both night and day during the
remainder of her life.2 That Avas not long, for she lived only
about five years and a half after the foundation of the monas
tery; it seems supernatural, and indeed so does her former
life, considering Iioav seA'ere it Avas. She died in the year 1577,
as I find noAv.3 The solemnities of her burial Avere A'ery grand,
for a nobleman of the name of Don Juan de Leon* had a great
veneration for her and insisted on it. She is now lying in a
1 The licence to make the foundation Avas obtained for her by the
king from the provincial of the mitigation, and the visitor apostolic Fra
Pedro Fernandez. She received large presents of vestments and vessels
for the celebration of mass, Avhich moved a grave ecclesiastic to say
to her that wooilen chasubles and leaden chalices Avere Avell enough
for poor friars. She answered, "You, a worm of the earth, have a
service of plate, and Avant the King of kings to be satisfied with lead."
She left Madrid in the beginning of March, 1572, and in April took
possession of the place Avhere the new monastery Avas to rise o\er
the cave which she had dAvelt in for eight years (Reforma de los
Descalgos, lib. iA'. ch. xvi. §§ 2, 3).
2 In October, 1573, at the earnest request of a knight of S. James,
she left the cave on an errand of charity to Madrid. Don Gonzalo,
elder brother of the archbishop of Toledo, Avas in danger' of losing
his life, and she was to beg his pardon of the king, Avho refused to
listen to any one. In this she Avas successful, and set out for La
Roda in the beginning of the folloAving year, visiting the princess of
F.boli in Pastrana, Avho Avas already beginning to be Aveary of the
nuns. Father Gaspar de Salazar, S. J., sent by the Inquisition of
Cuenca to examine her spirit, visited her in the cave, and Avas not only
edified but amazed at Avhat he saAV and heard; his report to the in
quisitors silenced all clamour (Reforma de los Descalgos, lib. iv. chs.
xix., xx.).
* The chronicler of the order says (lib. iv. ch. xx.) that she fore
told her death, which was to take place AA-ithin the octave of the
Ascension, and that she died May 11, 1577, though others say it Avas
tAvo years later. Father Bouix says she died May 11, 1577, on the
octave of the Ascension. Noav, in 1577 Ascension Day fell on May 16;
but in 1578 it fell on the 8th, and in that year May 11th was within
the octave.
* Don Vicente has Fray Juan de Leon, but as, he does not make
any remark on the change, it is probably a misprint; the old reading
is therefore retained. It may be that Don Juan Avas a religious; if so,
Don Vicente's reading should be preferred.

610 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [dl. XXVIII.
chapel of our Lady, to whom she was so extremely deA'out,
but only for a time, till a larger church than the one they have
at present shall be built, as only fitting to contain her blessed
body.1 28. The monastery on her account is a place of great
devotion, which still continues, and so is the whole neigh
bourhood, especially the desert, and the cave where she lived
before she resolved on building the monastery. I have been
told on good authority that she used to be Avorn and wearied
at the sight of the great crowds that came to see her, that she
wanted to go to some other place where nobody kneAV any
thing about her, and that she sent for the hermit who brought
her thither to take her away, but he was then dead. Our
Lord, who had ordained that a house should be built there for
our Lady, would not let her depart, for I see, as I said before,
that He is greatly served there. The friars are in marvellous
dispositions, and their countenances show plainly what a joy
they have in being thus separated from the world, especially
the prior,2 whom God had taken away from many comforts
that he might wear the habit, and whom He thus amply
reAvarded by giving him the comfort of His Spirit. He shoAved
me much affection there. They gave us some of the furniture
of their church for use in that which Ave were going to found ;
for, as the saintly woman was held in great respect by so
many persons of note, their church was well supplied with
its furniture. 29. During my stay there I was greatly comforted, though
to my exceeding great shame, and the shame lasts, because
I saw that she Avho there had borne so sharp a penance was
a woman like myself, and more tenderly nurtured, for she
was of a nobler race, and not so great a sinner as I am; on
this subject there is no comparison possible betAveen us, for
I received much greater graces from our Lord in many ways,
and that I am not this moment in hell for my great sins
is a very great one. To follow in her steps, if I can, is my
1 In 1603 the monastery was removed to Villanueva de la Jara,
and the friars took with them the body of their founder, and three
years afterwards, when Fra Pedro of Jesus Maria was prior placed it
in an honourable place on the gospel side (Reforma de los Descalgos,
lib. iv. ch. xx. § 8).
* The prior of La Roda was Fra Gabriel of the Assumption (see
above, § 8).

CH. XXVIII.] VILLANUEVA DE LA JARA. 611
only comfort; but that is not much, for all my life has been
wasted in desires; as for Avorks, I have none.1 May God of
His compassion succour me, in Avhom I have' always put
my trust, for the sake of His Most Holy Son and the Virgin
our Lady, whose habit, by the goodness of our Lord, I Avear !
30. One day after Communion in that hallowed church
I became profoundly recollected, and fell into a trance in
which my senses Avere withheld. In that trance I saw the holy
Avoman as a glorious body by an intellectual vision. There
Avere angels Avith her; she told me not to grow faint, but
strive to go on with these foundations, I understood thereby
though she did not say so expressly, that she helped me before
God. She also told me something else, but there is no reason
Avhy I should repeat it here. I was very much comforted.
and had a desire to labour; and I hope, in the goodness of
our Lord, that, with such good help as her prayers are, 1
may be able to serve Him in some measure. You see now,
my sisters, that her troubles are over already, and that the
bliss she is in has no end. Let us strive now, for the love
of our Lord, to follow this our sister: hating ourselves as
she hated herself, we shall finish our journey, for everything
passes rapidly away and comes to an end.
31. On the first Sunday in Lent — it Avas the eve of the
feast of the Chair of S. Peter, and the feast of S. Barbatian,
1580 — we reached Villanueva de la Jara. On that very day
the Most Holy Sacrament was brought into the church of the
glorious S. Anne at the time of high mass. The whole munic
ipality and certain others, with doctor Ervias, came forth
to receive us, and Ave alighted at the church of the town,
which is somewhat distant from that of S. Anne.
32. The joy of the people Avas so great that it filled me
with consolation at beholding their pleasure in receiving
the order of the Most Holy Virgin our Lady. When we were
yet far away we heard the ringing of the bells, and on our
entering the church they began the Te Deum, one verse sung
by the choristers, the other played on the organ. That done,
they carried the Most Holy Sacrament on a bier, and on
another our Lady, with crosses and banners. The procession
moved on in great pomp ; we, in our white mantles, and faces
veiled, were in the middle near the Most Holy Sacrament,
and close to us our barefooted friars, who had come in great
' See Relation, iii. § 12.

612 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXVIII.
numbers from their monastery;1 the Franciscans — for there
is a monastery of S. Francis there — -Avent also, and a Dominican
Avho was in- the place, and though he AA-as alone it gave me
pleasure to see that habit there.
33. As the distance was great, many altars had been
raised. The procession halted at times, Avhen something was
sung about our order, Avhich moved me to great devotion:2
so also did it to see that it was all in praise of the great
God there present, and that so much was dene for seven
poor nuns Avho were there. Nevertheless, Avhen I reflected
upon it I was filled Avith confusion, remembering that I Avas
among them, and that every one there ought to have turned
against me if they would but have treated me as I deserve. I
have given you at such length this account of the honour done
to the habit of our Lady, that you may gh-e thanks to our
Lord and beseech Him to make use of this foundation, for I
have a greater joy when a foundation is made under persecu
tion and with trouble, and I speak of them the more Avillingly.
34. It is true the sisters Avho Avere already there had
been in trouble for nearly six years — at least for more than
the five years and a half Avhich have gone by since they Avent
into this house of the glorious S. Anne. I do not speak of
their poverty and toil in earning their food, for they never
would ask alms; the reason of that was that they Avould not
have their neighbours think they were there to be supported
by them; neither do I speak of their great penance, of their
long fasts, of their scanty food, of their hard beds, and of the
small house Avhich, in the strict enclosure they ahvays ob
served, was hard enough to bear. What AA*as hardest to bear,
they told me, was the earnest longing they had to put on the
habit, and Avhich was a most grievous torment to them night
and day, for they thought they were neA-er to Avear it; and
accordingly their constant prayer, and that most frequently
Avith tears, was that God would bestOAV that grace upon them.
When they saAV any difficulty arise they were distressed be
yond measure, and multiplied their penances. They stinted
themselves in their food, that out of their earnings they might
have the means of paying the messengers who came to me,
and of shoAving what gratitude they could in their poverty
1 The monastery of our Lady of Succour, La Roda.
a Cantando muchos villancicos a proposito de la A-enida tan deseada
de las religiosas (Yepes, ii. 30).

CH. XXA'III.] ATLLANUEVA DE LA JARA. 613
to those who were able to help them in any way. I see
clearly myself, ever since I conversed Avith them and saAV
how saintly they Avere, that they must have obtained their
admission into the order by their prayers and tears, and so I
looked on the possession of such souls as these as a much
greater treasure than a rich endoAvment, and my hope is the
house Avill prosper greatly.
35. When we entered the house they were standing at
the door Avithin, each of them dressed as usual, for they Avere
dressed as they were when they first came, and Avould never
put on any religious dress, hoping for ours ; what they Avore,
however, Avas most modest, and showed plainly how little
thought they had taken for themselves ; they were so poorly
clad, and almost all of them so thin, as to show that they
had been living a most penitential life. They received us
with tears of great joy, and those tears Avere certainly not
feigned. Their great virtue shone forth in their joy, in their
humility, and in their obedience to the prioress and to all
those Avho came to make the foundation; they could not do
enough to please them. All the fear they had was lest the
nuns should go back when they saw their poverty and the
smallness of the house. Not one of them had ever exercised
any authority over another, but each one had with great
affection laboured to the utmost of her strength. Tavo of
them, and they Avere the eldest, managed all their affairs Avhen
necessary ; the rest never spoke to anybody, and would not do
so. The door of the house had a bolt only, no lock, and the
eldest answered at it; none of the others A'entured near it.
They slept very little, that they might earn their bread and
not miss their prayer, in Avhich they spent many hours — on
festivals the whole day.
,\ 36. They directed themselves by means of the books of
\Fra Luis of Granada and of Fra Peter of Alcantara. Most of
the time was spent in saying the divine office — they could
hardly read it; one only could read well — and that in bre
viaries that differed one from another; some of these, being
of the Vd Roman form,1 had been given them by certain eccle-
1 At this time the breviary and missal were corrected and reformed
by S. Pius\V., whereby the old books became unserviceable. The
Saint calls them the "old Roman'' to distinguish them from the new
books, and to show that they had been used by the secular clergy,
and Avere not the breviaries of any religious order (De la Fuente).

614 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXVIII.
siastics Avho used them no longer, others they had got any-
Iioav, and, as they did not knoAV how to read, they spent many
hours upon them. They did not say the office Avhere strangers
could hear them; God accepted their intention and toil, but
they must have said very little' that Avas correct. When the
father Fra Antonio of Jesus began to knoAv them he made them
say the office of our Lady only. They had an oven in which
they baked their bread, and everything Avas orderly done,
as if they had some one to give directions. The effect on
me Avas to make me give thanks to our Lord, and the more
I conversed Avith them the- more glad I Avas that I had come. I
believe that, whatever difficulties I might have had to undergo,
I- should not have shrunk from them to bring consolation
to these souls.1 Those of my companions Avho remained told
me that in the beginning, during the first days, they were
conscious of a certain unwillingness to live Avith them, but that
Avhen they came to knoAV them, and saAv how good they were,
they were very glad to stay, and conceived a great affection
for them. Sanctity and goodness can do great things.
37. The truth is, those who came with me were so good
that, even if they met Avith many difficulties and trials, they
Avould have borne all nobly by the grace of our Lord, for they
desire to suffer in His service; and that sister who does not
feel this desire must not look upon herself as a true Carmelite
nun, because the aim of our desires must be, not rest, but
suffering, that Ave may in some measure be like unto Him,
our true bridegroom. May it please His Majesty to give us
His grace for that end ! Amen.
38. The hermitage of S. Anne began in this way. There
lived here, in Villanueva de la Jara, an ecclesiastic born in
Zamora, Avho had been a friar of the order of our Lady of
Carmel. His name was Diego de Guadalajara; he had a ,
devotion to the glorious S. Anne, and so he made this hermit-/
age close to his house, and thereby had an opporuntity of'
hearing mass. He went to Rome because of this great demo
tion, and obtained a bull for many indulgences in this church
and hermitage. He was a pious and interior man. Her made
a Avill when he was dying, and gave this house and kil that
/
1 On the feast of S. Mathias, February 25, the SaW gave the
habit to the nine women (see § 5) who had shut themselves up in
the hermitage of S. Anne. The sermon on the occasion Avas preached
by Fra Antonio of Jesus (Reforma de los Descalgos, lib. v. ch. iii. § 10).

CH. XXIX.] VILLANUEVA DE LA JARA. 615
belongs to it for a monastery of nuns of our Lady of Carmel ;
and if that could not be done, then for a chaplain Avho was to
say certain masses every week, but that as soon as and Avhen-
ever the monastery should be founded there should be no
obligation to say those masses. For more than tAventy years
the hermitage belonged to the chaplain, and the property Avas
ruined, for, though the Avomen took possession of the house,
they had nothing but the house. The chaplain lived in another
belonging to the chapel, which he Avill noAv give up to us Avith
the rest, and that is very little; but the compassion of God
is so great that He will not fail to befriend the house of His
glorious grandmother. May it please His Majesty to be ever
pleased therein, and. may all creatures praise Him for ever
and ever! Amen.

CHAPTER XXIX.
THE FOUNDATION OF S. JOSEPH OF OUR LADY OF LA CALLE IN
PALENCIA, ON THE FEAST OF KING DAVID, 1580.
1. When I went away from making the foundation of
Villanueva de la Jara1 I was ordered by my superior2 to go
to Valladolid; it Avas at the request of the bishop of Palencia,
Don Alvaro de Mendoza, who accepted and at all times helped
the first monastery, that of S. Joseph, Avila, and always
does help us in Avhatever concerns the order.3 When he had
given up the see of Avila, being translated to Palencia, our
Lord put it into his heart to have a monastery of this holy
order founded there. On my arrival in Valladolid I became so
seriously ill that they thought I must die. I was so unwilling
\to make the foundation, and so far from thinking I could do
anything, that, notAvithstanding the importunity of the prior-
'* The Saint left Villanueva de la Jara on the 20th day of March,
1580 (Reforma, lib. v. c. vii. § 1), and reached Toledo on Saturday
in Passiiontide, March 26, having travelled the thirty leagues of road
without fatigue (Lett. 280; Lett. 59 vol. iv. ed. Doblado).
1 Fra\Angel de Salazar, whom the nuncio, Monsignore Sega, had
appointed to govern and protect the friars and nuns of the reform.
* See below, ch. xxxi. at the end.

616 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXIX.
ess1 of our monastery in Valladolid, who Avished much to see
the foundation made, I could not persuade myself to under
take it; neither had I the means to begin it, for the monastery
was to be founded in poverty, and I was told that it could
not be maintained, because the place Avas very poor.
2. This foundation, with that of Burgos, had been under
consideration for nearly a year, and heretofore I Avas not so
unAvilling to make it; then, hoAvever, Avhen I had gone to
Valladolid for no other end, I found that the disadvantages of
it Avere many. I knoAv not Avhether this came from my illness
and the Aveakness it left me in, or from the devil, who Avanted
to hinder the good that Avas afterAvards done. In truth, I am
lost in amazement and grief — and I have often complained
of it to our Lord — at the great share Avhich the poor soul has
in the Aveakness of the body, for it seems to have nothing
to do but to observe its laws according to its needs, and any
thing else Avhich makes it suffer.
3. One of the greatest trials and miseries of this life seems
to me to be the absence of a grand spirit to keep the body
under control ; illnesses and grievous afflictions, though they
are a trial, I think nothing of if the soul is strong, for it
praises God, and sees that everything comes from His hand.
But to be on the one hand suffering, and on the other doing
nothing, is to be in a fearful state, especially for a soul that
has had earnest desires never to rest inwardly or outwardly,
but to spend itself Avholly in the service of its great God;
there is no help for it but in patience and confessing its
Avretchedness, and in being resigned to the Avill of God, so
that He may use it for Avhat purposes He pleases, and as He
pleases. This Avas the state I Avas in then : though my strength
had begun to come back, yet such was my weakness that I
lost that confidence I usually had when I had to begin any
of these foundations. I thought everything impossible, and
it Avould have been of great service to me if I could have/
found any one to encourage me; but, as it was, some helped
me to be afraid; others, though they made me hope a little,
could not overcome my faintheartedness.
4. At that time came thither a father of the society,
* This Avas Maria de Ocampa, a niece of the Saint. She inade her
profession in S. Joseph's of Avila, and is the novice spoke;/ of in ch.
i. § 2. The Saint speaks of her also in her Life, ch. xxxii. § 13; see
note there.

ch. xxix.] palencia. 617
the doctor Ripalda,1 a great servant of God, Avho at one time
used to hear my confession. I told him the state I was in,
and that I looked upon him as standing to me in the place
of God — he must tell me Avhat he thought of it. He began
by rousing my courage, and told me that my coAvardice Avas
the effect of old age; but I saw Avell enough it Avas not, for
I am older to-day and I feel none of it ; and he too must have
knoAvn it was not, and therefore rebuked me in that way
that I might not think it came from God.
5. The foundation of Palencia and that of Burgos were
then carried on together, and I Avas without means for the
one and the other; but this Avas not the cause of my discour
agement, for I usually begin with less. He bade me give it
up on no account, and the same thing had been said to me
before in Toledo by a provincial of the society, Baltasar
Alvarez,2 but I Avas then in good health. That was enough
to make me resolved on going on, and yet, though I Avas
very much moved by it, I was not altogether resolved, because
either the. devil or, as I have just said, my illness held
me back; hoAvever, I became much more Avilling to go on.
The prioress of Valladolid did all she could to help me, for she
wished much for the foundation in Palencia, but she also had
her fears when she saw me so lukewarm. Once let me draAv
near to the true fire — for nobody, not even the servants of God,
could give me courage — and it is done ; and that will show it
was generally not I Avho did anything in these foundations, but
He only who is almighty.
6. One day, still in doubt, and not determined on making
either of the foundations, I implored our Lord, Avhen I had
just received communion, to give me light that I might in all
things do His will ; and my lukeAvarmness Avas even such as
to make me falter for a moment in that desire. Our Lord
said to me, as it Avere reproaching me, "What art thou afraid
of? When did I ever fail thee? I am to-day what I have
always been ; do not give up these foundations."3 O the
great God, hoAV different are Thy words from the words of
men! So my courage and resolution came, the whole world
1 See Relation, vii. § 5.
2 This was the old confessor of the Saint in Avila, and her
constant friend. See Life, ch. xxiv. § 6.
* See below, ch. xxxi. § 4.

618 BOOK OF the foundations. [ch. xxix.
was not strong enough to oppose me, and I began at once
to make my preparations, and our Lord to furnish the means.1
7. I received two nuns, that we might have AvhereAvithal
to buy a house ; and, though they told me it was not possible
to live by alms in Palencia, it Avas as if they said nothing,
for as to founding it Avith an endowment I saw it could not
be done then, and as God commanded it to be made His
Majesty would see to that. Accordingly, though I had not
quite recovered my health, I made up my mind to go, though
the Aveather Avas rough, for I left Valladolid on the feast of
the Innocents in the year already mentioned,2 for a nobleman
Avho lived there, having gone to live elsewhere, had given us
until Midsummer3 in the folloAving year a house he had hired.
I wrote to a canon of that city, though I did not know him;
but a friend of his had told me that he Avas a servant of God,
and I had a firm persuasion he Avould be a great help to us,
because our Lord himself — it has been so in the other founda
tions — finds everyAvhere some one to help us, because His
Majesty knows hoAV little I can do myself. I sent to the
canon begging him to have the house* emptied for us as
secretly as he could, for some one Avas staying in it whom
he Avas not to tell Avhat it was wanted for: notAvithstanding
that some of the chief persons there had shown their goodwill,
and the bishop very much so, I looked on it as being much
safer to let nobody knoAV of the matter.
8. The canon Reinoso5 — it was to him I Avrote — did
this Avork so Avell that he had not only had the house made
ready for us but beds also, with many comforts abundantly
supplied ; and Ave had need of all, for it Avas very cold, and the
day before had been toilsome because of a thick fog in which
we could scarcely see one another. In truth, Ave had hardly
1 The Saint asked Fra Jerome of the Mother of God to visit
Palencia, which he did, though he was of the opinion of the Saint, and
against the foundation. He returned in the same dispositions, but a
few days after he came to the Saint and said that he was willing the
foundation should be made (Reforma, v. 7, § 4). J
' See ch. xxviii. § 31; it was the same year, 1580. /
* Hasta San Juan. /
* The house Avas the property of Dona Isabel de Moya (/Reforma, •
v. 7, § 5). /
' Don Jerome de Reinoso, nephew of Don Francis de Reinoso,
who became bishop of Cordova (Reforma, v. 7, § 5).

ch. xxix.] palencla. 619
any rest till Ave had made everything ready for saying mass
the next morning.1 I Avould have that done before anybody
kneAV Ave were there, because I have found that to be the best
way in making these foundations,2 for if Ave begin to consult
people Satan disturbs everything; hoA\-ever, he cannot succeed,
but he gives trouble. So it was done; for early in the morning,
when it was scarcely dawn, mass was said by a priest Avho
came Avith us, named Porras, a great sen-ant of God, and by
another, a friend of the nuns of Valladolid, Augustin of
Vitoria, who had lent me money to furnish the house, and
who had been a great comfort to us on the road.
9. We came here five nuns,3 and a lay sister* who for
some time has been with me as my companion, but she is so
great a servant of God, and so provident, that she is able
to help me more than any other. That night Ave had but
little sleep, though the journey, as I said, had been fatiguing
because of the rain. It was a joy to me that the foundation
was made on the day on which King David is commemorated,
for I have a devotion to him.0 I sent immediately in the
morning a message to the bishop, for he did not even knoAv
that I had arrived that day. He came to us at once Avith
that great affection which he has always had for us; he told
us he should give us all the bread Ave should require, and gave
his steAvard orders to furnish many things. The order OAves
him so much that every one who shall read the story of these
foundations is bound to pray to our Lord for him, living and
dead; and I ask to have it done as an act of charity. The
joy shown by the people Avas so great and so general as to
1 Mass was said December 29th, the feast of S. Thomas of Canter
bury Avhich is also the day oh which King David is commemorated
in the martyrology (Reforma, ib. § 6).
lThe Saint had not been able to get the consent of the corregidor,
and Fra Jerome of the Mother of God went to him the second time on
the part of the Saint to ask for it. The corregidor said, "Well, father,
let her have Avhat she asks for. The mother Teresa must be in
possession of some decree of the royal council of God, which compels
us to do her will whether we like it or not" (Reforma, ib.).
* These were Isabel of Jesus born in SegOA'ia, the prioress;
Beatriz of Jesus, sub-prioress; Inez of Jesus, cousin of the Saint,
professed\in the monastery of the Incarnation; and Maria of the
Holy GhoVf born in Burgos (Reforma, ib. § 6).
* The venerable Anne of S. Bartholomew.
* See Life, ch. xvi. § 5.

620 BOOK OF the foundations. [ch. xxix.
make it very remarkable, for there was no one Avho took it
amiss. It Avas knoAvn that the bishop Avished it, and that Avas
a help to us, for he is greatly beloved there; but the whole
population is the best and noblest I have seen, and accordingly
I rejoice more and more every day that I have made a
foundation there.
10. As the house Avas not our OAvn, Ave began at once
to treat for the purchase of another, for, though that we were
in Avas for sale, it was very badly placed and I thought, with
the help I should haA-e from the nuns who Avere to live in it,
I might treat Avith some security, for, though that Avas but
little, it Avas much for that place. After all, if God had not
sent us the good friends He gave us it Avould have been all
to no purpose. The good canon Reinoso brought Avith him
another friend, the canon Salinas,1 a man of great charity
and discernment, and between them both the matter Avas
looked after just as if it Avas their own, and I believe with
more zeal ; and they have been always friends of this house.
11. There Avas a building in the tOAvn, a hermitage de
voutly frequented, dedicated to our Lady, Avith the title of our
Lady of the Street. It is a very holy place in the eyes of the
whole country and of the town itself, and many people resort
to it. It seemed to his lordship and to every body that we
should be well placed close to that church. There was no
house belonging to it, but there were tAvo adjoining it, which,
if Ave bought them, would be enough for us if we had the
church also. This the chapter and a certain confraternity
would have to gh'e up to us, and accordingly we began to take
steps for obtaining it. The chapter at once gave it to us as
a gift, and, though I had some trouble in coming to an
understanding Avith the members of the confraternity, they did
so also ; for, as I have said before, the people of the place are
good, and I have nowhere seen better.
12. When the owners of the houses saAv that we wished
to get them they raised the price, and very reasonably so.
I Avould go and see them, but they seemed to me and to those
Avho went with us so poor that I. Avould not have them on
any account. Later on I saw clearly that Satan, on his part,
exerted himself because it vexed him that we were cope. The
tAvo canons Avho helped us thought we should be there at too
great a distance from the cathedral church, yet it was the
1 The Saint speaks of him again below, ch. xxxi. § 18.

CH. XXIX.] PALENCIA. 621
most thickly peopled part of the town. In a Avord, we all made
up our minds, as that house would not suit, to look for another.
This the two canons began to do with such care and dili
gence that I gave thanks to our Lord, and neglected nothing
they thought to the purpose. They were satisfied at last
with a house belonging to a person they called Tamayo. Some
parts of it Avere very Avell arranged, so that it Avas exceed
ingly convenient for us, and it stood near the house of a
great nobleman, Suero de Vega,1 who Avas a great friend
of ours, and Avho, with others living in that part of the town,
was very much pleased at our going to live there. The house
Avas not large enough, but another would be given us with
it, Avhich, hoAvever, was not so placed that Ave could Avell join
the one to the other.
13. In short, they gave such an account of the matter
that I wished the purchase to be made, but the two canons
would not settle anything before I saAV the place myself.
I felt the going out among people very keenly, and I had so
much confidence in them as to make it unnecessary. At last
I went, and also to see the houses by the church of our Lady,
though not with the intention of taking them, but to hinder
the owner of the other house from thinking that Ave could
not help taking his. To me, and to those AA'ho went Avith
me to see them, they looked so wretched, as I said before,
but we are now astonished that Ave could haA'e thought so
badly of them. In this mind we went to the other house,
being fully determined to take it, and none other ; and, though
we found many difficulties, we made light of them, notwith
standing the great trouble we should have in overcoming them,
for all that part of it which was fitted for our living in would
have to be pulled down in order to build the church, and
x after all an inconvenient one. A strange thing this pre
determination to do a particular thing! in truth, it taught
^ae to have little confidence in myself, though I was not alone
in\my then delusion. In a word, Ave went aAvay fully resolved
thatvno other Avould do for us, and to give the money asked,
which was too much, and to write to the owner, for he was
not in vihe toAvn ; he was, however, not far off.
14. .This long account of the purchase of a house will
" He Avbs the son of Juan de Vega, president of Castille, and his
wife Avas Dona Elvira Manrique, daughter of the count of Osorno
(Reforma, lib. v. ch. vii. § 4).

622 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXIX.
seem foolish until Ave consider the object Avhich Satan must
have had, that we should not go to that of our Lady; and I
tremble Avhenever I think of it. All having made up their
mind, as I said before, to take no other house but that, the
next morning during mass I began to be very anxious, doubt
ing if we had done right, and ill at ease, so that I had hardly
any peace during the Avhole of mass. I went to receive the
Most Holy Sacrament, and at the moment of communion
I heard these Avords, "This is the house for thee," in such
a Avay that I made up my mind at once not to take the other
house at all of which I Avas thinking, but that of our Lady.1
I began to consider the difficulties of AvithdraAving from a
bargain Avhich had been carried so far, and Avhich they who
had so carefuly considered it wished so much to see settled,
and our Lord answered me, "They do not know hoAV much
I am offended in that place, and this will be a great reparation."
I thought it Avas no delusion, but I did not believe; yet I
knevv Avell, by the effect it had upon me, that it was the
Spirit of God. He said to me at once, "It is I."
15. I became perfectly calm, delivered from my former
uneasiness, though I did not know hoAV to undo Avhat had been
done, and to remove the evil impression given to my sisters of
that house; for I had spoken strongly of the unfitness of it, and
that I would not have them go there Avithout seeing it for
anything in the world. However, I did not think so much
about this, for I was well aAvare that they AA-ould take in
good part whatever I did; but my doubts Avere about those
avIio wished to have the other house. These Avould look on
me, I thought, as capricious and uncertain, seeing that I
changed so quickly — Avhat I hate exceedingly. All this think
ing had no influence Avhatever, much or little, to make me
give up the house of our Lady, neither did I remember
that it was not a good house; for if the nuns could hinder/
but one venial sin everything else was of no moment, ami
every one of them, if they only kneAV Avhat I knew, would
have been, I believe, of the same mind. /
16. I had recourse to this — I used to go to confession to
the canon Reinoso, who was one of tAvo who befriended me,
though I had never told him anything of the kind/ before,
because nothing had happened to make it necessary for me
to do so ; and, as I have been accustomed Avhen these spiritual
1 See Relation, xi. § 4, where the Saint speaks of this.

CH. XXIX.] PALENCIA. 623
visitations occur always to do that Avhich my confessor may
advise, in order that I might travel on the safe road, I deter
mined to tell him all as a great secret, though my mind was
not made up to leave undone Avhat I had been told to do,
Avithout a feeling of great pain. I would have ended, hoAvever,
by doing Avhat he told me, for I trusted in our Lord that
He would do again what I have knoAvn Him do at other
times, for His Majesty changes the confessor's mind, though
of another opinion, so that he shall do Avhat our Lord Avills.
17. I spoke to him first of the many times that our
Lord was Avont to show me in this way Avhat to do, and that
before now many things had happened Avhereby I knew it to
be the work of His Spirit, and then told him what had
taken place; but still I Avould do what he desired, though it
might be painful. He is a most prudent and saintly man,
and endoAved with the gift of good counsel in everything,
but he is young, and, though he saw that this change Avould
be talked about, his decision was not that I should refrain
from doing what I had learnt. I told him Ave should wait for
the return of the messenger, and he thought so too, for I was
now confident that God would find a AA-ay out of it; and so it
came to pass, for the owner of the house, though we had given
for it Avhat he Avanted and had asked for, now asked three
hundred ducats more, which seemed absurd, for the sum to be
paid was more than the house Avas Avorth. Herein Ave saw the
hand of God, for the sale of the house Avas very serviceable to
its owner, and to ask for more Avhen the bargain had been
made Avas not reasonable. This helped us exceedingly, and Ave
said Ave could never agree Avith him; but it Avas not enough
to excuse us, because it Avas plain that for the sake of
three hundred ducats Ave ought not to give up a house that
seemed fit for a monastery. I told my confessor not to trouble
himself about my good name noAv that he thought I ought to
\do it, but merely to say to his friend that I was bent on buying
the house of our Lady, whether it might be dear or cheap, in
good or in bad repair. His friend has a singularly quick
understanding, and, though nothing was said to him, I believe
he guessed the reason when he saw so sudden a change, and
accordingly he never pressed'me further in the matter.
18.\We all saAV afterwards the mistake we might have
made in buying that house, for we are now amazed when
Ave consider hoAV much better is the one Ave have, to say

624 / BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXIX.
nothing of the chief thing of all, and Avhich everybody sees,
the service of our Lord and of His glorious Mother therein,
and the removal of occasions of sin, for nightly vigils were
kept there, and therefore, as it Avas only a hermitage, many
' things might have been done there, the hindering of which
was a vexation to Satan, and Ave ourselves are glad to be
able to serve our Mother, our Lady, and our Protectress in
anything. It was very ill done on our part not to ha\e gone
there sooner, for we ought never to have looked at any other
house. It is plain enough that the devil makes us blind to
many things, for there are many conveniences in the house
which we should not have found elsewhere; the people, too,
Avished us to take it, and their joy is exceedingly great; and
even those Avho would have us go to the other house after
wards looked on this as much the best.
19. Blessed be He for ever and ever who gave me
light herein ! — and He does so Avhenever I happen to do any
thing well ; for eA'ery day I am amazed more and more at
the little ability I have for any thing. This must not be
understood as humility, for I see it to be so more clearly day
by day. It seems to be our Lord's good pleasure that I and
everybody else shall learn that it is His Majesty alone who
makes these foundations, and that, as He by means of clay
gave sight to the blind,1 so He will haA'e one blind as I am
not to act blindly. Certainly we shoAved great blindness
in this matter, as I said before, and Avhenever I think of it I
give thanks anew to our Lord, only even to do this I am not
able, and I do not knoAv hoAV He can bear me. Blessed be
His compassion for ever! Amen.
20. Those saintly friends of the Virgin then made haste
at once to purchase the houses, and they had them cheap in
my opinion. They laboured hard, for in every one of these
foundations God would have those who helped us to gain
merit, and I am the one who does nothing, as I have elsewhere /
said, and wish never to refrain from saying, because it is
true. Then, the help they gaA-e us in arranging the houie,
and also in paying the money for it,2 and in becoming/our
sureties also, as I had no money myself, was very great, for
before I found any to be sureties for us in other place's, and

1 S. John ix. 6.
' The dowry of two novices was added to the sum furnished by
the tAvo canons (Reforma, lib. v. c. vii. § 6).

CH. XXIX.] PALENCIA. 625
that for not so large a sum, I Avas put to great trouble; and
they Avere right, for if they did not trust in our Lord they
Avould not have done so, because I have no means. But His
Majesty has been always so gracious unto me that nobody
lost anything by doing me that kindness at any time, nor
have I ever failed to repay them fully, and I look upon that
as a very great grace.
21. As the OAvners of the houses Avere not satisfied with
the two canons as sureties, these Avent in search of the steAv-
ard,1 whose name Avas Prudencio; but I do not knoAv that
my recollection of his name is exact — so they called him now
— for as he Avas called the steward I did not learn his name.
He was so charitable to us that our debt to him Avas and is
great. He asked them whither they Avere going: they an-
SAvered, to find him that he might sign the bond. He laughed
and said, "So this is the way you ask me to become security
for so much money?" And thereupon, Avithout dismounting
from his mule, he signed, Avhich is a wonderful thing for these
times. I should like to speak much in praise of the charity
of the people of Palencia, of all together and of each in
particular: the truth is, it seemed to me like that of the
primitive church — at least it is not very common in the Avorld
now ; they kneAV Ave had no revenue, and that they would have
to find us food, and yet they not only did not forbid us to
come to them, but declared our coming to be a very great
grace which God gaA-e them; and if it be looked at in the
true light they spoke truly, for, if it did no more than give
them another church, wherein the most Holy Sacrament had
another house, that is a great thing.
22. May He be blessed for ever, amen! for it is plain
enough that He is pleased to be here, and that something
wrong Avhich must have been done in the place is done no
longer — for as much people kept vigil here formerly, and
as the hermitage Avas lonely, every one that came did not
come out of devotion — that is a change for the better. The
image of our Lady Avas in a most unseemly place. The bishop,
Don Alvaro de Mendoza, built a chapel for it, and by degrees
much\was done for the honour and glory of the glorious
Virgin^and of her Son. Praise Him for ever ! Amen, amen.
23.\At last, AA'hen the house was fully prepared for the
nuns to go into it, the bishop would have them go with great
1 Probably the steAvard of the bishop mentioned in § 9.

626 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXIX.
solemnity, and accordingly it Avas done one day within the
octave of Corpus Christi;1 he came himself from Valladolid,
and was attended by the chapter, the religious orders, and
almost the Avhole population of the place, to the sound of
music.2 We went from the house in Avhich we were staying,
all of us in procession, in our white mantles, Avith veiled
faces, to the parish church,3 close to the house of our Lady.
Her image had come for us, and we took the Most Holy
Sacrament thence and carried it into our church in great
pomp and order, AA-hich stirred up much devotion. There
were more nuns, for those who were going to make the founda
tion in Soria were there;* and we all had candles in our hands.
I believe our Lord Avas greatly honoured that day in that
place.3 May He grant it may be ahvays so of all creatures.
Amen. 24. When I was in Palencia it pleased God to make a
separation of the friars of the mitigation from the friars of
the reform, each division to be a province by itself, whicli
1 In 1581 Corpus Christi fell on Thursday, May 25, and the pro
cession of the nuns took place on the octaA-e day (Reforma, lib. v. c.
vii. § 7). If Letter 336 Avas really written May 29, the procession
took place on Tuesday within the octave.
' The Saint walked immediately behind the image of our Lady
Avith the bishop and Don Francis de Reinoso, followed by the magis
tracy and the municipality. Then the prioress, Isabel of Jesus,
between the corregidor and Suero de Vega. The A\'ind was high,
and all the candles were bloAvn out with the sole exception of those
in the hands of the nuns (Reforma, ibid).
s The church of S. Lazarus (Lett. 336; but Lett. 30 vol. iv. ed.
Doblado). * They were seven in number (Reforma, ut supra). In the proces
sion also were Fra Jerome of the Mother of God, and his rival at a
later time, Fra Nicholas Doria (Note of Fra Antonio to Lett. 336;
Lett. 30, vol. iv. ed. Doblado). The nirhs remained here ten years,.
but, as the abuses of which the Saint complains did not wholly cease,
and the vigils were continued to a late hour of the night, to the great
disturbance of the nuns, the house Avas abandoned, but Avith regret,
because the Saint had chosen it; and the nuns took possession of
another, where they lived for some years in great poverty (Reforma,
ut supra, § 8). /
" The monastery of Palencia was called S. Joseph, and now on its
removal to the hermitage it Avas called S. Joseph of our Lady of the
Street (Reforma, lib. v. c. vii. § 7).

CH. XXIX.] PALENCIA. 627
is all that Ave desired for our own peace and quietness.1 On
the petition of Don Philip, our Catholic king, a most ample-
brief2 was brought from Rome for the purpose, and his majesty
helped us in the end as he had in the beginning. A chapter
was held in Alcala at the commandment of a reverend father,
Fra Juan de las Ceuvas,3 then prior in Talavera. He is of
the order of S. Dominic, and Avas appointed in Rome on the
nomination of the king: a most holy and prudent man, as it
Avas necessary he should be for such a Avork as this. The
1 When the troubles of the friars ceased in July, 1579, by order
of the nuncio Monsignore Sega, S. Teresa chose Fra Juan of Jesus
to be agent of the order in Rome. He Avas then prior of Mancera,
and the Saint sent for him to AA'ila, Avhere she Avas staying, and gave
him Lis instructions He had for his companion Fra Diego of the
Trinity, prior of Pastrana. They had to travel in secular garments
for fear of their brethren of the mitigation. They obtained the bull
of separation, from Gregory XIII. — Pia consideratione — dated June
22, 15S0, and made haste to return to Spain. They arrived in Toleda
September 26, and sent word to the Saint, then in Valladolid, of the
successful issue of their mission. By this time the friars of the old
observance Avere Aveary of the struggle, and there Avas no further
trouble from Avithout (Reforma, lib. iv. ch. xxxix. § 7; lib. v. ch. viii.
s The execution of the bull mentioned in the foregoing note Avas
committed to the archbishops of Toledo and Seville, Avith the bishop
of Palencia. The archbishop of Seville, Don Christobal de Rojas y
Sandoval, dying soon after, the king proposed to the Pope to put the
old friend of the reform in the commission, Fra Pedro Fernandez,
then prior of S. Stephen's, Salamanca. The Pope consented, and the
brief announcing the fact Avas received by the king October 9, 1530.
Father Jerome of the Mother of God Avent to Salamanca to arrange
matters Avith Fra Pedro, Avhom he found on his death-bed. When Fra
Pedro Avas dead the king begged the Pope to appoint Fra Juan de las
Cuevas; the Pope consented, and the brief was received in Spain
January 4, 1581. That is the brief referred to in the text (Reforma,
lib. v. ch. viii. §§ 4-6).
s Born in Coca; he was a friar of S. Stephen's, Salamanca. In
1596 he Avas nominated bishop of Avila, and two years later departed
this life. His name Avas Juan Velasquez de las Cuevas (De la Fuente).
Fra Juan, the new commissary, before he entered on his office, sent
Fr^ Nicholas of Jesus Maria with the original bulls and briefs to
Fra, Angel de Salazar, that he, haA'ing seen them, might know that his
own 'commission, given him by the nuncio, had expired, and for the
futureV refrain from all acts of jurisdiction over the reform of S.
Teresa\ That done, Fra Juan returned to his monastery in Talavera,
and there, February 1, 1581, summoned all the priors of the reform
to a chapter to be held by him in Alcala in the beginning of March
(Reforma, lib. v. ch. ix. § 1).

628 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXIX.
cobt Avas borne by the king, and at his command the whole
university helped the friars. The chapter1 Avas held in great
peace and concord in the college of S. Cyril of the barefooted
Carmelites,2 which we possess there. The father-master Fra
Jerome Gratian of the Mother of God Avas elected provincial.3
25. But, as these fathers will give an account of this
elseAvhere, there is no reason why I should meddle with it.
I have spoken of it because it Avas Avhile I was occupied
Avith this foundation that our Lord did a Avork that touched
so nearly the honour and glory of His glorious Mother, our
Lady and Patroness as she is, for the order is hers, and gave
to me one of the greatest joys and pleasures that I could
1 The priors of the order, Avith their fellows, in obedience to the
summons of the commissary apostolic, assembled in Alcala March 3,
15S1, and on that day the separation of the reform from the mitigation
A\-as definitively made and recorded. The former Avas to remain still
subject to the general of the whole order, but to be visited by none
oilier than by friars of their OAvn rule, or by the general in person.
On the next day, Saturday, the definitors Avere elected, namely, the
fathers Nicholas of Jesus Maria, prior of Pastrana; Antonio of Jesus,
prior of Mancera; S. John of the Cross, rector of Baeza; and Gabriel
of the Assumption, fellow of the priory of La Roda. Fra Ambrosia
Stcvano was chosen secretary. This done, they proceeded to elect
their provincial. The apostolic commissary proposed to them Fra
Jerome of the Mother of God, Avho, the assembly being diA-ided, was
elected by only one vote more than was given for Fra Antonio of
Jesus. On Sunday (Laetare) there Avas a general procession, and a
theological disputation held in the evening, under the presidency of
the commissary, the defender of the conclusions being Fra Juan of the
Mother of God, against the learned doctors of the university (Reforma,
lib. v. ch. ix. x. § 1).
= The college Avas founded in 1570 by Fra Baltasar of Jesus, the
prince Ruy Gomez having supplied the means; and the first rector of
it was S. John of the Cross. It Avas at this time called the college
of our Lady of Carmel; but in memory of the first chapter of the
barefooted Carmelites, held there March 6, 15S1, the feast of Cyril,
the old name Avas changed into that by which the Saint calls it in the
text (Reforma, lib. ii. ch. xliii. § 5; and lib. v. ch. x. § 2).
3 Fra Jerome was at the time prior of Los Remedios in Seville,
having been elected February 19th, and confirmed by the superior
Fra Angel de Salazar, March 10, 1580, in Salamanca Fra Anton.' of
S. Joseph, Lett. 302; Lett 26 vol. iii. ed. Doblado). His election p be
provincial was probably, due to the influence of S. Teresa, but Fra
Antonio was very nearly chosen. The latter was noAv worn odt, and
the Saint greatly mistrusted his gifts of government, and thought
he might do much harm in the order (Lett. 324, not in the edition of
Madrid. El daiio que haria ahora!).

CH. XXIX.] PALENCIA. 629
have in this life, for I had been for more than tAventy-five
years in trouble, persecution, and distress, too long to speak
of; our Lord alone can know of them. Then to see the end
of it all! No one, unless he knoAvs the trouble I underwent,
can tell the joy that I had in my heart, and the desire I had
that all the world should give thanks to our Lord, and that
we should pray to Him for our holy king Don Philip, Avhom
God made use of to bring everything to so happy an end, for
the devil had been so cunning that the order Avould have been
overthrown but for the king.
26. Noav Ave are all in peace, friars of the reform and
friars of the mitigation : no one hinders us in the service of
our Lord. Therefore, my brethren and sisters, make haste to
serve His Majesty, who has so abundantly heard our prayers.
Let those Avho are now alive, who have, seen these things
with their own eyes, consider His graciousness unto us, and
the troubles and disquiet from which He has delh'ered us ;
and let those Avho are to come after us, Avho will find every
thing easy, for the love of our Lord never allow any observ
ance tending to perfection to fall into disuse. Let them never
give men occasion to say of them Avhat is said of some orders,
"Their beginning Avas praiseAvorthy" — and Ave are beginning
now — but let them strive to go on from good to better. Let
them consider that the devil, by means of very slight relaxa
tions, makes an opening by which very great ones may creep
in. Let it never happen to them to say, "This is nothing —
these are extremes." O my daughters, eA-ery thing is impor
tant if it does not help us omvards. I beseech you for the
love of our Lord to keep in mind hoAV soon everything passes
aAvay, and hoAV good our Lord has been to us in bringing us
to the order, and how seA-erely she shall be punished who shall
be the first to be lax in anything. Do you direct your eyes
to the race of those holy prophets from Avhom we are
descended — Avhat saints Ave have in heaven Avho Avore this
habit ! Let us dare with a holy boldness, by the grace of God,
to be ourselves like unto them. The fight, my sisters, Avill
be but for a moment, and the issue is for ever. Let us leave
alone things which are nothing, and attend to those which
bring: us near to Him, who is our end, to serve and love Him
more *and more, for He will be forever and ever. Amen,
amen.
Thanks be to God!

630 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXX,

CHAPTER XXX.
THE FOUNDATION OF THE MONASTERY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY
IN SORIA, IN THE YEAR 1581  THE FIRST MASS SAID ON THE
FEAST OF S. ELISEUS.
1. When I Avas in Palencia, on the business of the
foundations noAv described, I received a letter from Dr. Velas
quez,1 bishop of Osma ;. I had had relations Avith him when he
was canon and professor in the cathedral of Toledo, and Avhen
I Avas harassed by certain misgivings, for I kneAV he was
a most learned man and a great servant of God, and so after
many importunities I persuaded him to take upon himself
the care of my soul, and to hear my confession.2 Notwith
standing his many occupations, yet, because I begged him
for the love of God to do it, and because he saAv Avhat straits
I Avas in, he consented so readily that I was surprised, and he
confessed and directed me all the time I remained in Toledo,
which was long enough. I laid before him the state of
my soul with exceeding plainness, as I am in the habit of
doing. The service he rendered me Avas so very great that
1 Don Alonzo Velasquez heard the confession of the Saint during
her stay in Toledo after the foundation of her monastery in Seville.
He Avas born in Tudela de Duero, and Avas successiA'ely bishop of
Osma and archbishop of Compostella. He made on foot the visitation
of Osma, and, worn out by the gout and other infirmities, he begged
permission to resign Compostella. Don Philip II. would consent to
the resignation only on condition of his naming two persons whom
he judged fit to be made archbishops. He did so, and the king chose
one of the two, and proposed him to the Pope. As Don Alonzo Avas
poor, the king asked him what pension was to be assigned from the
revenues of the see for his OAvn use. He said that for himself, two /
chaplains, and two servants, a thousand ducats Avould suffice. The J
king insisted on the assignation of twelve thousand ducats. Don-'
Alonzo resigned, and retired to Talavera to die. (Palafox, note
to Lett. 8 vol. 1, ed. Doblado, and 332 ed. of De la Fuente, who says
that the original of that letter has never been found, and that he
doubts whether the Saint ever wrote it) The archbishop out pi the
twelve thousand ducats accepted only one-half. He died in 1587, and
was buried in Tudela de Duero (De la Fuente). '
2 See Relation, ix. § 1.

CH. XXX.] SORIA. 631
from that moment my misgivings began to lessen. The truth
is, there was another reason, not to be told here. Neverthe
less, he really did me a great service, for he made me feel
safe by means of passages from the Holy Scripture, Avhich
is a way that has most effect upon me when I am certain that
he who speaks understands it, and is also of good life: I was
certain of both in his case.
2. The letter Avas Avritten by him in Soria, Avhere he
then was. He told me that a lady, Avho was his penitent there,
had spoken to him about founding a monastery of our nuns,
of which he approved; that he had promised her he would
persuade me to go and make a foundation there; that I must
not fail him; and that if I thought it right to do so I was to
let him knoAv, and that he Avould send for me. I was very
glad, for, setting aside that it would be a good work to make
a foundation there, I wished to make known to him certain
matters relating to the state of my soul, and also to see him,
because I have a great affection for him, the fruit of the
great service he has done me.
3. The lady the foundress was Dona Beatriz de Vea-
monte and Navarre — for she Avas descended from the kings of
Navarre — the child of Don Francis de Veamonte,1 of noble
and illustrious lineage. She had been a Avife for some years,
had no children, Avas exceedingly wealthy, and for some time
past had resolved to found a monastery of nuns. She spoke
of it to the bishop, and he told her of the order of our Lady,
the barefooted Carmelites. She Avas so pleased that she made
great haste to carry out her purpose. She is very gentle,
generous, and mortified; in a Avord, a very great servant of
God. She had in Soria an excellent house, well built and
in a very good situation, and said that she Avould give it to
1 He was captain of the emperor's guard, and his daughter was
married to Don Juan de Vinuessa, a great man in Soria, who was at
\ this time dead. Dona Beatriz had a nephew, Don Francisco Carlo de
Veamonte; who expected to inherit her possessions, and who was
very angry with the Saint because she accepted his aunt's money.
Fifteen years after this he saw the Saint, then dead, in a vision, and
changed his life, retired from the world, and lived most holily, pro-
fessedyin the third order of S. Francis in Villa de Arebalo (Reforma,
lib. v. ch xx. § 7). Dona Beatriz some years later helped to found
another\ monastery in Pamplona. In that house she took the habit
herself as Beatriz of Christ, and died there, full of years and good
deeds, in 1602 (Yepes, ii. 33).

632 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXX.
us, Avith everything else that might be Avanted for the founda
tion. She gave it, together Avith a sum of money Avhich would
bring in five hundred ducats a year. The bishop undertook
to give a very fine church with a stone roof ; it was the parish
church close by, Avhich Avould have been useful Avith a gallery
leading into it. He might very well give it, for it Avas poor,
and there were so many churches in the tOAvn, and he could
assign the parish to another church. He gave me an account
of all this in his letter. I discussed the whole matter Avith the
father provincial, Avho was then here, who Avith all my friends
decided that I was to write by a special messenger and say
they might come for me, for the foundation of Palencia was
noAv made. I Avas very glad of it for the reason I gave before.
4. I began to collect the nuns I Avas to take Avith me:
they Avere seven — the lady Avould rather have had more than
feAver — Avith one lay sister,1 my companion, and myself. A
person came for us at once and in haste ; and, as I told him
I Avould bring Avith me two barefooted friars, I took the
father Fra Nicholas of Jesus Maria,2 a man of great perfection
and discernment — a Genoese by birth.
5. Pie Avas more than forty years old, I believe, Avhen he
received the habit — at least he is now upAvards of forty, and
it Avas not long ago — but he has made such great progress in
1 From Salamanca the Saint sent for Mary of Christ and Mary of
Jesus; from Segovia, Juana Bautista and Mary of S. Joseph; from
Medina, Catherine of Christ, who was to be prioress, Catherine of
the Holy Ghost, and a lay sister, Maria Bautista. Dona Beatriz
sent her chaplain; the bishop of Osma sent his also, Avith a man to
provide for them on the road; while the bishop of Palencia sent a
minor canon of his church, afterwards the canon Pedro de Ribera
Reforma, lib. v. ch. xx. § 5). The Saint speaks of him below, § 12.
2 Nicholas Doria was born in Genoa, May 18, 1539, the son of
Domenico and Maria Doria. He came to Spain and settled in Seville.
He was not there long before he saAV the vanity of human success
and the uncertainty of worldly honours. He gave up the world — >
became a priest. He had been long ago acquainted with Fra Mariano;'
Avho, going to Seville in 1573, brought him into relations with the
Carmelites and S. Teresa herself. In the end he was won to the riew
order, and became a novice 24th March, 1577, and Avas professed in
Seville March 25, 1580 (Reforma, lib. iv. ch. xxix. §§ 2-6). He ^as of
great service to the Saint during the trouble, and was looked or/ as the
type of a zealous Carmelite, more rigid than Fra Jerome/ of the
Mother of God, but apparently more trusted by his brethren.' He Avas
the first vicar-general of the reform in Spain.

CH. XXX.] SORIA. 633
a short time that it is clear our Lord chose him to help the
order, which he did, in these days of persecution, which
were so full of trouble, because the others who could have
helped us Avere some of them in exile, others in prison.
lie, as he held no office — for, as I have said, he had not been
long in the order — Avas not thought so much of : that Avas the
Avork of God, that he might remain to help me. He is very
prudent, for Avhen he was staying in the monaster}' of the
mitigation in Madrid he Avas so reserA'ed, as if he had other
affairs to transact, that they never discovered he was engaged
in ours, and so allowed him to remain. We Avrote to each
other continually, for I Avas then in the monastery of St.
Joseph's in Avila,1 and discussed what Avas necessary to be
done, which Avas a comfort to him. This sIioavs the diffi
culties of the order at that time, seeing that they made so
much of me, according to the saying,2 "For Avant of better."
During the whole of this time I had experience of his perfec
tion and prudence, and "hence he is one of those in the order
for whom I have a great affection in our Lord, and highly
esteem. 6. He, then, with a companion, . a lay brother,3 went
Avith us. I had no trouble on the road, for he Avhom the bishop
had sent for us took great care of us, and helped us to the
utmost of his poAver to find good lodgings, for Avhen Ave
entered the diocese of Osma the people provided us Avith good
lodgings on being told that our coming was the bishop's
doing, so great is their affection for him. The weather was
fine, and we made short journeys, so that there Avas no fatigue
in travelling, only joy, for it was to me an exceeding great
joy to listen to Avhat people said of the holy life of the bishop.
7. We arrived at Burgo* the day before the octaA'e of
1 The Saint Avent from Toledo to Avila in July, 1577, when she
placed the monastery under the jurisdiction of the order, and re
mained there till June 25, 1579, returning thither again NoA-ember 19,
Soon after that she began again to make new foundations.
s A falta de hombres buenos: this is an allusion to an old provjrb,
A falta de buenos, mi marido alcalde (De la Fuente) — for want of good
men they made my husband a judge.
3 nra Eliseus of the Mother of God (Reforma, lib. v. ch. xx. § 5).
* N)»t Burgos in old Castille, an episcopal city raised in 1574 to the
rank of\an archbishopric but Burgo de Osma: Osma being on one
side of the river Duero, and decayed; Burgo being on the other
(Bollandists, No. 926).

634 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXX.
Corpus Christi, and Avent to Communion on Thursday, which
Avas the day of the octave, the morning after our arrival, and
dined there, because Ave could not reach Soria that day. That
night Ave spent in .a church, for there Avas no other place to
lodge in, and no harm came of it. The next morning we heard
mass there, and reached Soria about five in the afternoon.1
The saintly bishop was at a Avindow of his house2 Avhen we
passed, and thence gave us his blessing; it was a great com
fort to me, for the blessing of a bishop and a saint is a great
thing. 8. The lady the foundress Avas waiting for us at the door
of her OAvn house, for it Avas there the monastery Avas to be
founded: Ave did not see hoAV to make our Avay in, because
of the great croAvd present. That was nothing neAv, for
AvhereA-er Ave go, so fond is the Avorld of novelties, the crowd
is so great as to be a grave annoyance were it not that Ave
cover our faces Avith our veils; that enables us to bear it.
The lady had a very large and very fine room made ready,
Avherein mass was to be said for the present, because a pas
sage had to be made into the church Avhich the bishop Avas to
give us, and forthwith the next day mass was said in honour
of our father S. Eliseus.3 The lady most abundantly furnished
1 Father Francis de Ribera, S. J., says that he saAv the Saint in
Soria on his return from Rome, as he had done the year before in
Valladolid when he Avas setting out on his journey. He stopped four
days in Soria, but did not knoAV for three days that the Saint Avas in
the toAvn. He speaks most pathetically of the loss he sustained by this,
for it was the last time he ever saAV her in this world (Ribera, iii. 11).
' The bishop was then a guest in the house of Don Juan de
Castilla (Reforma, lib. a', ch. xx. § 3).
1 The octave of Corpus Christi in 1581 fell on the 1st of June; but
if the Saint reached Soria, as it seems from the text, on the evening
of Friday, June 2, there must be some mistake about the feast of S.
Eliseus, Avhich according to the calendar falls on the 14th of June.
The Bollandists suggest that the mistake arose from the fact, if fact
it Avas, that a votive mass of S. Eliseus was said on Saturday, June
3 (see No. 929). In the chronicle of the order Fra Francis de S?nta
Maria says that the Saint left Palencia in. the beginning of June,' and
that she arrived in Soria on Friday, June 13, the feast of S. Antony of
Padua (Reforma, lib. v. ch. xv. § 3). And his statement presents
another difficulty: how could he say so when he had the Bom: of the
Foundations before him, in which the Saint says that she kept the
.xtave of Corpus Christi in Burgo de Osma? On the other hand, it

CH. XXX.] SORIA. 635
everything that Ave had need of, and left us in that room,
wherein Ave kept ourselves enclosed until the passage Avas
made, remaining there till the Transfiguration.1
9. On that day the first mass was said with great solem
nity, a large congregation being present in the church. A
father of the society2 preached, the bishop having gone to
Burgo, for he never loses a day or an hour, but is always
at work, though he is not strong, and the sight of one of his
eyes is gone. I had this sorrow there, for it Avas a A_ery great
grief to me that his sight, Avhich Avas so profitable in the serA-ice
of our Lord, Avas lost. God's judgments are His OAvn. This
must have happened to enable His serA'ant to gain more
merit, and to try his resignation to His will, for he did not
refrain from labouring as he did before. He told me that
he did not grieA'e over his loss any more than if it had
happened to another. He felt sometimes that he should not
think it a matter of regret if he lost the sight of the other
eye, for he would then live in a hermitage, serving God without
further obligation. That was always his A'ocation before he
was made bishop, and he spoke of it to me occasionally, and
had almost made up his mind to give up eA'erything and go.
I could not bear that, because I thought that as a bishop he
would be of great service in the church of God, and accord
ingly wished him to be what he is, though on the day he Avas
offered the bishopric — he sent Avord of it to me at once —
I fell into very great distress about it, seeing him laid under
so heavy a burden, and I could neither rest nor be at ease. I
went into the choir and prayed for him to our Lord, and His
Majesty made me calm in a moment, saying to me that he
would serve Him greatly ; and so it seems.
10. Nothwithstanding the loss of an eye, certain other
very painful infirmities, and unceasing Avork, he fasts four
days in the week, and inflicts other penances on himself; his
food is very plain. When he visits the diocese he goes or
pot; his servants cannot bear it, and have complained of it

might be held that the order at this time kept the feast of S. Eliseus
on tile 4th of June, for in the memorials sent to the chapter in Alcala
in 15S1 Isabel of Jesus is said to have made her profession in Sala
manca June 4, on the feast of S. Eliseus, 1573, of our order.
1 August 6th. On the feast of the Assumption following the Saint
gave the habit to tAvo novices (Reforma, lib. v. ch. xx. § 5).
' The preacher was father Francis Carrera (Ribera, iii. 11).

636 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXX.
to me. His servants must be pious persons, or they may
not remain in his house. He does not trust important affairs
to his vicars-general ; they must pass through his hands, and
indeed I think everything does. For the first two years
of his episcopate here he underwent a most unrelenting per
secution from false Avitnesses, at which I was amazed, for in
the administration of justice he is upright and true. That
has now come to an end, for, though people Avent to the court
to complain of him, and to every other place Avhere they
thought they could Avork evil against him, they did not prevail,
for the good he was doing throughout his diocese became
knoAvn. He bore it all so perfectly that he made them
ashamed, doing good to those Avhom he knew to be doing evil
to him. Though he had much to do he never failed to find
time for prayer.
11. It seems to me that I am carried away when I praise
this holy man — and I have not said much — but I have done
so that people may know avIio it was that really began the
foundation of the Most Holy Trinity in Soria, and for the
consolation of those Avho have to dwell there. My labour is
not throAvn away, and they Avho are there now knoAv it Avell.
Though he did not endoAv us he gave us the church, and it
was he, as I am saying,1 Avho put it into the heart of that
lady to make the foundation, and he Avas, as I said before,
a man of great piety, goodness, and penance.
12. Then, when the passage leading into the church
Avas made, and everything necessary for our enclosure ar
ranged, it became necessary I should return to the monas
tery of S. Joseph in Avila ; and so I Avent away at once in the
great heat,2 the road being \rery bad for the carriage. Ribera,
'§ 2.
: The Saint left Soria August 16, 1581, reached Burgo de Osma
on the 18th, was in Segovia on the 23rd, and arrived in AA-ila Sep
tember 5th. The monastery which she had founded, and Avhich she ,
had carefully trained, was now, to the great distress of the Saint, lesrf
fervent in spirit, and therefore in great temporal need. The nuns
had been too much indulged by an indiscreet confessor, who ^dis
pensed with the observance of the rule and constitutions without
difficulty. The presence of the Saint changed all that was amiss, and
on the arrival of the provincial, to whom the state of the convent
was made known — he came to Avila from Salamanca, where he had
been occupied in founding the college of the friars — and Avith his
consent, and desired by the nuns, Mary of Christ gladly resigned her

CH. XXX.] SORIA. 637
a minor canon of Palencia, went with me; he had been a very
great help in the making of the passage into the church,
and in everything, for the father Nicholas of Jesus Maria had
gone aAvay as soon as the deeds relating to the foundation
Avere draAvn out, being very much wanted elseAvhere. Ribera
had business in Soria Avhen Ave were going thither, and Avent
Avith us. From that time forth God gave him such an earnest
desire to do us good, that Ave may therefore pray to His
Majesty for him among the benefactors of the order. I
would not have anybody else travel Avith me and my com
panion, for he Avas enough, because he is so careful, and the
more quietly Ave travel the better am I on tlie road.1
place of prioress. (Yepes, ii. 34.) The nuns then elected S. Teresa
prioress, September 10, 1581, but she Avithheld her consent on the
ground of her age and need of rest. The provincial, Fra Jerome,
bade her kiss the ground, Avhereupon the nuns intoned the Te Deum,
and led her into her seat in the choir. The provincial, to make her
burden as light as he could, gave her as sub-prioress Mary of S.
Jerome (Reforma, lib. v ch. xxi. § 3; Fra Anton., note to Lett. 347,
but Lett. 82 vol. iii. ed. Doblado). The monastery, Avhich had elected
her "through sheer hunger," as she says (Lett. 355, but Lett. 100
vol ii ed. Doblado), recovered itself temporally and spiritually, but
not without much trouble to the Saint, for the nuns had been re
ceiving dispensations without discretion from the confessor, who Avas
none other than Julian of Avila, her great friend, but Avho in this
instance seems not to have undertsood her spirit, or the ends she had
in view in making this reform. She complains of him to the pro
vincial in a letter Avritten to him in the following October, and deplores
the sad results of his negligent direction, and ends by saying, "God
deliver me from confessors Avho have been so for many years"
(Lett. 352, but Lett. 42 vol. ii. ed. Doblado).
1 Diego de Yepes, her biographer, met her in Burgo de Osma on
the 18th. He was then on his way to Rioja, his priorate in Zamora
ended. He had heard from his friend the bishop, Don Alonzo
Velasquez, that the Saint was expected. She arrived about eight
^ o'clock in the evening, and Yepes went to receive her on her alighting
\from the carriage. Yepes spoke to her, and she asked him who he
was. He answered, "Fra Diego de Yepes," and the Saint made no
reply. Fra Diego was uneasy, thinking that either the Saint had
forgotten him or that his presence was disagreeable to her. After
wards speaking to her, he asked the reason of her silence, and she
replieil that it Avas owing to one of two things — one, that she thought
he had been penanced by his superiors, or that God wished thus to
repay h?r for the troubles of the foundation by meeting him there.
Yepes wa: pleased, and said that the first was the truth, and that God
did not in end the second. She then told him hoAV long his penance

638 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXXI.
13. I paid now for the ease Avith which I had travelled
on this road before, for, though the young man Avho went
Avith us kneAV the Avay as far as Segovia, he did not knoAV the
high road, and so he led us into places Avhere Ave had fre
quently to dismount, and took the carriage over deep preci
pices where it almost swung in the air. If we took persons
with us to shoAv the Avay, they led us as far as the roads were
safe, and left us just before Ave came to a difficulty, saying
that they had something to do elseAvhere. Before reaching
the inns, as AA-e had no certain kno\A'ledge of the country,
AA-e had to bear long the great heat of the sun, and our carriage
AA-as often in danger of being overturned. I was sorry for our
felloAv-traA-eller, because it Avas often necessary to retrace
our steps, though Ave had been told that we Avere on the right
road; but in him goodness Avas so deeply rooted that I do
not think I ever saAv him annoyed, at Avhich I marvelled much,
and for Avhich I gave thanks to our Lord ; for Avhere goodness
has taken root the occasions of sin haA-e little influence. I
give thanks to our Lord because He Avas pleased to save us
from the dangers of this road.
14. On the eve of S. BartholomeAv we reached S- Joseph's
in SegOA-ia Avhere our nuns were in distress because I Avas
so late in coming; and I Avas late because the roads were bad.
There they made much of us, for God never sends me trouble
but he repays me for it fortliAvith. I rested for eight days and
longer ; the foundation, hoAvever, Avas made with so Aery little
trouble that I think nothing of it, because it is nothing. I
came away rejoicing, for the place seemed to me to be one
AA'here, I trust in the compassion of God, He will be served by
those Avho dAvell there, as He is at present.1 May He be praised
and blessed for ever and for evermore ! Amen. Deo gratias.
would last, and that he would be ashamed of himself at the end
thereof: "thereby showing," says Yepes, "how well she knew my
disinclination to suffer, seeing that I made so much of trifles" (Yepes,'
ii. 33). * The Saint made Catherine of Christ, whom she sent for from
Medina, prioress, with Beatriz of Jesus sub-prioress. Catherine was
born in Madrigal; her father, of kin to the Saint, was Christoval de
Balmaseda, and her mother was Dona Juana Bustamante y San
Martin. She gave herself up from her earliest years to pen?nce and
good works, and Avent to Medina to become a Carmelite ivhen the
Saint was making the foundation there. She was refus-d at first
because the house Avas full, but she persevered, and the Sr-nt accepted

CH. XXXI.] BURGOS. 639

CHAPTER XXXI.
THE FOUNDATION OF THE GLORIOUS S. JOSEPH OF S. ANNE,.
BURGOS  THE FIRST MASS SAID APRIL XIX,1 OCTAVE OF EASTER,
1582. 1. More than six years ago certain members of the
Society of Jesus, men of great godliness, learning, and spirit
uality, and long professed, said to me that it Avould be a great
service rendered to our Lord if a house of this holy order
were founded in Burgos. They gave me some reasons in
favour of it Avhich moved me to Avish for it. The troubles
of the order, and the other foundations, left me no oppor
tunity of making it. When I Avas in Valladolid in the year
1580, the archbishop of Burgos2 — the archbishopric had then
been given him — came that Avay: he had before been bishop
of the Canaries, and was then going to take possession.
I have already spoken of the bishop of Palencia, Don Alvaro
de Mendoza, Avho has greatly befriended the order: he Avas
the first to accept the monastery of S. Joseph in Avila, Avhere
he Avas bishop, and ever since he has rendered us many a
service, regarding the affairs of the order as his own, especially
those which I commended to him. I begged him to ask the
archbishop to allow us to make a foundation in Burgos, and
he most readily promised to ask, for, as he thinks our Lord
is greatly honoured in these houses, he rejoices much when
ever a house is founded.
2. The archbishop would not enter Valladolid, but took
up his lodging in the monastery of S. Jerome, where the
her. When she was sent to Soria, Fra Jerome of the Mother of God,
remonstrated with the Saint, and said that Catherine Avas not the
proper person to be prioress, because she could not Avrite and had had
no experience in governing, whereupon the Saint said to the pro
vincial, "Hold your peace, father: Catherine of Christ loves God much,
is a very great saint, and requires nothing more to govern well."
(PalafoX, notes to Lett. 42, vol. 1, ed. Doblado.)
1 In 1852 Easter Day fell on April 15th, and the octave day must
have been April 22nd; xix. in the text may be an error for xxii.
* Don Christobal Vela (De la Fuente).

640 BOOK OF the foundations. [ch. XXXI.
bishop of Palencia entertained him sumptuously, Avent to dine
Avith him, and to give him a girdle or do some ceremony
or other which the bishop had to perform.1 He then asked
permission for me to found the monastery. The archbishop
said he Avould give it Avith pleasure: he had asked for one in
the Canaries, and had longed to have there one of these
monasteries, because he kneAV hoAV much our Lord is served
in them, for he had lived in a place Avhere one had been built,
and Avas Avell acquainted Avith me.2 Accordingly the bishop
told me not to Avait for the licence, for the archbishop was
very glad to have the monastery; and as the council3 does
not say that the licence is to be in writing, but only that the
bishop's consent is to be had, the licence might be taken for
granted. 3. I have spoken of the great umvillingness* I had to
make any more foundations when I AA'as to make one before
in Palencia, for I had been very ill, so that it was thought
I could not live, and even then I was not well. Illnesses, hoAv-
ever, do not usually oppress me so much Avhen I see that
Avhat I have to do is for the service of God, and so I do not
knoAv Avhence came such unAvillingness as I felt then. It
could not have come from my scanty means, for I had less
AA'hen making other foundations. I believe it came from Satan,
noAv that I see the results; and so it has usually been, for
whenever I have any trouble in making a foundation our
Lord, knoAving my misery, always helps me by words and
deeds. I have sometimes thought that in certain foundations,
about which I had no trouble, Plis Majesty never Avarned me
at all. It has been so in this, for, as He knew Avhat I had to
bear, He began to encourage me from the very first. All
praise be unto Him.
4. It was so here, as in the foundation of Palencia,
already told — for the two foundations Avere arranged at the,
same time — He asked me, as it were reproaching me, Wha.t
Avas I afraid of? Had He ever failed me? "I am the same:
1 The bishop was commissioned to deliver the pallium to the
archbishop (De la Fuente). t:
' The archbishop was born in Avila (Reforma, lib. v. ch. xxiv. § 2).
* Concil. Trident, sess. xxv. ch. iii., de Regularibus et Monialibus;
nee de cxtero similia loca erigantur sine episcopi, in cujus dicecesi
erigenda sunt, licentia prius obtenta.
* Ch. xxix. § 3.

CH. XXXI.] BURGOS. 641
fail not to make these two foundations."1 As I said, when
giving an account of the former foundation, what courage
these Avords gave me, there is no reason why I should say
it over again here. All sloth departed from me at once, and
that makes me think that the cause of it was neither my
illness nor my old age, and so I began at once to make
arrangements for both foundations, as I said before. It Avas
thought better to make the foundation of Palencia first,
because it was nearer, and because the weather was so severe
and Burgos so cold, and also because it would please the
good bishop of Palencia: it was therefore done, as I said
before. 5. But when I was staying in Palencia the foundation
of Soria was offered, and I thought that, as everything was
settled in Palencia, it would be best to go thither first, and
thence to Burgos. The bishop of Palencia thought it right,
and I begged him to do so, to give the archbishop an account
of what was going on; and so after I had gone to Soria he
sent the canon Juan Alonso to the archbishop on that business
alone. The archbishop, in a letter to me, said with great
affection that he desired my coming; made arrangements with
the canon and wrote to the bishop, putting himself in his
hands; that he Avas influenced by his knowledge of Burgos
in what he did; that I must come in Avith the consent of the
town ; in short, the conclusion was that I was to go and treat
in the first place with the city, and if it refused permission
his hands could not be tied, nor himself hindered, from giving
it; that he was present when the first monastery Avas founded
in Avila, and remembered the great trouble and opposition
I had to bear; that he wished in this way to guard against
the same thing here; that it would not be right to found
the monastery unless with an endowment, or with the consent
of the city— a condition I did not like, and therefore he spoke
. of it.
\ 6. When the archbishop said I was to go thither the
ibishop looked on the affair as settled, and with reason ; so
he sent me word that we were to go. But to me there seemed
a want of courage in the archbishop, and I wrote to thank
himVor his kindness to me, saying that it would be worse
if the * city refused its consent than if Ave made the foundation
without saying anything about it, because it would bring
1 See above, ch. xxix. § 6.

642 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXXI.
more trouble on his Grace. I think I saw beforehand how
little Ave could rely on him if any opposition were made to my
obtaining the licence; and, besides, I looked on it as a difficult
matter on account of the contradictory opinions usual on
such occasions.1 I wrote to the bishop of Palencia entreating
him that, as the summer was nearly over, and my infirmities
such as to disable me from staying in so cold a climate, the
matter might rest for the present. He was hurt because the
archbishop made so many difficulties after shoAving such good
dispositions before, and so I said nothing of my suspicions,
to avoid causing disagreements — for they are friends — and
Avent from Soria to Avila, very far from thinking at the time
that I should have to return so soon: my going to the house
of S. Joseph in Avila was very necessary for many reasons.2
7. There dAvelt in the city of Burgos a holy Avidow,
Catalina de Tolosa, a Biscayan by birth, of whose goodness,
penance, and prayer, great almsgiving and charity, good sense,
and courage I could speak at great length. She had placed
two of her daughters as nuns in the monastery of our Lady
of the Conception in Valladolid — four years ago, I think —
and tAvo others in Palencia.3 She waited till that house was
founded, and brought them thither before I went away from
that foundation.
8. The four nuns have turned out as children of such a
mother; they are like angels. She gave them a good doAvry
and everything else most abundantly, for she herself is very
wealthy ; in all her ways she is most generous, and can be so,
for she is rich. When she came, .to Palencia we considered
the archbishop's consent so certain that Ave did not think
there Avas any reason for delay, and so I asked her to find
me a house we might hire in order to take possession, to set
up the grating and the turn, and put it to my account, never
thinking she Avould spend any money of her own, but only
that she would lend it to me. So earnestly did she desire
* See Lett. 345; Lett. 40 vol. iii. ed. Doblado, written in Soria,
July 13, 1581, addressed to the canon Don Jerome Reinoso,
wherein the Saint speaks of her distrust of the archbishop. /

See ch. xxx. § 11, note.

/

* These were Catherine of the Assumption and Casilda /'of the
Holy Angel in Valladolid, Mary of S. Joseph and Isabel of the/ Trinity
in Palencia (Fra Antonio's note to Lett. 374; but Lett. 72 a-o1. ii. ed.
Doblado).

CH. XXXI.] BURGOS. 643
this foundation that she felt very much the putting it off at
that time, and so after my departure for Avila, as I have just
said, having no thought Avhatever of making the foundation
then, she gave herself no rest, but thinking there Avas nothing
more to be done except getting the permission of the city.
began to solicit it without saying a Avord to me about it.
9. She had two neighbours, persons of importance, and
very great servants of God, Avho desired the foundation greatly
—a mother and her daughter. The mother, Dona Maria
Manrique, had a son who Avas a magistrate, Don Alonso de
Santo Domingo Manrique; the daughter Avas called Doha
Catalina. Those two ladies discussed the matter with him
that he might ask the consent of the council of the city. He
spoke to Catalina de Tolosa, and asked her what he was to
say about our means of subsistence, for the council would
not consent if we had none. She replied that she would
bind herself — and so she did — to give us a house if Ave wanted
one, and maintain us, and thereupon presented a petition
signed with her name. Don Alonso managed the matter
so skilfully that he obtained leave from all the magistrates,
went to the archbishop, and showed him the permission in
writing. Immediately after she entered on the business she
sent me Avord by letter that she was arranging it. I looked
on it as something not serious, because I knew what difficul
ties people make about monasteries founded in poverty; and
as I did not knoAv, and as it had never entered into my
mind, that she had bound herself as she had done, I thought
that much more Avas still to be done.
10. However, one day within the octave of Saint Martin,
Avhen I was commending the matter to our Lord, I considered
what was to be done if the licence were granted; for, as to
my going myself to Burgos, that I looked on as impossible
because I was so ill, the place being so cold, and cold being
v very bad for my illness ; it would be rash to undertake so long
va journey when I had but just made so difficult a journey
as. was that from Soria already mentioned; besides ,the father
provincial would not let me go.1 I thought the prioress of
1 tt appears from Lett. 340; Lett. 30 vol. iii. ed. Doblado, that the
provincial, Fra Jerome of the Mother of God, had even laid his com
mands on the Saint in the matter, and that she was therefore not to
travel in the winter to Burgos. The letter was written in Soria July
14, 1581.

644 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXXI.
Palencia1 might do as well, for as everything Avas settled there
would be nothing for her to do.
11. While I was thinking thus, and greatly bent on not
going, our Lord spoke these words to me, which showed me
that permission had been given: — "Do not mind the cold:
I am the true Avarmth: Satan is exerting all his strength to
hinder the foundation: do thou exert thine on My behalf that
it may be made, and go thyself without fail, for the fruits of it
will be great." Thereupon I changed my mind : though nature
sometimes rebels when I have difficult things to do, my reso
lution to suffer for God, who is so great, never Avavers, and
so I ask Him not to regard those feelings of weakness, but
to bid me do whatever is pleasing to Himself, for I shall not
fail to do it by the help of His grace. The snow was then
on the ground, but what most disheartened me was my
Avretched health, for had I been well I believe I should have
thought nothing of the journey. It was my Avant of health
that most frequently wearied me while making this founda
tion ; the cold was nothing — at least, I did not feel it — certainly
not more, I think, than I did in Toledo. What our Lord said
to me He amply fulfilled.
12. There was a delay of few days in bringing me the
licence, Avith letters from Catalina de Tolosa and her friend
Dona Catalina pressing me to make haste; they feared some
disaster, for the order of Minims2 had come to make a founda
tion there, and the Carmelites of the mitigation also had been
there for some time labouring for a like end. Afterwards
came the monks of S. Basil,3 which might have been a hind
rance: it was a matter of wonder that so many came at the
same time with us, and a reason also for giving thanks to our
Lord for the great charity of the place, seeing that the city
gave its permission most willingly, though it Avas not now so
prosperous as it had been. I had always heard people praise
the charitableness of the city, but I never thought it was so,-'
great. Some helped one order, some another; but the arcb^-
1 Isabel of Jesus, born in Segovia, and professed in Salamanca
June 4, 1573 (De la Fuente, vol. ii. p. 368). /
* La Orden de los Vitorinos. In Spain the Minims of S. Francis
de Paula are called ordinarily frailes Vitorios (De la Fuente). J
2 Perhaps of the reform of the venerable Mateo de la Fuente (see
ch. xvii. § 7, note), whom Gregory XIII. had made subject to one
general in 1579.

CH. XXXI.] BURGOS. 645
bishop, thinking of all the difficulties that might arise, forbade
it, for he considered that a new house Avould be a wrong done
to the orders founded in poverty, in that they would not be
able to maintain themselves; and perhaps these had applied
to him themselves, or it may be that the devil suggested it
in order to do away with the good Avhich God works Avherever
many monasteries are built, for He is able to maintain many as
easily as feAv.
13. This was the reason why those saintly ladies pressed
me so earnestly: if I had had my will I should have set out
at once, but as it was I had matters to attend to, for I con
sidered that I Avas more bound not to miss an opportunity
myself than they were whom I saw taking so much pains.
I understood by the words1 I had heard that there was much
opposition — from whom or whence it Avas to come I kneAV not,
because Catalina de Tolosa had already written to me to
say that she had the house in which she lived secured for
the purpose of taking possession, that the city had consented,
and the archbishop also : I could not imagine from whom this
opposition Avas to come which the ..devils were to raise, yet
for all this I never doubted that the Avords I had heard were
the Avords of God. In short, His Majesty gives to superiors
greater light, for Avhen I wrote to the father provincial about
my going, because I knew I was to do so, he did not hinder
me, but he asked me if I had the licence of the archbishop
in writing. I answered that they had Avritten to me from
Burgos saying that they had arranged with him, that the
consent of the city had been asked and obtained, and that the
archbishop was satisfied with it: this, together with all he had
said about the matter, seemed to leave no room for doubt.
14. The father provincial2 would go with us to make the
foundation, partly because he was then to be at leisure, for
1 See before, § 11.
2 The Saint went from Avila on Monday, January 2, 1582, and
arrived in Medina del Campo on Wednesday the 4th, staying there
tiit Monday the 9th, when she started for Valladolid (Lett. 370; Lett.
61 vol. ii. ed. Doblado). She was detained for four days in Valladolid
by illness, but reached Palencia on Monday the 16th, intending to
leave on the Friday following if the weather should be favourable
(Lett. l374; Lett. 72 vol. ii. ed. Doblado). Fra Jerome, the provincial,
came, it seems, from Salamanca, having two friars with him — one Fra
Pedro of the Purification (Yepes, ii. 34; Reforma, lib. v. ch. xxv. § 5):
the other may have been a lay brother.

646 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXXI.
he had just finished preaching in Advent, and had to go to
Soria to make a visitation — he had not seen that monastery
since it Avas founded, and it was not much out of his road —
and partly that he might look after my health on the journey,
because the weather Avas so severe and I so old and sickly,
and because my life was thought to be of some importance.
It was certainly a providence of God, for the roads Avere in
such a state — deep under water — that it was highly necessary
for him and his companions to go on before to see where we
could pass, and to help to drag the carriages out of the mud,
especially on the road from Palencia to Burgos. It was an
act of great hardihood for us to set out from the former place
Avhen Ave did.
15. The truth is, our Lord had said to me that we might
go on safely— not to be afraid — for He would be with us.
This, however, . I did not make known to the father pro
vincial, but it was a comfort amidst the great difficulties and
dangers of the road, especially in one spot near Burgos called
the Floating Bridges: there the waters had risen so high,
and for some time, that Aye could not see the road nor know
Avhere to go to : there was nothing but water, and on either side
of us exceedingly deep. In short, it is an act of great rashness
to travel that way, especially with carriages, which if they
SAverved but a little Avould be all lost, and accordingly we
saAv one of them in danger.
16. From' a miserable inn on the road we took a guide
who kneAV the passage; it certainly was a very dangerous
one. Then, the lodgings we found! for it was impossible to
make the usual day's journey because of the state of the
roads; the carriages continually sunk deep into the mire, and
the mules had to be taken out of one carriage to drag out
the other. The fathers who were with us had much to suffer,
for we happened to have drivers who were young and very
careless. It was a great relief that we were travelling with
the father provincial, for he took care of everything, and is,>
of so even a temper that all that happened seemed not to
trouble him at all, and so he made light of that which was
great, so that it seemed to be nothing — not so, however, at' the
Floating Bridges, for he was then not Avithout fear, for when
I saw ourselves go into a world of water without a way or a
boat, notwithstanding the encouragement of our Lord T was
not without fear myself': Avhat, then, must my companions

CH. XXXI.] BURGOS. 647
have felt?1 We were eight on the road: tAvo were to return
with me, five to remain in Burgos — four choir and one lay
sister.2 17. I do not think I have yet mentioned the name of the
father provincial;3 he is Fra Jerome Gratian of the Mother of
God, of Avhom I have spoken in other places. I Avas myself
suffering from a very severe sore throat, which I caught on
the road to Valladolid, nor had the fever left me, and as the
pain therefrom was great it hindered me from feeling much
the incidents of the journey. I have that sore throat even noAv
at the end of June,4 and, though it is not nearly so sharp as it
was, it is still very painful. The nuns were all happy, for
once the danger passed it was a pleasure to speak of it. It is
a grand thing to suffer under obedience, especially for those
who live under it so continually as these nuns do.
18. We reached Burgos by this dangerous road, through
the deep waters there before the entrance of the city. Our
father Avould have us go first of all to visit the Miraculous
1 The nuns went to confession, and then, asking their mother to
bless them, recited the Credo. The Saint, though not wholly without
fear, looked cheerful, and insisted on going on first of all before the
rest, charging them, if she were drowned, to return. She Avent on,
and the rest followed in safety (Ribera, iii. 13). On entering the
waters the Saint heard our Lord say to her, "Fear not, my daughter;
I am here" (Yepes, ii. 34).
2 The Saint took Tomasina of the Baptist from the monastery in
Alba -de Tormes; from Valladolid, Catherine of the Assumption,
daughter of Dona Catalina de Tolosa, and Catherine of Jesus. From
Palencia the Saint took Inez of the Cross, having left Avila with her
constant companion the venerable Anne of S. Bartholomew, with
another lay sister, Mary of the Baptist, who was to remain in Burgos.
She also took Avith her Teresa of Jesus, her own niece, who Avith Anne
of S. Bartholomew was to return with her to Avila. Sister Tomasina
was made prioress, and Catherine of Jesus, from Valladolid, sub-
prioress (Reforma, lib. v. ch. xxv. § 4; and ch. xxvi. § 5).
\ * The Saint had spoken of him before, and of his election (see
oh. xxix. § 24), but it is probable that her meaning is that she had not
done so in this chapter and the one immediately preceding, which it
is ript unlikely were written some time after ch. xxix., which when
she had ended she may have regarded as the last of her book. See
the next note.
' let seems from this that the Saint wrote this chapter about three
months\before her death (De la Fuente). On the 3rd of August the
sore throat Avas gone, as she says in a letter to the prioress of Burgos
(Lett. 394; Lett. 71 vol. iv. ed. Doblado).

648 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXXI.
Crucifix1 to recommend to Him our business, and Avait there
till night came on, for it was still early. We arrived on
Friday, January 26th, the day after the feast of the Conversion
of Saint Paul. Our intention was to make the foundation
at once, and I had with me many letters from the canon
Salinas2 — he is spoken of in the history of the foundation of
Palencia, Avhere his labours in our behalf Avere not less than
they Avere here — -and from persons of consideration urging
their, relatives and others, their friends, most earnestly
to befriend us in our Avork: they did so, for imme
diately, the next day, they came to see me, and in
the city they were not sorry for the promise they had
made, but were glad that I had come, and I Avas to consider
wherein they could be of service to me. If we had any fears
at all, they arose from our doubts about the city, now we
found everything smooth; and before any could know of our
coming — for there was no going to the house of the good
Catalina de Tolosa in that very heavy rain — we intended to
inform the archbishop of it, that we might have the first mass
said at once, as in almost all places; but it Avas not done on
account of the weather.
19. We rested that night in great comfort furnished us
by that saintly woman; nevertheless it brought suffering to
me, for there was a great fire made for us to dry ourselves
at, which, though in a chimney, did me so much harm that I
could not raise my head the next day; I had therefore to lie
down Avhen speaking to those who came to see me through a
windoAV with a grating, over Avhich we dreAv a curtain;3
1 "El Santo Crucifijo." The celebrated crucifix of Burgos in the
church of the Augustinian friars (De la Fuente) outside the gates of the
city, near the bridge of S. Mary. Bollandists, note to Ribera, No. 29.
1 See above, ch. xxix. § 10.
* Doctor Manso, afterwards bishop of Calahorra, and men
tioned by the Saint below, § 22, in his deposition in the process of
the Saint's beatification (De la Fuente, ii. 379), said that he visited ,
them in the house of Dona Catherine, when ill in bed, unable to rise';
there was a windoAV in her room opening into the corridor, whith
window had a grating, and a curtain behind it as in a monastery.
He spoke to her, but saw her not, and adds that, going to see/' her
in the conviction that she was a great Saint and friend of /God,
"Conturbata sunt viscera mea, et inhomterunt pili carnis mete, tnrough
fear and reverence; and from that time forth I am fully persuaded
that the Mother Teresa of Jesus must have been a great pillar of the
Church of God."

CH. XXXI.] BURGOS. 649
and, as it Avas a day in Avhich I was obliged to settle many
matters, it Avas very painful to me. Early in the morning
the father provincial went to his Grace to ask his blessing,
for we thought that Avas all Ave had to do. He found him
changed, and angry at my coming Avithout his leave, as if
he had never sent for me or meddled at all in the matter;
and accordingly he spoke to the father provincial in great
wrath against me. Then, admitting that he had sent for me,
he said he meant I was to come alone to arrange the affair
with him; but to come Avith so many nuns, God deliver us
from the annoyance it gave him! To tell him that Ave had
already arranged with the city, as he had asked us to do ; that
there was nothing more to be done but to make the foundation ;
and that the bishop of Palencia, when I asked him if I should
do right in going without informing his Grace, had told me it
was not necessary to do so, because he wished the foundation
to be made — was all to no purpose whatever. The matter
stood thus, and God willed the foundation of the house, and
the archbishop himself said so afterwards, for if we had plainly
told him we Avere coming he would have forbidden us to come.
Thereupon he dismissed the father provincial, telling him that
unless we were endowed and had a house of our own he never
Avould give his consent: we might as Avell return: the roads
were so good, and the weather so fine !
20. O my Lord, hoAV true it is that he who shall render
Thee a service is immediately rewarded by a great cross!
And what a priceless reward it is if they who truly love Thee
only knew its value at the time! But we did not then desire
the reward, because it seemed to make the foundation alto
gether impossible, for the archbishop said besides, that the
endowment and the house we were to buy Avere not to be taken
out of any dowry the nuns might bring with them. Then, as
we were not thinking of that in times like the present, it be
came clear enough that we were helpless : not so to me, hoAv-
ever, for I ahvays felt assured that all this was for the best — a
pjpt of Satan to hinder the foundation — and that God Avould
prosper His work. Herewith came away the provincial very
joyous, for he was not troubled in the least at it: God so
ordained it that he might not be vexed with me because I had
not obtained the licence in writing, as he had told me to do.1
21. There Avere then with me some of the friends to
1 See § 13.

650 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXXI.
whom the canon Salinas had Avritten, as I said before; and
they resolved, his kinsmen agreeing with them, that the arch
bishop should be asked to give permission for the celebration
of mass in the house, that Ave might not have to go out into
the streets, Avhich were very dirty: it was not seemly that
we should go out, being barefooted. There was a suitable
room in the house which had been the church of the Society
of Jesus when they came to Burgos, and Avhich they used for
more than ten years; Ave therefore saw nothing unseemly in
taking possession there till we had a house of our own. We
were never able to persuade him to let us hear mass therein,
though tAvo canons went to him to beg for leaVe. All that we
got from him was, that an endowment being assured the
foundation might be made there till we bought a house, and
to obtain this we were to give security for the purchase of a
house, and we were not to leave the place we were in.
22. The sureties we found at once, for the friends of the
canon Salinas offered themselves, and Catalina de Tolosa
offered an endowment. Meanwhile, in discussing how much it
was to be, and in what way it was to be secured, more than
three weeks must have gone by, and we not hearing mass
except on holy days very early in the morning, myself in a
fever and very ill. Catalina de Tolosa, however, Avas so kind
to us, and took such care of me, and fed us the whole of that
month as cheerfully as if she had been the mother of every one
of us, in a part of the house where we lived by ourselves.
The father provincial and his companions Avere lodged in the
house of a friend of his — they had been at college together1 —
the doctor Manso,2 canon-preacher in the cathedral ; he Avas
excessively harassed by his detention there so long, and yet
could not see his way to leaA-e us.
1 In the university of Alcala de Henares (Reforma, lib. v. ch. xxvi.
§ 7). 2 The Saint had a great respect for the canon Manso, chose him •¦
for her confessor, and even gave him her books to read, and told/
him that he would be a bishop (Reforma, lib. v. ch. xxv. § 7). His
nephew Don Pedro Manso, president of the royal council and patri
arch of the Indies, in his deposition taken in the process of /the
Saint's beatification (De la Fuente, ii. 381), where it is more accurately
given than in the chronicle, says that his uncle Dr. Manso— After
wards, the bishop of Calahorra — heard the confession of the/ Saint,
and always on his return home would say, "Blessed be God, blc4sed be
God! but I would rather dispute with all the theologians in the world
than with this woman."

CH. XXXI.] BURGOS. 651
23. When the sureties had been found and the endoAv-
ment settled, the archbishop told us to giA-e the papers to the
vicar-general, and then everything Avould be settled imme
diately. Satan — it must have been so — did not fail to run
to him also, for after a long consideration of the matter, when
we Avere thinking that there could be no grounds for further
delay, and Avhen a month had been spent in persuading the
archbishop to be pleased Avith Avhat Ave Avere doing, the vicar-
general sent me a note in which he said that the licence Avould
not be granted till we had a house of our own ; that the
archbishop now did not like us to make the foundation in the
house we were staying in, because it was damp and in a street
that was very noisy; and then, as for the security of the en
dowment, I know not what difficulties and objections he made,
as if the matter were then discussed for the first time; that
there must be no further debate, and the archbishop must be
pleased with the house.
24. When the father provincial heard of it he was greatly
moved — so were we all — for plainly much time is necessary for
buying a place for a monastery ; it distressed him to see us
go out of the house for mass, for, though the church was
not far off, and Ave heard it in a chapel therein unseen of all,
yet for the father provincial and ourselves it was a very great
burden. Then it was, I think, he made up his mind that Ave
must go away. I could not bear to do that: when I remem
bered what our Lord had said to me,1 that I was to make
this foundation for Him, I Avas so confident it Avould be made
that scarcely anything vexed me ; but I Avas in distress about
the father provincial, and was very sorry he had come with us.
not knowing at the time how much his friends were to do for
us, as I shall tell by and by.
25. When I was in this distress, which pressed heavily
on my companions also, though I did not concern myself
about them, but only about the provincial, our Lord — I Avas
.not in prayer — said to me these words, "Now, Teresa, be
strong." Thereupon, with greater earnestness, I begged the
father provincial to go away and leave us. And His Majesty
must have brought him to this, for Lent Was nigh at hand,

2

and he was obliged to go and preach.
* See aboA-e, § 11.
2 He had to preach in Valladolid during Lent (Reforma, lib. v. ch.
xxvii. § 1. See below, § 29).

652 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXXI.
26. He and his friends contrived to have rooms assigned
us in the hospital of the Conception ; the Most Holy Sacrament
Avas there, and mass was said every day. This gave him some
pleasure, but he had not a little to go through in getting it
for us, for the one good room there had been taken by a
widow in the town, who not only would not lend it to us,
though she was not going into it for the next half-year, but
was angry because they had given us certain rooms in the
upper part of the hospital under the roof, one of them forming
a passage into her room. She was not satisfied with locking
it on the outside, but must have bars put across it on the inside.
Besides, the brethren thought we were to make the hospital
our own — an impracticable imagination, but God would have
us merit more thereby; they made us promise, the father
provincial and myself, before a notary, that we would, on being
told to quit the place, do so at once. This was the hardest
thing for me, for I was afraid the widow, who was wealthy
and had relatives there, would, whenever she took a fancy to
do so, compel us to go away. The father provincial, however,
was wiser than I, and would have everything done according
to their wishes, that we might go in at once; they gave us
but two rooms and a kitchen. But a great servant of God,
Hernando de Matanza, was in charge of the hospital, and
gave us two others for a parlour, and Avas A'ery kind to us,
as he is indeed to everybody, and does much for the poor.
Francisco de Cuevas also was kind to us ; he has much to do
Avith the hospital, and is postmaster here; he was always
kind to us when he had the opportunity.
27. I have given the names of those who were our bene
factors in the beginning, that the nuns now there, and those
who shall come after them, may, as is fitting, remember them
in their prayers ; they are the more bound to do so for founders,
and, though at first I did not intend, neither did it enter into
my mind,1 that Catalina de Tolosa should be the founder of
the house, her good life obtained it for her from our Lord,-;
who so ordered matters that it became impossible to withhold
this honour from her; for, to say nothing of the purchase' of
the house by her when we had not the means of doing so
ourselves, it never can be told what the shif tings of the /arch
bishop cost her, for it was a very great distress to her tc/ think
that the house might not be founded, and she was never
1 See above, § 8.

CH. XXXI.] BURGOS. 653
weary of doing us good. The hospital was very far from her
house, and yet she came to see us most readily nearly every
day, and sent us all we had need of; then people never ceased
from talking to her, and if she had not been the courageous
woman she is that talking might have put an end to every
thing.1 28. It Avas a great sorroAv to me to see her suffering, for.
though she for the most part kept it secret, yet there Avere
times Avhen she could not hide it, especially Avhen they ap
pealed to her conscience, which was so tender that, even amid
the great provocations she received, I never heard a Avord from
her by Avhich God might be offended.2 They used to say
to her that she Avas going to hell, and ask her hoAV she could
do Avhat she was doing when she had children of her own.
All she did was Avith the sanction of learned men: if she had
wished to act otherwise, I would not have consented for any
thing on earth to her doing what she might not do, if a
thousand monasteries had been lost thereby : much more, then,
would I not have consented for one. But, as the plan we Avere
discussing was kept secret, I am not surprised that people
thought the more about it. She ansAvered every one Avith
so much prudence — and she is very prudent — and bore it
so gently that it was plain that God Avas teaching her how
to be able to please some and endure others, and giving her
courage to bear it all. How much greater is the courage of
the servants of God when they have great things to do than is
1 Dofia Catalina had promised to leave her property after her
death to certain fathers who had the direction of her conscience, and
these now filled her soul with scruples in relation to Avhat she was
doing for S. Teresa; and thus between her confessors and the Saint
her life was very wretched (note of Fra Anton, of S. Joseph, in Lett.
377; Lett. 41 vol. iii. ed. Doblado).
2 God rewarded Catalina de Tolosa a hundredfold even in this
life: her five daughters became Carmelites in the monasteries of S.
Teresa. Her two boys also became religious: the eldest was Fra
Sebastian of Jesus, who took the habit in Pastrana, and was in great
repute in the order, of which he was definitor-general when he died
in Avila; the second was Fra John Chrysostom, and professed the
ology in Salamanca. Dona Catalina herself was called into Carmel,
and lived for two-and-twenty years in Palencia. She was a subject,
and Also in authority in that house; and Avhen one of her OAvn children
becarrie prioress she was as obedient to her own child as the most
dutiful novice (Fra. Anton., note to Lett. 374; Lett 72 vol. ii. ed.
Doblado).

654 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS'. [CH. XXXI.
that of people of high descent if they are not His servants!
She, howeAer, Avas without flaw in her blood, for she is the
child of a very noble house.
29. I now go back to what I was saying : when the father
provincial found us a place where we could hear mass and live
enclosed he A'entured to go to Valladolid, where he had to
preach, but in great distress at not seeing in the archbishop
any sign from which to hope that he Avould give his permis
sion ; and, though I always spoke hopefully, he could not
believe, and certainly he had graA'e reasons for thinking as
he did, which need not be told, and, if he had little hope, his
friends had less, and they discouraged him greatly. I was
more at ease when I saw him gone, for, as I said before, the
greatest trouble I had was his. He left instructions that we
were to find a house, in order that we might have one of our
OAvn; and that was very difficult, for up to that time we had
not found one for sale. We were noAv a greater burden to our
friends, especially those of the father provincial, and all of
them agreed not to speak a word to the archbishop till we
found a house; he always said that he wished the foundation
to be made more than any one; and I believe it, for he is
so good a Christian that he would not say that Avhich is not
true. In his conduct this did not appear, for he asked for
things Avhich evidently were beyond our power to do: it
was a device of Satan to hinder the foundation. But, O
Lord, how plain it is that Thou art mighty! the A-ery means
Avhich Satan sought for the purpose of hindering it Thou didst
employ to make it better. Blessed be Thou for ever!
30. From the eve of S. Mathias, when we came to the
hospital, until the eve of S. Joseph, we were busy in looking
at this house and at that; they had all of them so many dis
advantages, and not one among those which their owners
were willing to sell was such as we ought to buy. They told
me of one belonging to a nobleman which had been for sale
for some time, and though there were so many orders looking
for a house, it pleased God that none of them liked this, and
they are all astonished at it now, and some even are very
sorry. One or two people had spoken to me about it, but
they Avho spoke ill of it were so many that I had by this time
ceased to think of it, as if it were a house that would not' suit
us.

CH. XXXI.] BURGOS. 655
31. One day, when the licentiate Aguiar,1 one of the
friends of our father, already mentioned, Avho had been mak
ing a careful search everywhere for a house, was telling me
that he had seen some, and that no house fitting for us could
be found in the whole city, and when I thought it impossible
to find any, judging by what people Avere saying to me, I
remembered the one Avhich I have just spoken of as having
been given up, and thought that, though it were as bad as
it was said to be, it might be a refuge for us in our necessity,
and that Ave might sell it later. I said to the licentiate
Aguiar that he would do me a kindness if he would go and
look at it. He thought it not a bad plan ; he had never seen
the house, and he would go at once, though it was a stormy
and wretched day. There was a person living in it who had
no Avish to see it sold and would not shoAv it to him, but the
situation itself, and as much of the house as he could see,
pleased him greatly, and so we made up our minds to treat
for the purchase of it.
32. The nobleman to whom the house belonged Avas
away, but he had given to an ecclesiastic, a servant of God,
to whom His Majesty gave the desire of selling it to us, and
to treat with us Avith great openness, authority to sell it.
It was settled that I should go and see it. I was so extremely
pleased Avith it that I should have considered it cheap if they
had asked tAvice as much for it, as Ave had understood they
did; and that is not saying much, for two years before that
sum had been offered to the owner, but he would not sell it
then. Immediately, the next day, the ecclesiastic came here,
and the licentiate also, who when he saAv that the other Avas
satisfied wished to have the matter settled at once. I had
spoken to some of our friends, and they had told me that
if I gave what was asked I should be giving five hundred
ducats more than it was Avorth. I told him of this, but he
thought the house cheap even if I gave for it the sum that Avas
asked: I thought so also myself, and that I ought not to delay,
for it seemed as if about to be sold for nothing, but as the
money belonged to the order it gave me a scruple.
33. This meeting took place before mass on the eve of
1 He was a physician in Burgos, and a great friend of the Saint;
he told her that if the house could not be paid for by the community
at once he would pay the money himself, and keep the house should
they not be satisfied with it (Reforma, lib. v. ch. xxvi. § 2).

656 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXXI.
the glorious S. Joseph ; I told them Ave should meet again after
mass and settle the matter. The licentiate is a most prudent
man, and he saw clearly that, as soon as the matter began to
be bruited abroad, either we should not be the purchasers of
the house or it would cost us a much larger sum: so he made
the ecclesiastic give a promise to return after mass. We nuns
Avent and commended the affair to God, who said to me,
"Dost thou hold back for money?" giving me to understand
that the house was fitted for us. The sisters had prayed much
to S. Joseph that, they might have a house for his feast, and,
though they did not think they could have one so soon, their
prayer was heard: all urged me to settle it, and so it A\'as
done, for the licentiate came in with a notary, met Avith at
the door — which seemed a providence of our Lord — and said
to me that it was necessary to settle, and, having brought in
a witness, and shut the door of the room, that nobody might
know — for he was afraid of that — the sale was made, and
could not be set aside,1 on the eve, as I said before, of the
glorious S. Joseph, through the kind service and skilfulness
of this good friend.
34. Nobody thought it would be sold so cheaply, and
accordingly when the news began to be spread abroad pur
chasers began to come forward, and to say that the ecclesiastic
who had made the bargain had sold it at too Ioav a price —
that the sale must be set aside, for it was a great fraud.
The good ecclesiastic had much to go through. Word was
sent at once to the owners of the house, who Avere, as I said
before, one of the chief nobles in the place and his wife; but
they were so glad that their house was to be a monastery that
they ratified the sale on that ground, though by that time they
could not do otherwise. Immediately, the next day, the deeds
were drawn up, and one-third of the money was paid on the
demand of the ecclesiastic, for in some things relating to
the bargain they were hard on us, and we bore everything to
keep to it.
35. It seems foolish for me to be speaking at such great
length of the purchase of this house, but the truth is that those
who looked into the matter carefully saw in it nothing less
than a miracle, Avhether it be the price, Avhich was so small,
1 The house was sold to the Saint for thirteen hundred ducats, and
Dona Catalina de Tolosa paid one-third of the money at once
(Reforma, lib. v. ch. xxvi. § 2).

CH. XXXI.] BURGOS. 657
or the blindness of all the religious Avho had seen it, and Avhich
hindered them from taking it: those Avho looked at the house
were amazed, as if it had not ahvays been in Burgos, and
found fault Avith them and called them foolish. There AA'ere
persons there searching for a house for a monastery of nuns,
and tAvo monasteries besides, one of Avhich had been lately
founded — the other had come to the toAvn from outside be
cause its house had been burnt down— and another Avealthy
person intending to found a monastery, who had lately seen
it and given it up : these Avere all extremely sorry. The talking
in the toAvn Avas such as made us see clearly the grave reasons
the licentiate had for the secrecy and the haste in which he
settled the affair, and we can truly say that, under God, he
gave us the house. A sound judgment is of great service in
everything, and, as his judgment is very sound, and as God
had given him the will, so he brought our affair to an end.
He Avas for more than a month helping us and arranging the
house so as to make it suit us, and at little cost. It seemed
clear that our Lord had been keeping the house for Himself,
for almost everything seemed to have been done for our use.
The truth is, as soon as I saAv it, with everything therein as if
prepared for us, it seemed to me a dream — everything Avas
done so quickly. Our Lord repaid us Avell for Avhat we had
gone through when He brought us into a paradise — for the
garden, the view, and the water seem nothing else. May He
be blessed for ever! Amen.
36. The archbishop heard of it at once, and was very
glad Ave had prospered so well; he thought it Avas due to his
obstinacy, and he was right. I wrote to him to say I rejoiced
because he was satisfied, and that I Avould make haste in
arranging the house, that he might be altogether gracious
unto me. Having said this to him, I hastened into it myself,
for I was warned that they wished to detain us in the hospital
till certain deeds were completed. And so, though a man
who lived in the house had not gone out — it cost us also
something to get rid of him — we went into a room in it. I
was told immediately that the archbishop AA-as angry thereat ;
I dfd all I could to soothe him, and as he is a good man,
even\when he is angry, his anger passes quickly away. He was
angry also when he heard that we had a grating and a turn,
for it made him think that I wished to act as if free from his
authority: I wrote to him, and said that I had no such Avish.

658 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXXI.
only that we had done what is done in the house of persons
who live in retirement — that I had not dared to put up even
a cross, lest he should think so ; and that Avas the truth. Not
withstanding all the goodAvill he professed, we found no way
to make him willing to grant the licence.
37. Pie came to see the house. It pleased him much,
and he was very gracious to us, but not gracious enough to
give the licence ; however, he gave us more hope, and said that
some agreement Avas to be made Avith Catalina de Tolosa.
There were great fears that he would not sanction it, but
Doctor Manso, the other friend of the father provincial, of
Avhom I have spoken, was very much Avith him, watching
opportunities to remind him of us and to importune him;
for it pained him much to see us Ih-ing as Ave were doing,
because in the house itself, though it had a chapel which had
never been used for anything but for mass when the former
OAvners lived in it, he would never allow us to have mass said,
but Ave must go out on festival days and Sundays to hear it
in a church, which Ave were very fortunate in having close by ;
though after Ave had gone to our house, until the foundation
Avas made, a month went by, more or less, all learned men
told us that there were good grounds for allowing mass to
be said.1 The archbishop is learned enough, and he saw it
in the same light, and thus there seems to be no other reason
to give than this — that it was the good pleasure of our Lord
Ave should suffer. I bore it best of all myself, but one of the
nuns on finding herself in the street trembled through the
pain it gave her.
38. We had not a little to suffer in draAving up the deeds,
for at one time they were satisfied Avith sureties, at another
they Avould have the money paid. Many other difficulties were
raised. In this the archbishop was not so much to blame:
it Avas a vicar-general who fought hard against us, and if
God had not changed his mind at the time, Avhereby he became ,
another man, it seemed as if the matter would never be ''
brought to an end. Oh, the distress of Catalina de Tolosa!
1 The obstinacy of the archbishop was the more galling to/the
Saint because there was a chapel in the house in which mass had/been
said for fourteen years while it was in the possession of the J'esuits
(Lett. 379; but Lett. 37 vol. iv. ed. Doblado). The Saint and her
sisters heard mass in the parish church of S. Luke, afterwards the
church of the Augustinian nuns (Fra Anton's note).

CH. XXXI.] BURGOS. 659
that never can be told. She bore it all with a patience that
amazed me, and was never weary in making provision for
us. All the furniture Ave required for fitting up the house
she gave us — beds and many things besides; her own house
was amply provided, and, as to anything we might need, it
seemed as if we were not to be in want of anything, though
her OAvn house might be so. Among those who Avere founders
of our monasteries there are some Avho gave more of their sub
stance, but there is not one who had the tenth part of the
trouble it cost her ; and she, if she had not had children, would
have given everything she had. She longed so earnestly to
see the monastery founded that Avhat she did for that end
seemed to her as nothing.
39. When I saAv so much delaying I wrote to the bishop
of Palencia, entreating him to write again to the archbishop;
he was very much displeased with him, for whatever the latter
did for us the bishop regarded as done to himself; and what
amazed us was, that the archbishop never thought he was
doing us the slighest wrong. I entreated the bishop to write
to him and ask him to give his consent, now that we had a
house of our own, and everything done as he had desired.
The bishop sent me a letter for him — it was open — but of
such a nature that had we sent it on we should have ruined
everything; and accordingly doctor Manso, my confessor and
adviser, Avould not let me send the letter, for, though it was
most courteous, it contained some truths which, considering
the temper of the archbishop, were enough to make him angry
— he was so already on account of certain messages the bishop
had sent him; they were very great friends — and he said to
me that, as they who were enemies before Avere made friends
at the death of our Lord, so on my account two friends had
become enemies: I replied, that he might see by that what
sort of a person I Avas.
40. I had taken especial care, as I thought, to keep them
from being angry Avith one another; I renewed my entreaties
to the bishop, using the best reasons I could, that he Avould
write another and a very affectionate letter, representing to
him what a service to God it would be. He did what I asked
him tb do, and it was not little : when he saw that his doing
so would be a service rendered to God and a kindness to me —
he has t>een always so uniformly kind to me — he did violence
to himself, and, writing to me, said that all he had hitherto

660 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXXI.
done for the order Avas nothing in comparison Avith that letter.
In a word, it ansAvered the purpose in such a way— doctor
Manso was pressing at the same time— that the archbishop
granted the licence, and sent the good Hernando Matanza
with it, whose pleasure in bringing it was not a little. That
day the sisters Avere very much disheartened — they had never
been so before — and the good Catalina de Tolosa so much so
that she could not be comforted: it seemed as if our Lord
Avould lay His hand more heavily upon us at the moment He
was about to give us joy; and I, who had not been Avithout
hope hitherto, had none the night before. Blessed and praised
be His name for ever, world without end! Amen.
41. Doctor Manso had leave from the archbishop to say
mass the next day,1 and to reserve the Most Holy Sacrament.
He said the first mass, and the high mass Avas sung by the
father prior of S. Paul's of the order of S. Dominic, to Avhich,
as well as to the members of the society, bur order has been
always greatly indebted. The father prior sang the mass Avith
very solemn music played by men who came unasked. All our
friends were much pleased, and so was nearly everybody in
the city, for they were all very sorry to see us in the state
Ave Avere in, and thought so ill of the conduct of the arch
bishop that I was at times more distressed by Avhat I heard
people say of him than I was at what I had to bear with
myself. The joy of the good Catalina de Tolosa and of the
sisters was so great that it kindled my deA'Otion, and I said
unto God, "O Lord, what other aim have these Thy servants
but that of serving Thee, and dwelling within a cloister, for
Thy sake, out of which they are never to go forth ?"
42. Nobody who does not know it by experience wall
believe the joy we have in these monasteries Avhen we find
ourselves within the cloister into which no secular persons
may enter; for, however much we may love them, that love
is not strong enough to take from us the great joy of
living alone. If fish be taken out of the river in a net they
cannot live, even if they be many together, unless they are re-
1 The Saint, in a letter sent to the bishop of Palencia, April 13,
1582, said that the first mass was to be said on the last day of Easter
tide, which would be April 22nd. Yepes and the chronicler say/it was
said April 9th, and Ribera on the 13th. The heading of the chapter and
the letter agree in placing the blessing of the church on Low/Sunday,
and the difficulty is made by the statement that the octaves of Easter
fell in 1*82 on the 19th, instead of on the 22nd day of April.

CH. XXXI.] BURGOS. 661
turned to the river. So, it seems to me, is it Avith souls accus
tomed to live in the torrents of the Avaters of their Bride
groom: if they be drawn out therefrom by the nets of the
things of this world they do not really live till they are taken
back again. I always see this in the sisters. I know it by
experience: those nuns who are conscious of a wish to go
abroad among seculars, or to converse much with them, have
reason to be afraid that they have never touched that living
water of which our Lord spoke to the Samaritan woman,1 and
that the Bridegroom has hidden Himself from them, seeing
that they are not content to dwell alone with Him. I have
been afraid that this comes from two sources : either they have
not undertaken the religious state for Him alone, or they
do not understand after undertaking it Avhat a great grace
God gave them when He chose them for Himself, and rescued
them from being subject to man, who very often kills their
body — and God grant he may not also kill their soul ! O my
Bridegroom, very God and very man ! is this a grace to be
lightly regarded? Let us praise Him, my sisters, because He
hath given it unto us; and let us never be weary of praising
our Lord and King, who is so mighty, and who has prepared
a kingdom for us, of which there shall be no end, in return for
a little hardship amid a thousand joys, but which will end to
morrow. May He be blessed for ever ! Amen, amen.
43. Some time after the house was founded, it was
thought by the father provincial and myself that the endow
ment furnished by Catalina de Tolosa had certain incon
veniences Avhich might end in a lawsuit for us, and in some
trouble for herself: we preferred trusting more in God, that
we might not be the cause of giving her the slightest annoy
ance : so, to save her, and for some other reasons, we all before
a notary renounced the property she had given us, with the
sanction of the father provincial, and sent her all the deeds.
It was done very secretly lest it should come to the knowledge
of the archbishop, who would consider it a wrong done to
himself, though it was really done to the monastery, for when
it is once known of a house that it is founded in poverty there
is nothing to be afraid of, because everybody helps it, but when
the house is known to be endowed there is evidently a risk,
and it\may have to remain for a time without the means of
supplying itself with food. Provision for us after the death
* See Life, ch. xxx. § 24; and Way of Perfection, ch. xxix. § 2.

662 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXXI.
of Catalina de Tolosa was made. Tavo of her daughters,
Avho Avere to make their profession this year in our monastery
of Palencia, had renounced their property in her favour should
they profess — this renunciation she made them annul, and
make another in favour of this house: another daughter, who
wished to take the habit here, gave her share in her father's
property and in her mother's, which is as much as the endow
ment Avas Avorth: the only inconvenience is that the house is
not yet in possession of it.
44. But I have always held that the nuns will never be
in Avant, because our Lord, who sends succour to monasteries
dependent on alms, will raise up people to do as much for
this house, or will find means to maintain it. Though no house
has been founded as this was, I have begged our Lord from
time to time, as it was His will the foundation should be made,
to come to its relief, and supply what is necessary for it; nor
did I wish to go away till I saw if any came into it as nuns.
One day, thinking of this after communion, I heard our Lord
say, "Why doubt? This is now done; thou mayest safely go"
— giving me to understand that the nuns would never be in
Avant of that Avhich might be necessary for them. I felt as if
I were leaving them amply endowed, and have never been
anxious about them since. I began at once to make arrange
ments for my departure, for I seemed as if I were doing
nothing more in the house but taking my pleasure in it, for
it is a house I like exceedingly, Avhile elsewhere, though I
might have more trouble, I might be of more use.
45. The archbishop and the bishop of Palencia remained
very good friends, for the archbishop at once shoAved himself
very gracious unto us, and gave the habit to a daughter1 of
Catalina de Tolosa, and to another nun2 Avho soon came in;
and until now people have never failed to provide for us, nor
Avill our Lord leave His brides to suffer if they serve Him
according to the obligations under which they lie. To this

/

1 Elena of Jesus, the youngest of the daughters, who were all
Carmelite nuns. The Saint calls her "my Gordilla" in a letter to/the
prioress, written in Palencia August 9th (Lett. 396; Lett. 105 vol. ii. ed.
Doblado). /
2 Dona Beatriz del Arceo Covarrubias, widow of Don Hernando
Venero. She made her profession May 24th, 1583, and was afterwards
mistress of novices and prioress of Vittoria (Fra Anton.: Notes to
letter quoted in the foregoing note).

CH. XXXI.] BURGOS. 663
end may His Majesty give them His grace of His great com
passion and goodness I1 JESUS.
46. I have thought it right to put doAvn in this place hoAV
it Avas that the nuns of S. Joseph's, Avila — the first monastery
that was founded — the history of which foundation is Avritten
elsewhere,2 and not in this book, came under the jurisdiction
of the order; the house from the first being subject to the
bishop. 47. When that monastery Avas founded the bishop Avas
Don Alvaro de Mendoza, now the bishop of Palencia; and all
the time he Avas in Avila he was most gracious unto the nuns.
When the monastery was placed under his jurisdiction I
understood from our Lord that it was advantageous so to
place it, and the result fully proved it ; for in all the difficulties
of the order Ave had great help from him, and on many other
occasions Ave saw it plainly enough. He never entrusted the
visitation of the monastery to a secular priest, nor did he issue
any orders except those Avhich I begged of him to give.
Seventeen years, more or less, to the best of my recollection,3
passed by in this Avay, nor did I ever think of changing the
jurisdiction. At the end of the seventeen years the bishopric
of Palencia Avas given to the bishop of Avila. I Avas at the
time in the monastery of Toledo, and our Lord said te me it
was expedient for the nuns of S. Joseph's to be under the juris
diction of the order — that I was to bring it about, for if it
were not done the house Avould soon become lax. As I had
1 Here ends the Book of the Foundations — then a blank leaf; after
which the passage following (De la Fuente).
2 In the Life, see chs. xxxii. — xxxvi.
3 The Saint more than once calls attention to the fact that her
'memory Avas not good. In this instance she is probably in error, for
the monastery of S. Joseph was founded in August, 1562, and the trans-
fei\of the jurisdiction from the bishop to the order was made in Aug
ust," 1577. The Saint therefore made a mistake of two years. The change
was made after the Saint had fallen into disgrace with the general of
the order, and during the severe persecution she underwent from the
friars of the mitigation, who, though they saw the Saint deprive herself
of a house of refuge — for they could not have touched her in her oavh
house of S. Joseph in Avila — Avaged war against her to the end, and
nearly destroyed the reform.

664 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS. [CH. XXXI.
understood it Avas right for us to be under the authority of
the bishop,1 I thought the locutions were at A-ariance one with
another. I said so to my confessor — it was he who is now
the bishop of Osma2 — a most learned man. He replied that
it Avas not so in the present case, for what I did formerly must
have been necessary then, and that something else is necessary
noAv. It is now most clear in many ways that what he said
was true, and that he saw it Avould be better for the monastery
to be united with the others than to stand alone. He made me
go to Avila to arrange the matter.
48. I found the bishop was of a very different mind,
and would not at all consent to the change; but Avhen I told
him some of the reasons I had for thinking that harm might
come to the nuns, he set himself to think them over, for he
had a great affection for the nuns, and as he has a most sound
understanding, and as God helped him, his thoughts led him
to other reasons more Aveighty than those I had given him,
and he resolved to make the change:3 though some of the
clergy went and told him it was not expedient, they did not
prevail. It was necessary to have the consent of the nuns:
to some the change was very disagreeable, but, as they loved
me much, they yielded to the reasons I gave them, especially
this — that when the bishop, to Avhom the order owed so much
and whom I loved, was gone, they could not have me any
longer among them. This consideration had great influence
with them, and so this affair, of so much importance, Avas
settled. Since then all persons see in Avhat a sad state the
monastery would have been if the change had not been made.
Oh, blessed be our Lord Avho regards with so much solicitude
all that concerns His servants! May He be blessed for ever!
Amen. 1 See Life, ch. xxxiii. § 18.
2 Don Alonso Velasquez, afterAvards archbishop of Compostella /'
(see ch. xxx. § 1, note). /
* The bishop consented to the transfer of the jurisdiction on th/e
condition that he was to continue the patron of the chancel of CTie
church, and that he was to be buried there wherever he might be Awhen
he died (Reforma, lib. iv. ch. xvi. § 3). /

END OF THE BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS.

/

LAST DAYS AND DEATH OF THE SAINT. 665

LAST DAYS AND DEATH OF THE SAINT.

It was the intention of St. Teresa when she left Burgos
to return immediately to Avila. But in obedience to the com
mand of the Provincial, Father Gratian, she Avent from Bur
gos to Palencia to stay there a month. The unusual tender
ness and feeling Avhich she shoAved on parting from the nuns
at Burgos indicate that she knew her death Avas not far off.
Even when journeying to Burgos — a journey Avhich might
Avell have taxed the endurance of a strong man — she felt
the pressure of age, and realized hoAV poorly in comparison
to her companions she was able to react physically from the
strain of travel and its attendant difficulties.
Delicate in health all through life, she had undertaken
and successfully carried through labors that Avould have un
done the average man. Now after twenty years her work of
the foundations Avas ended. She longed to return to her
beloved Avila Avhere she was Prioress. But her great heart was
not to have the peace Avhich it craved. Having suffered so much
she was to suffer to the end. Her last journey brought her
only sorrows; added sufferings of body, fresh griefs of soul.
Accompanied by the faithful Anne of St. BartholomeAv
she set out from Burgos July, 1582. She remained at Palencia
where she found the nuns "very good, indeed," and had a cell
"fresh and nice." Here she Avas encouraged by the neAvs
of the appointment of Nicholas Doria as Procurator of the
Discalced Carmelites. "Now," writes St. Teresa, "we have
all we Avant except to become saints, and serve God for His
favors." Before the end of August, still in obedience to Father
Gratian, St. Teresa journeyed to Valladolid. From this mon
astery she wrote important letters shoAving "full vigor of mind,
as wise, as prudent, as charitable and as zealous as ever for
the glbry of God." It was from Valladolid that her last
letter — that to the Venerable Catherine of Christ — was Avrit
ten. Here also she was to endure a particularly hard and bitter

666 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS.
trial. Well might she write "the business and the troubles
here are killing me," for the cross Avas one imposed by mem
bers of her own family and for the sordid reason of money.
Don Lorenzo de Cepeda, brother of the Saint, had died and his
Avill Avas contested. St. Teresa was most unwilling to enter
into the quarrel for she thought but poorly of the motives
of all concerned. But she was compelled to testify. In open
court she was grossly insulted by a lawyer; and Avorst of all
her own niece, the prioress, turned against her, and drove her
from the convent. As the Saint had answered the insult of
the lawyer Avith patient kindness, thanking him and praying
God to reward him, so now she accepted this outrageous com
mand with the greatest meekness and before leaving wrote
to the nuns a calm and comforting farewell:
"My daughters I am greatly comforted in leaving this
house by the degree of perfection reached, by the poverty I
observed kept in it and by the love you have one to another.
"Do not fulfill your exercises by rote; but do noble deeds
which shall grow better and better eA-ery day.
"Be diligent to have noble desires; very precious fruit
is gathered from them even when they cannot be carried out."
With her companions, Anne of St. Bartholomew and
Teresita, she journeyed to Medina del Campo, arriving there
about the middle of September. But here again a cold re
ception awaited her. The Prioress took offence at. once at
some direction given by the Saint and the nuns showed no
great spirit of obedience. It was evening when the Saint ar
rived but though greatly in Avant of food she could eat nothing.
That night she could not sleep and the next morning she left
Avithout haying touched food. Again she journeyed in obe
dience to her superior's command for she had receh-ed Avord
not to go to AA'ila but to Alba de Tormes. The journey
almost cost her her life. At Peneranda she fainted and
nothing but some dried figs could be found to sustain her.
The next day at another village all that could be obtained
in the way of food was some greens boiled with onions. At
length, towards the evening of September 20th, the Saint,-
more dead than alive, arrived at Alba. She was in sucVl an
exhausted condition that they took her direct to the convent
instead of to the palace of the Duchess of Alba, as had first
been intended. She was at once put to bed, and in spite of her
trials and exhaustion remarked that it was twenty years

LAST DAYS AND DEATH OF THE SAINT. 667
since she had gone to bed so early. The next morning she
arose at the usual hour, received Holy Communion, and for
some days longer, till September 29th, she attended some, at
least, of the community exercises. On the feast of St. Michael
she was forced to take to her bed, never to rise from it again.
The next day, Fra Antonio heard her confession. He begged
her to ask God to prolong her life. She answered that she Avas
no longer necessary to this world.
Later she gave advice to her religious filled with even
greater wisdom and unction than ever. On the eve of the
feast of St. Francis she received Holy Viaticum. While she
prepared herself she clasped her hands and said to those about
her: "My daughters forgive me the unworthy example I haA-e
given you, and do not learn from me who have been the
greatest sinner in the world."
As soon as she saw the Blessed Sacrament draAv near,
she seemed to become transfigured. Before this she had not
been able to move without the help of others. But she noAv
raised herself and would have sprang from the bed if the nuns
had not held her. Her countenance Avas made beautiful by
the love of her soul within. It exacted reverence from every
one present. Age and weakness had passed. The eternal
youth of this ardent lover of Christ had already asserted itself.
Her Beloved was about to come to her — to come to her as He
had never come before, and she exclaimed : "Oh, my Lord,
now is the time, noAv is the hour when Ave shall see each
other. My tender Lord behold the hour when I come. It is
time for me to leave this place of exile; time for my soul to
be made one Avith Thee ; to enjoy all that it has desired."
She gratefully declared that she Avas a true child of the
Church ; asked pardon for her sins and repeated passages from
the Scriptures, particularly the verses of the Miserere.
At nine o'clock the night before she died, she received
V Extreme Unction. The night was one of intense pain, but
with the morning came quiet and peace. Towards the evening
ofvThursday, October 4, (old style), 1582, Anne of St. Bar
tholomew, who had not left the Saint's room for the last two
days, brought her fresh linen, dressed the bed anew and
changed the Saint's clothing, even to her cap and ruffles. The
Saint was able to thank her with a sweet smile. She placed
her hand in that of Anne of St. Bartholomew and there it
rested until she died. [J. J. B.]

MAXIMS OF S. TERESA.

MAXIMS OF S. TERESA.1

1. Untilled ground, however rich, will bring forth
thistles and thorns ; so, also, the mind of man.
2. Speak Avell of all that is spiritual, such as religious,
priests, and hermits.
3. Let thy Avords be feAV when in the midst of many.
4. Be modest in all thy Avords and Avorks.
5. Never be obstinate, especially in things of no moment.
6. In speaking to others be always calm and cheerful.
7. Never make a jest of anything.
8. Never rebuke any one but Avith discretion, and humility,
and self-abasement. 9. Bend thyself to the temper of whomsoever is speaking
to thee: be merry Avith the mirthful, sorroAvful with the sad:
in a Avord, make thyself all things to all, to gain all.2
10. Never say anything thou hast not Avell considered and
earnestly commended to our Lord, that nothing may be
spoken Avhich shall be displeasing unto Him.
11. Never defend thyself unless there be very good
reasons for it.
12. Never mention anything concerning thyself which
men account praiseAvorthy, such as learning, goodness, birth,
unless Avith the hope of doing good thereby, and then let it
be done Avith humility, remembering that these are gifts of
God. 13. Never exaggerate, but utter thy mind in simplicity.
* These maxims are regarded as the writings of S. Teresa, though
no Vianuscript has been discovered that contains them, and nobody
seerr\ to have seen even a word of them in her handwriting. Their
autheNticity has never been doubted, but if it had been it might have
been suggested that they were not Avritten by the Saint, but given her
by one\)f her confessors of the Society of Jesus.
" I Corinth, ix. 22. (671)

672 BOOK OF THE foundations.
14. In all talking and conversation let something be
always said of spiritual things, and so shall all idle words and
evil-speaking be avoided.
15. Never assert anything Avithout being first assured of it.
16. Never come forward to give thine own opinion about
anything unless asked to do so, or charity requires it.
17. When any one is speaking of spiritual things do thou
listen humbly and like a learner, and take to thyself the good
that is spoken.
18. Make knoAvn to thy superior and confessor all thy
temptations, imperfections, and dislikes, that he may give thee
counsel and help thee to overcome them.
19. Do not stay out of thy cell, nor go forth from it with
out cause, and when thou goest forth beg of God the grace
not to offend him.
20. Never eat or drink except at the usual times, and then
give earnest thanks to God.
21. Do all thou doest as if thou didst really see His
Majesty: a soul makes great gains thereby.
22. Never listen to, or say, evil of any one except of thy
self, and when that gives thee pleasure thou art making great
progress. 23. Whatever thou doest, offer it up to God, and pray it
may be for His honour and glory.
24. In thy mirth refrain from immoderate laughter, and
let it be humble, modest, kindly, and edifying.
25. Imagine thyself always to be the servant of all, and
look upon all as if they Avere Christ our Lord in person; and
so shalt thou do Him honour and reverence.
26. Be ever ready to perform the duties of obedience, as if
Jesus, in the person of the prior or superior, had laid His
commands upon thee.
27. In all thy actions, and at every hour, examine thy con
science; and, having discerned thy faults, strive, by the help^
of God, to amend them, and by this way thou shalt attain
perfection. 28. Do not think of the faults of others, but of whj
good in them and faulty in thyself.
29. Desire earnestly always to suffer for God in/every
thing and on every occasion. /
30. Offer thyself unto God fifty times a day, and that with
great fervour and longing after God.

MAXIMS OF S. TERESA. 673
31. Call to mind continually throughout the day the
matter of the morning meditation: be very careful herein,
for it will do thee much good.
32. Lay up carefully Avhat our Lord may say to thee, and
act upon the desires He may have filled thee with in prayer.
33. Always avoid singularity to the utmost of thy poAver,
for it does great harm in a community.
34. Read often the rules and constitutions of the order,
and observe them in sincerity.
35. In all created things discern the providence and Avis-
dom of God, and in all things give Him thanks.
36. Withhold thy heart from all things : seek God, and
thou shalt find Him.
37. Do not show signs of devotion outAvardly when thou
hast none within, but thou mayest lawfully hide the want
thereof. 38. Let not thine inward devotion be visible unless in
great necessity : S. Francis and S. Bernard used to say, "My
secret is mine."1
39. Never complain of the food, Avhether it be well or ill
dressed; remembering the gall and vinegar of Jesus Christ.
40. Speak to no one at table, and lift not thine eyes to
another. 41. Think of the table of heaven, and of the food thereon
— God Himself: think of the guests, the angels: lift up thine
eyes to that table, longing for it.
42. In the presence of thy superior — thou art to see Jesus
Christ in him — utter not a word that is not necessary, and
that with great reverence.
43. Never do anything that thou canst not do in the pres
ence of all.
44. Do not compare one person Avith another: it is a hate
ful thing to do.
45. When rebuked for anything receive the rebuke Avith
'.inward and outward humility, and pray to God for the person
vvho gives the rebuke.
46. When one superior bids thee do a certain thing, do not
sayVthat another superior has given a contrary order ; but obey
in -what thou art commanded, and consider that the intentions
of all are good. 1 Is. xxiv. 16.

674 BOOK OF THE FOUNDATIONS.
47. Be not curious about matters that do not concern thee;
never speak of them, and do not ask about them.
48. Keep in mind thy past life and present lukeAvarmness,
to bewail them, and what is still wanting to thee for thy
going into heaven, that thou mayest live in fear, Avhich is a
source of great blessings.
49. What those in the house bid thee do do always, unless
it be against obedience ; and answer them humbly and gently.
50. Ask for nothing particular in the way of food or rai
ment, unless there be great need.
51. Never cease to humble and mortify thyself in all
things, even unto death.
52. Habitualjy make many acts of love, for they set the
soul on fire and make it gentle.
53. Make acts of all the other virtues.
54. Offer every thing to the Father EA'erlasting, in union
Avith the merits of His Son Jesus Christ.
55. Be kind to all and severe to thyself.
56. On the days kept in honour of the saints consider
their virtues, and beg the like of God.
57. Be very exact every night in thy examination of con
science. 58. The morning of communion remember in thy prayer
that thou art about to receive God, notwithstanding thy
Avretchedness ; and in thy prayer at night that thou hast
received Him.
59. Never Avhen in authority rebuke any one in anger,
but only Avhen anger has passed away ; and so shall the rebuke
bring forth good fruit.
60. Strive earnestly after perfection and devotion, and by
the help thereof thou shalt do all things.
61. Exercise thyself much in the fear of our Lord, for that
will make the soul contrite and humble.
62. Consider seriously how quickly people change, and
how little trust is to be had in them ; and cleave fast unto God,,
who changeth not. /
63. As to the affairs of thy soul, labour to have a con
fessor who is spiritual and learned, make them known unto
him, and abide by his judgment throughout. /
64. Each time of communion beg some gift of God, by
the compassion wherewith He has entered thy poor soul.
65. Though thou hast recourse to many saints as thine

MAXIMS OF S. TERESA.

675

intercessors, go specially to S. Joseph, for he has great power
with God.
66. In time of sorrow and of trouble cease not from the
good Avorks of prayer and penance Avhich thou art in the habit
of doing, for Satan is striving to make thee uneasy, and then to
abandon them; on the contrary, do thou apply thyself there
unto more earnestly than before, and thou shalt see quickly
our Lord will come to thy succour.
67. NeA'er make thy temptations and imperfections knoAvn
to those in the community whose progress is the least, for that
will hurt thyself and the others, but only to those most ad
vanced in perfection.
68. Remember that thou hast but one soul ; that thou canst
die but once ; that thou hast but one life, which is short, and
peculiar to thyself ; that there is but one blessedness, and that
for ever; and thou wilt despise many things.
69. Let thy desire be the vision of God, thy fear the loss
of Him, thy sorrow His absence, and thy joy in that which
may take thee to Him ; and thy life shall be in great peace.

APPENDIX.

APPENDIX.

NOTE 1.

The Avila portrait has the qualities of a decorative painting; it
lacks the modelling and softness of outline which characterize easel
painting in Spanish art. The Saint's attitude has no animation.
It suggests the portrait of a corpse.
The Seville portrait is reproduced from a copy made by M.
Hye Hoys from the original. It has none of the characteristics
described by de Ribera, so striking in the Avila portrait. The face
is relatively small; Saint Teresa is at prayer, her eyes raised to
heaven. The artist seems to have tried to improve upon the Avork
of Juan de la Miseria. The photograph, published in Paris, was
taken from the copy made by Becquer for the Duchess de Mont-
pensier. The Saragossa portrait is engraved from a photograph ordered
by M. Hye Hoys. The original is painted on wood.
The portraits engraved at Antwerp belong to the type of which
de Ribera said: "From this portrait (that painted by Juan de la
Miseria) have been taken all of any merit which we possess to-day."
(Vie de Ste. Therese, de Ribera. Bouix trans, pp. 351 et seq.)
The Frascati portrait reproduces the Avila type, but inexactly.
The copyist has somewhat changed the features of the original.

NOTE 2.
Avila, the chief town of the bleak and hilly district of Avila,
is built upon a granite promontory. It is surrounded by a belt of
crenallated walls, flanked by eighty-eight towers provided with machi
colations and barbicans. These walls date from the end of the
XI. century. (Historia de Avila, su Provinca y Obispado por D.
Juan Martin Carramolino, Madrid, liberia espanola 1872. Vol I.
page 434.) To see Avila from the view point of her mosf illus
trious child, Saint Teresa of Jesus, we leave it by the Adaja gate;
cross the bridge and climb the stony hillside overlooking the road
to Salamanca. There amid great granite blocks without vegetation,
by the aid of a map, one may follow the footsteps of the Saint from
her Birth until she went forth to establish the Reformed convents
in other parts of Spain. (679)

680 APPENDIX.
The headland on which the toAvn is built rises on the other side
of the river as above an amphitheatre between a rocky plain to the
north, and wide prairies to the south, while on the horizon are seen
the jagged peaks of the Avild Sierra Guadarama, covered Avith snow
the greater part of the year. From this height Avila looks majestic
crowned by the irregular mass of the Cathedra! with its triple row of
Moorish crenelles (Ibid. pp. 441 to 444), and the vast bulk of the
once royal Alcazar; loAver doAvn from amid the common dwellings,
the old palaces of the Cepedas, the Valedas, the Onates and the
Davilas stand out.
The suburbs are remarkable for sanctuaries dedicated to the
early apostles and martyrs, Saint Vincent, Saint Second, etc., and for
numerous convents mostly abandoned to-day but formerly homes of
holiness and Avisdom. With good reason Avila Avas known as the
Avila of saints and nobles.
The princes of this province chose Avila for their court not only
because it offered a strong strategic position, but because of their
confidence in the loyalty of its nobility (Ibid. vol. i. pp. 451-454).
The monument of the "Four Columns" stands a quarter of a mile
from the town on the road to Salamanca and dates from the XII.
century. It Avas erected to serve as a shelter for pilgrims who desired
to rest on their Avay to the oratory of Saint Leonard. (Historia de
Avila, por Carramolino, vol. ii. p. 318.) Here Saint Teresa and her
brother Rodrigo, on their Avay to martyrdom among the Moors, were
met by their uncle, Francisco Alvarez de Cepeda, who took them
back to their sorrowing parents (Vie de Ste. Therese, de Ribera, Bouix,
trans, p. 10 and Reforma de los Descalgos, vol. i. p. 21).
The inscription on the memorial tablet in the wall of St. Teresa's
apartment is as follows: "This oratory dedicated to the Mother of
God Avas formerly the most happy apartment Avhere Avas born and
brought up the seraphic and illustrious virgin Saint Teresa, Avho
was chosen by Jesus Himself as His beloved spouse and who became
the august foundress and mistress of the Reformed Carmelites.''

NOTE 3.
This baptismal font, in the form of a goblet, is holloAved from a
granite monolith. It stands upon a pedestal carved with the shield
of the Reformed Carmelites. On the wall is a rough painting shown
in No. 3 of this Plate. The inscription reads: "Teresa, born March ,
28, was regenerated in the holy water of baptism on the eve of the
nones of April, 1515." /
These houses in the Plazuela de los Cepedas were formerly
occupied by members of St. Teresa's family; the quarterings of Cepeda
and of Davila can be seen in the shields on the facades, or carvetl on
the pillars of the patio. /
The paternal mansion of Saint Teresa no longer exists; it/ stood
opposite the Don Antonio Vela Gate, noAv known as the Saint's

APPENDIX. 681
Gate. (Historia de Avila, por Carramolino, vol. i. p. 448.) The room,
hoAvever, has been preserved in which Teresa first saw the light of
day, and also the part of the garden in Avhich she and her brother
Rodrigo vainly tried to build hermitages (Qiuvres de Ste. Therese,
Bouix trans. a-o1. i. p. 14.)
A hospital adjoins the church of Mosen Rubi de Bracamonte;
both bear the name of their Foundress. In this church Saint Teresa
had an intervieAv Avith Saint Peter of Alcantara (CEuvres de Ste.
Thercse, Bouix trans, vol. i. p. 365).
The portraits of Juan de Ovalle, of Juana de Ahumada and of
their son Gonsalo are engraved upon their monument in the church
of the Carmelites at Alba. The inscription on the tomb of lago
Misia y Cepeda at Avila reads: 'Here lies Don lago Misia y Cepeda,
Chevalier of the order of Saint lago, died April 8, 1627, and of Doha
Maria Ovalle y Valdebieso, his wife, died October 9, 1630."

NOTE 4.
In memory of Saint Teresa the statue of Our Lady of Charity
was formerly carried every year, on the eve of the Saint's feast day,
from the oratory near the Adaja bridge to the Cathedral. Next
morning it was carried by the chapter in procession to the convent
of Discalced Carmelites; in the evening it Avas returned to the chapel
by the Confraternity of Saint Teresa.
The Augustinian convent was built in 1509; the church occupies
the site of an ancient mosque. Saint Thomas of Villanova, later
Archbishop of Valencia, was Rector of this convent. (Reforma de los'
Descalgos, vol. i. p. 26 and Historia de Avila, Carramolino, vol. i. pp.
537 et seq.)
Maria de Brizeno was born in 1498. She was daughter of Don
Gonsalvo Brizeno and of Dona Brigitta Contreras; illustrious names
in the aristocracy of Avila. She entered religion in 1514 and died
in 1592. A miraculous event is recorded in connection with this sister
shortly before the arrival at school of the child Avho was to immortalize
the name of Ahumada. While the community were gathered together
for prayer a light appeared in the form of a star; after having floated
around the choir it paused above Maria Brizeno and disappeared into
, her breast. When Alfonso de Cepeda brought his daughter to the
convent the Superior gave her into the care of this religious, who
was the Directress of Pupils. (Reforma de los Descalgos, vol. i. pp. 26
et seq.) This memorable incident is perpetuated in an allegorical
pairiting in the Church of the Augustinians; below is written in
Spanish, "This picture represents Saint Teresa at the period of her
schoo\ life in the convent of Grace; and her venerable teacher,
Dona \Maria Brizeno, a religious of the most exemplary virtue."
Above are two angels, one 'of whom says, "Teresa, thou shalt learn
in the house of Saint Augustine to know thy vocation." The other,

6S2 APPENDIX.
who holds the Rule of the Reformed Carmelites, says, "Teresa, go
thou and found convents.'' Almost opposite this painting, beside the
choir grille, stands the confessional Avhich was in use in the time of
our Saint; it is called for this reason, the Confessional of Saint
Teresa. The monastery of the Mitigated Carmelites was founded in 1378.
The tombs of the Henao, Nunez and Davila families, akin to Saint
Teresa, Avere formerly to be seen here. The Saint in her "Life"
eulogizes a religious of this convent, Fr. lago Matthias, (ch. xxxviii.
§40). The property of La Serna Avas bought by Lorenzo de Cepeda on
his return from Peru. He died there in 1580, (Reforma de los descalgos,
vol. i. pp. 12 et seq.). At the end of the last century the place was
turned into a factory Avhich existed until the sacking of Avila
by the French in the War of Independence. Now it forms part
of the Verdugos estate.
The shield of Lorenzo de Cepeda is carved and painted upon
his tomb in the chapel in the Discalced Carmelite church at Avila.

NOTE 5.
A "Noria" is an instrument used in Spain in the irrigation of
gardens. St. Teresa mentions it in her "Life" in speaking of the
mystical Avatering of the soul (ch. xi. § 11).
The doorway of the outer court of the monastery of the Incarna
tion (with the exception of a brick restoration above) as also the
crenallated granite Avails, date to all appearance from the
period of the foundation; therefore they must have Avitnessed the
entrance of the Saint.
Above the entrance to the church are carved three coats of arms;
in the middle, in Avhite marble, is that of the Mitigated Carmelites,
those on either side belong probably to the founders. A little
higher up is an Annunciation, roughly sculptured in Avhite marble,
probably of the XVII. century. The door is studded with large nails
with decorated heads, a style of ornamentation very common in
ancient Spain.
The statue of Our Lady of Pity is of Oriental type, the face being
surrounded by a sort of ruff of green velvet, embroidered in gold.
It stands above a huge retable which is ornamented with twisted ,
columns and sculptures in burnished gilt; this retable surmounts the/
altar at the back of the upper choir. The Bollandists in their Acta
S. Teresiee give a rather imperfect sketch of it. /
The vision of Our Lord carrying His cross is commemorated
in a painting hung above the staircase. /
The painting of Our Lord fastened to the column, without /ques
tion the most interesting in the monastery, was executed in/ 1569,
as is proved by the scroll in the lower corner, and restored in 1715.
It occupies the middle of the wall, on the left of the entrance door.

APPENDIX. 683
The inscription on it from the Psalms is, "I haA-e been afflicted all
the day long."
The door of the cell of Transverberation is considered a relic.
It gives access to-day to a little oratory reserved for novices.
The monument made of the pine wood of the cell is pyramidal
in form. Its natural colour has been preserved. It supports statues
of Saint Teresa kneeling and of Saint John of the Cross.
The inscription on the tomb of Francesco del Aguila reads:
"Here lies the magnificent lady Dona Francesco del Aguila, Avho
was Prioress of this monastery, and died the last day of September
in the year of grace MDXLVI." This slab is in the lower choir;
it is encased in the flooring which was laid at a later period. The
draAving of the vision of St. John of the Cross is enclosed in a
reliquary which also contains one of his bones. The Latin inscrip
tion is: "John, Avhat desirest thou in return for thy labours?" "Lord,
to suffer and to be despised for Thee." The translation of the Spanish
motto about the crjcifix is "This is drawn by Fr. John of the Cross."
An account of the vision Avhich this draAving commemorates can be
found in the Vie de Saint Jean de la Croix, by Fr. Dosithee de St.
Alexis, Paris, 1872, vol. ii. p. 261, or in the Life of the Saint by Ernest
Razy, Tournai, 1861, p. 178.
The habit of the Mitigated Carmelites differs a little from that of
the Reformed. Artists usually sin against historic accuracy in giving
to Saint Teresa in the scenes of her life before the Reformation
the habit of the Discalced Carmelites, when she should wear that of
the Mitigated Rule. The cloak is shorter and a portion of the veil
falls over the forehead.

NOTE 6.
The armchair in St. Thomas' church associated with Saint Peter
of Alcantara and Saint Teresa is hung from the roof by chains at
the end of the western nave. On the back of the seat are carved in
low relief two fawns Avith a vase of lilies between them; this decora
tion would seem to place the chair in the Byzantine epoch.
This Dominican monastery was built in 1482 to 1493 by the
Catholic kings at the suggestion of the famous Torquemada, first
Inquisitor General for the Kingdom (Historia de Avila, Carramolino,
vol. i. p. 512). The older portions of the monastery and church
are beautiful specimens of Castillian Gothic.
In the monastery of the Incarnation aboA-e the window Avhere
the nuns received communion was a picture commemorating a miracle
with which Saint Teresa was favoured at Salamanca in 1571, but
the artist was mistaken in representing Our Lord Himself as giving
the Host to His well-beloved. The inscription below reads: "Our
holy Mother communicated in this place on Palm Sunday, and her
mouth was filled with blood which also covered her face. Our Lord
said to her, 'My daughter, I desire that My blood shall profit thee.

684 APPENDIX. 1 :" " 1
Do not fear that My mercies shall ever fail thee.' " (CEuvres dc Ste.
Therisc, Bouix, vol. i. p. 586; and Escritos de Sta. Teresa, de la Fuente,
vol. i. pp. 154, note, 156.)
The monastery of Maria of Jesus was founded at Alcala de
Henares, July 23, 1563, eleven months after Saint Teresa's first
foundation; Dona Eleonora de Mascarefias, former governess of
Philip II., gave for this purpose a house and a church belonging to her.
The church contained a very beautiful statue of the Blessed Virgin
which caused these Discalced Carmelites to be called "Of the Image"
(CEuvres de Ste. Therese, Bouix, vol. i. p. 467, note, and Reforma de
los Descalgos, vol. i. p. 208).

NOTE 7.
In the year 1560 some of Saint Teresa's relatives, among them her
niece Maria de Ocampo, then in the floAver of her youth and filled
with the pride of life, were gathered together in her cell. They talked
of the advantages of a stay at the Incarnation, and jokingly pro
nounced retirement in so large and cheerful a community far from
disagreeable. Suddenly Dofia Maria de Ocampo broke into the
conversation by saying very seriously, "Let us all go together and
lead a more secluded life, as the hermits did." This suggestion, so
surprising, coming from a young girl absorbed in the pleasures of the
moment, Avas Avell received by all the company. Going from one
idea to another they planned a little monastery for a limited number
of nuns. Such a providential and unexpected conversation corre
sponded to Teresa's most secret thoughts and intimate longings, for
she was already athirst for penance, and her soul pined for solitude.
The outcome of this suggestion was St. Joseph's, Avila.
The ancient chapel may be seen to the left of the present chapel,
within the iron grille. It is a small building, rectangular in form, and
has been, altered in keeping with the neAV church. Adjoining the.
original chapel, dedicated to-day to St. Paul, stood at the beginning
of the XVI. century a church remarkable for its beauty.. A statue
of St. Joseph in white marble surmounted the entrance. In his left
hand the Saint held the blossoming staff, and with the right led the
Infant Jesus, who carried a saw. The great Reformer of the Car
melites always had the holy Patriarch' represented thus. This par
ticular, is. worthy of note by those interested in religious iconography,
for Saint Teresa received direct from Heaven the mission of propa
gating the cult of Saint Joseph in the western world.
In 1564, Gian Battisto Rossi, a native of Ravenna, was chosen
as General of the Carmelites. His name was latinized into Ru'oeo
according to the custom of the times (Escritos de Sta. Teresa, de la
Fuente, vol. i. p. 182, note, and Reforma de los Descalgos, vol. j. pp.
209 and 213), . , /
The hermitages in the garden of St. Joseph were the scenes o?
some of the Saint's most noted visions. The vision commemorated by.

APPENDIX. 685
the painting in the hermitage of Christ bound to the column took
place, however, in the parlour of the monastery of the Incarnation.
Our Lord appeared there to Saint Teresa Avhile she Avas engaged in
conversation and showed her His arm covered Avith Avounds received
during the flagellation. In the hermitage of Nazareth, the Saint
had the vision of the Holy Ghost described in chapter xxxviii. of the
"Life"; here also she received the four commands for the Religious
of her Order. The Spanish inscription on the Avail reads: ''Our sainted
Mother, Teresa of Jesus, Avhile at prayer in this hermitage of Nazareth,
the eve of Pentecost, 1579, received from Our Lord the order to give
her children from Him the four following recommendations:
1. "That there shall be conformity of opinion among Superiors.
2. "That no matter hoAV numerous the houses, there shall ahvays
be but a small number of Religious in each.
3. "That they shall have but slight communication Avith seculars
except for the good of their souls.
4. "That they shall teach more by their deeds than their words.
"If these injunctions are faithfully observed the Order will always
increase; if they fail in them they shall lose their primitive zeal.
Teresa de Jesus." (See Relation, x.)
This hermitage also contains a painting of the Holy House of
Nazareth which Avas placed over the altar by her.
Lorenzo de Cepeda, after passing thirty-four years in Peru,
returned in 1575 to settle in Spain Avith his children. In his will
he left a legacy of money to the Carmelites of Saint Joseph at Avila,
with the clause that they should erect a chapel in their church in
honour of his patron saint, in AA-hich he should be buried (Lettres de
Ste. Thircse, Bouix, vol. iii. p. 207). His epitaph reads: "Lorenzo de
Cepeda, died June 26, 15S0. He is the founder of this chapel; the
brother of the Holy Foundress of this convent, and of all the Discalced
Carmelites." Gaspar Daza reposes here also in his chapel but his grave is
unmarked. The epitaphs of his mother and sister are as follows;
"Here reposes Dona Francisca Daza, mother of the founder of this
chapel; she died March 24, 1571. And also her daughter Caterina
Daza; she died September 20, 1581."
The first Barefoot Carmelites asked the Saint's permission to
wear undershirts of serge Avhich should be as penetential as haircloth;
but this serge Avas found to harbour vermin. To obtain deliverance
from this annoyance the Religious Avent in procession, carrying a
crucifix shown in Plate vi., and singing hymns composed for the
purpose. Since then they have never had any trouble from this
.cause (Escritos de Sta. Teresa, de la Fuente, vol. i. p. 516). The Latin
inscription on the crucifix is: "At the name of Jesus -every knee
should bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under
tht\ earth."

6S6 APPENDIX. NOTE 8.
The portrait of Fr. Baltasar Alvarez was copied in 1862 from an
ancient painting in the Jesuit College at Salamanca, representing St.
Teresa conferring Avith him.
Fr. Baltasar Alvarez, had become Rector of the Jesuit College
at Medina del Campo, and assisted Saint Teresa in this her second
foundation. He obtained the consent of the municipal authorities
and of the ecclesiastical vicar, for Medina belonged to no diocese.
In Spain various towns formerly enjoyed the privilege of exemption;
these cities and their districts were governed by a Vicar, appointed
sometimes by the military authorities, sometimes by the people.
Medina by means of her celebrated fairs had created for herself
a remarkable position; she was free from all taxation, and the inhabi
tants had the right of nomination to all offices, Avhether political or
ecclesiastical. Hence the origin of the device inscribed upon the
orle about her shield, "Ni el Papa beneficio, ni el Rey oficio." (Les
Dclices de L'Espagne et du Portugal, par Don Juan Alvarez, de Col-
menar. Leyden, 1707, vol. i., p. 168.)
The Jesuit College Avas founded in 1551 by Rodrigo de Duenas;
the church is now parochial and under the patronage of St. lago.
The monastery of St. Anne, of the Mitigated Rule, is now rented
out in tenements. The church, a large and solid building, is still
standing but emptied of everything transportable.
The corner of the Discalced monastery on the Calle St. lago
formed the hotel de Quiroga. In the ancient monastery, Avhich is
entered by the second door, there are some very old mural paintings
which have been retouched; they recall those attributed to Fra. Juan
de la Miseria in other houses of the Order.
The tower to the left of the monastery belonged to the hotel
of the Duena family, well known in Flanders. Stephen de Duena
married Isabella Hoys at Ostend in 16S0 and became burgomaster of
that town. (Archives of the city of Ostend.)
The first page of St. Teresa's breviary contains a prayer invoking
the intercession of St. Joseph, and several annotations concerning
indulgences, written by the hand of Fr. Rubeo. The Carmelites of
Lisbon possess another breviary of St. Teresa's of the same edition
as that at Medina; she used this one during her last years, according
to a note by Fr. Jerome Gratian. These two breviaries each contain
notes in St. Teresa's handwriting.
The needlework attributed to St. Teresa and preserved at Medina,
Toledo, Seville, and Genoa testifies to her dexterity. A proof that
she appreciated artistic handiwork is found in one of her letters to ¦.
Maria de St. Joseph; "Your presents are truly charming. The Prioress/
of Segovia, (Isabel of St. Dominic) has sent me a chalice cover; it is
Avorked entirely in chain stitch, and embossed with seed pearls a.hd
small garnets. The labour alone is valued at thirty ducats." (Letires
de Ste. Therese, Bouix, vol. ii. p. 268.) /
The chalice veil is very similar to that preserved in the convent
of St. Anne at Genoa. They both belong to the order of needlework
known as netting.

APPENDIX. 687
The tomb of Agnes of Jesus is built into the wall, below an arched
embrasure with an ancient mural painting. In the centre St. Teresa
is handing the primitive Rule and the Constitution to the kneeling
Prioress. The scroll proceeding from the Saint's mouth reads, "Semper
vigila, in omnibus labora, ministerium imple." Tim. c. iv., v. 5. On
the sides of the arch are four subjects from the life of Agnes of Jesus.
The inscription on the tomb reads, "Here lies buried the body of our
venerable Mother, Agnes of Jesus, first Prioress of this house, and
cousin german to our sainted Mother Teresa of Jesus. She died
April 20, 1601."

NOTE 9.
When the first house given by Doha Luisa de la Cerda proved
unsuitable, and St. Teresa was looking for another site for the
monastery, she turned from one saying it AA-as reserved for the Fran
ciscans. Several years later the Alcantarist Franciscans built a
monastery there. Going in the other direction, to the southward,
she passed through an olive orchard and saAV in one of the trees a
dove of singular whiteness; she immediately designated the grove as
the place to bui!d. Her royal friend gave her full permission to build
and furnish as she liked; authorizing her to make all contracts with
the architects. This is proved by the original design for the building,
preserved with the titles of the foundation in a thrice-locked chest.
These papers, which bear the signatures of Saint Teresa, are accom
panied by more legible copies.
The Saint returned to Malagon November 24, 1579, (Escritos de
Sta. Teresa, de la Fuente, vol. i. p. 14), intending to transfer her nuns
to their new home, but the Avorkmen declared that there was stilt
six months of Avork to be done before it Avould be habitable. Teresa
Avas exhausted Avith the fatigues of the journeys; the roads had been
very bad, she had passed sleepless nights, and was suffering from
severe pains throughout her body. In spite of these drawbacks she
rose the next day very early, went to look at the house, and told
the workmen that they must have the building finished by the eve
of the Immaculate Conception. Astonished, they cried with one
voice that the thing was impossible. But Teresa had her way; she
directed the work, encouraging and assisting; she gave the example
of being first on the scene in the morning, a broom in one hand and
her rush work-basket (or cabas) in the other. (Vie de Ste. Therese,
Bouix, pp. 160 et seq.) The nuns of this monastery have steadily
refused any alteration which might improve its comfort, lest they
should change the arrangements made by their revered Mother, nor
will \hey replace the floors and furniture, which are as she left them.
T\he market-place formerly stood between the castle and the
parish\church, but the village has shifted its position, and the former
site or the monastery is noAv a ploughed field. A large enclosure
contained the church, the monastery, the barns for the harvest from

688 APPENDIX.
the olive orchards and Avheat fields belonging to the monastery, the
bakery and the oil-presses; also a good-sized hospital which was
used to lodge the chaplain and the Avorkmen employed by the Car
melites, also the Friars of the Order, Avho frequently passed through
Malagon on their Avay from Toledo to Andalusia.
This is a small brick monument, the interior adorned with a
painting of St. Teresa. Indulgences are granted to whoever recites
a Pater and an Ave before the image of the Saint or merely salutes
her in passing.
On the blade of this knife used for cutting the Hosts are these
words: "I belong to St. Teresa of Jesus." The hosts cut by this
knife are very large, as the Saint preferred that they should be.
Their diameter is nearly two inches.
St. Teresa's cell at Malagon has been made into an oratory, but
here, in contrast to the other monasteries, care has been taken to
preserve the door, the AvindoAV, the shutters, and in fact everything
Avhich existed in the Mother's time. Repairs have been made with
a view to preserving the original character of the room. The Avails,
which still retain traces of bloodstains, Avitnesses to the Saint's discip
lining of herself, are hung Avith red damask. An altar, richly adorned
Avith carving and gilding, was placed here in the middle of the last
century, the gift of the Duchess of Veragua. Above the reredos
is a fine statue of the Seraphic Mother, seated in an armchair belong
ing to Luisa- de Ia Cerda, according to tradition. The Saint is rep
resented writing at a very Ioav desk, raised on supports in order
to bring it to the height of her elbow. The statue's face is turned
tOAvard the door, as though she Avere surprised by the entrance of a
A-isitor. The key of the cell and those of the outer door of the monas
tery have been hung from her belt; they date from the time of the
foundation and are noAv too old for use.
Anne of St. Augustine Avas born at Valladolid, December 11, 1547.
Her pious parents, Juan de Perduja Rebolledo and Madelina Perez
de Arguello, soon realized that God had given a little angel into
their keeping. When only four she talked with the Infant Jesus,
and the Saints, and found all her pleasure in arranging altars for them.
At six she was Avrapt in contemplation of the highest order, and at
ten made a vow of perpetual virginity. At seventeen she was placed
as maid of honour with Dona Luisa de Padilla, the oldest daughter of
the Adelantado of Castille. In this model palace Anne found all the
fervour of the days of the primitive Church, and all the sanctity of
the cloister. Finally, in 1547, the doors of Mount Carmel opened for
this lover of the Lord. Free to enter the monasteries of Medina del/
Campo, Valladolid or Malagon, she chose the last because she should
there be at the greatest distance from her kindred and all she held
dear. (CEuvres de Ste. Therese, Bouix, vol. ii. pp. 122-5 and Reforma
de los Descalgos, vol. iv. pp. 404-411.) /
The reliquary containing the finger of Anne of St. Augustine is
in a little chest in which Saint Teresa used to carry a small statue of
St. Joseph . from one convent to another. This statue was/called
in the order San Jose del Patrocinio. At the time of the pro-

APPENDIX. 689
scription of the Religious Orders it was at the monastery of St.
Hermenegild, Discalced Carmelites, at Madrid; since then it has
disappeared. The venerated Anne of St. Augustine founded the monastery of
Villanueva de la Jara.

NOTE 10.
Several autograph letters of St. Teresa are preserved in the
monastery at Valladolid. They were closed by means of rectangular
seals of Avax. The impressions are three in number; tAvo Avith the
monogram of Christ, the third a death's head. (Lettres de Ste Therese,
Bouix, vol. ii. p. 175.) These impressions have been carefully measured
and are reproduced here in their original size. De la Fuente mentions
four different seals used by the Saint, in the collection at Valladolid,
tAvo with the monogram of Jesus, slightly differing, and tAvo distinct
death's heads. (Escritos de Sta. Teresa, de la Fuente, vol. L p. xv.)
Mr. Hye Hoys thinks that these trifling variations must have escaped
his eye. The cross of St. Teresa's rosary Avas formed of four oblong
beads, dark in colour, and about 2yi inches long by 2 inches wide.
It Avas formerly preserved in the Carmelite monastery at Valladolid,
in a silver reliquary, pyramidal in form. Later, it Avas given to the
Discalced Carmelites of the same city, AA-ho kept it until the Civil
War of 1836. It then disappeared, Avith many other precious objects,
in the pillage which folloAved an encounter between the Christinas and
the Carlists. These details were given to Mr. Hye Hoys by Fr.
Antonio Gomez, a Discalced Friar who lived for a long time in the
convent at Valladolid (See Life, ch. xxix. § 8).
St. Teresa Avrote her Way of Perfection twice over. The first
version was made during the years 1563 to 1567, that is during the
five years immediately folloAving the foundation of St. Joseph at
Avila. She had founded several other monasteries in the interval
before she resumed her pen, as is indicated by the words at the
head of the second manuscript: "This book treats of the advice
given by Teresa of Jesus to the nuns of the monasteries Avhich she
has founded." The earlier autograph is preserved at the Escurial,
the second is with the Carmelites at Valladolid (CEuvres de Ste. Therise,
Bouix, vol. iii. p. L and Bollandists Acta Stce. Teresice, p. 344).
In 1577 Don Alvaro de Mendoza was transferred from the see
.of Avila to that of Palencia, and began at once to endeavour to in
troduce the Reformed Rule into his new diocese. He had the satis
faction of receiving the Discalced Nuns at Palencia in 1580; on
May 4 of the following year the Discalced Carmelites established
theriaselves provisionally near Valladolid (Valladolid at that time
formed part of the diocese of Palencia) and in January, 1583, they were
installed in a country house about a mile from the city. (Reforma de
los Descalgos, vol. i. pp. 767 et seq.).

690 APPENDIX.
NOTE 11.
Antonio of Jesus belonged to the house of Heredia, one of the
most pious of the province of Biscay; his mother who came from
Valencia was of the des Ferrer family which gave to the Order of St.
Dominic, and the Church, a great apostle and saint. He entered the
Carmelite Order very young, was valued for his wisdom and virtue,
and received important charges. He Avas fifty-eight years old when,
Avith admirable fervour in a man of his age, he joined the standard
of the Reformed Rule, just introduced by St. Teresa. He was of
immense service to the Reform, and died April 22, 1601, in his
ninety-second year (Reforma de los Descalgos, vol. iii. pp. 329-341, and
CEuvres de Ste. Therese, Bouix, vol. ii. pp. 189-191).
This church Avas destroyed during the Civil War of 1836. Nothing
now remains but the foundations.
The garden at Mancera is separated from the monastery by the
road. The Fathers after a certain time, realizing the poverty of the
village and its neighbourhood, and desiring to found a monastery
of the Order in the Reformer's native city, induced the General of
the Discalced to decree the transfer of the monastery to Avila.
At the time of the suppression of the Religious Orders in 1836,
the ancient monastery of Discalced Carmelites at Mancera was
occupied by the Minims of St. Francis de Paul, and the Vic-
torianos. The beauty of the building facing on the road, Avith its coats
of arms, leads one to suppose that it Avas once part of the mansion
of Don Luis de Toledo, lord of the village. In 1600 the monastery
was moved to Avila. Finally, after three successive moves in the
city, the Discalced Monks settled themselves upon the site of the
paternal mansion of Saint Teresa. (Reforma de los Descalgos, vol. iii.
2S9-292.) This dwelling which deserved the veneration of the cen
turies had fallen into the most deplorable condition; it had served as
a barracks, as a theatre, and as a stable for bulls for the ring (Reforma
de los Descalgos, vol. v. p. 372). Thanks to the active interest of
Don Francisco Marques Gazetta, Bishop of AA-ila, the Order ulti
mately succeeded in buying it. The Father General laid the earner
stone of the church October 15, 1629; the 19th of March following,
Feast of Saint Joseph, was chosen to begin the building of the
monastery. The Avhole was completed in 1636 (Ibid, vol. v. pp.
504-509). There is a statue of St. Teresa in white marble above the main
door of the church. The arms beside it are those of the patron of
the monastery, the Duke of Olivarez; those on the right are of the
Reformed Carmelites, on the left of the Reformer herself. The/
church consists of a large nave and of a transept with a dome. Ther/e
are four side chapels. Also the oratory of Our Lady of Mount
Carmel and that dedicated to St. Teresa, which adjoins the riight
transept and is built upon the site of the room where the Saint was
born. The painting of Our Lady of Solitude is now in St. Teresa's
Oratory above the door of a little sacristy, where are kept various

APPENDIX. 691
objects once belonging to the Saint, among them the sandal sole
illustrated in Figure 2.
Her crucifix is placed in a small glass chest now on the altar
in this Oratory. Several Bishops of Avila have accorded indulgences
to the faithful Avho recite a Pater or a Credo before this crucifix.

NOTE 12.
The sketches of the hermitages near Cordova Avere made in 1845,
while they were still inhabited; they may give an idea of the one
at Tardon, also situated in the Sierra Morena, and occupied by
Ambrosio Mariano and his companion before they entered the Car
melite Order (CEuvres de Ste. Therese, Bouix, vol. ii. p. 215).
Juana de Ahumada, St. Teresa's sister, gave birth in 1560 to a
daughter who was christened Beatrix. She Avas naturally proud and
vain, but thanks to the pious care Avith Avhich she was instructed,
the spirit of religion greAV in her and rooted itself deeply in her
heart. Yet she felt a distaste for the religious life amounting to aver
sion. Teresa who knew supernaturally the designs of God for her
niece, predicted that her nature Avould undergo a great change.
"You can do what you please, Beatrix" she said to her, "but you will
be a Barefooted Carmelite.'' This prophecy was not fulfilled until
after the death of the Saint. During the solemn novena which the
Duchess of Alba, Maria of Toledo, caused to be celebrated at the
tomb of the great Reformer, Beatrix spent much time kneeling beside
the virginal body of her aunt. It was then she heard God's calL
She entered the monastery of Alba and there made her profession.
She was successively Prioress at Ocafia, at Toledo, and at Madrid,
and everyAvhere accomplished much good. She died at Madrid,
in 1639 (Reforma de los Descalgos, vol. v. pp. 700-718 and Bollandists
Acta Sanctce Teresice, p. 14F. and p. 23S).
During the night of December 3, 1577, the Observant Friars kid
napped St. John of the Cross, then chaplain to the nuns of the
Incarnation at Avila, and carried him off secretly to their monastery
in Toledo, on the bank of the Tagus. He was kept shut up there
for nine months, and none of his friends knew what had become of
him. This is what St. Teresa calls the "charming away'' of Fr. John
of the Cross. (Lettres de Ste. Therese, Bouix, vol. ii. 429, and vol. iii.
pp. 1-8.) The monastery Avas partly destroyed during the Avar of
^.Independence, and was entirely demolished during the last revolution.

NOTE 13.

The portrait of the Prince of Eboli is taken from the historical
paintings which formerly adorned the cloister of the Discalced Friars
at Pastrana.

692 APPENDIX.
The Princess of Eboli ahvays wore a patch over her right eye.
History does not tell us why. This portrait Avas engraved in the
Iconografia Espanola, by V. Carderera. '
Pastrana, the former capital of the duchy of that name, is situated
on the slope of a mountain covered Avith orchards of olives and figs
and cherries. The inhabitants, formerly occupied Avith commerce and
business interests, are to-day an agricultural people.
In 1576 the Conceptionist nuns established themselves in the build
ing A-acated by the Carmelites and still occupy it. (Recuerdos
Teresianos en Espaiia, por M. P. Y. C. (Mariona Perez y Cuenca)
Madrid 1871, p. 16.)
The crucifix of the famous penitent Catarina of Cardona, Avhose
story is told by St. Teresa, is of brass about tAvelve inches long,
and is noAv mounted on a pedestal. When the night fixed for her
flight into the desert came, her Divine Master encouraged her by a
prodigious miracle. The crucifix, which she Avore about her neck,
suddenly lifted itself up and said to her, "FoIIoav me." She folloAved
it to a Avindow on the ground floor, and although this AvindoAV Avas
closed and barred with iron, Catarina found herself standing in the
street outside without knowing how she got there.
On the tomb of Fr. Rubeo (Rossi) at Rome is this epitaph,
"To the Rev. Fr. Giovanni Battisto Rubeo, of RaA-enna, General of
the Carmelite Order, illustrious by his birth, his holiness and his wis
dom. He governed his Order for sixteen years, and enriched it with
privileges obtained from Pope Gregory XIII. He lived seventy years,
and died in the year 1578." The inscription on the tomb of Nicholas
Doria reads: "Here lies the Venerable Fr. Nicholas of Jesus Maria of
Genoa. He belonged to the very noble family of Doria, but Avas still
more illustrious for his Christian virtues. First General of the Re
formed Carmelites, he was a model for all Generals and all prelates.
Sixtus V. and Philip II. heaped honours upon him. After presiding
nine years over his regenerated Order, after strengthening it in holi
ness by admirable laAvs, he died full of merits at Alcala de Henares,
May, 1594, aged 55 years. His bones, transported to this place, by
knocking against each other as he predicted, have preached to the
Religious the observance of the Rule. Amen."
The last sentence alludes to a sermon preached by Fr. Nicholas
before the Chapter of Pastrana in which he cried out that he hoped
after his death his bones Avould knock against each other in his
coffin and thus demand still the observance of the Rule. This hope
he expressed again before his death (Reforma de los Descalgos, vol. ii. ,
pp. 170-688). /
The escutcheon of Pastrana is carved upon the southern gate <tff
the city.

NOTE 14.
The hermitage given to St. Teresa by Ambrosio Mariano for her
friars lay in a large estate in the midst of which stood a 'chapel
dedicated to the Prince of the Apostles. Not far from the chapel

APPENDIX. 693
could be found a deserted hut Avhich Avas occupied by a flock of Avild
doves; and which Avas for this reason called the dove-cote. This
dove-cote and some buildings hastily constructed by Fr. Antonio de
Jesus, Prior of the monastery at Duruelo, proA'ided the monks Avith
lodging. One of the first cares of Fr. Antonio was to provide a good
water supply to obviate the inconvenience of going to the springs
in the valley, and permit the irrigation of slopes of the hill Avhich Avere
well adapted to the cultivation of vegetables and fruit. Ambrosia
Mariano, whose knowledge of hydraulic engineering had already
been made use of by Philip II. at Aranjuez (Reforma de los Descalgos,
vol. iii. p. 23), brought an excellent stream of Avater from Pastrana.
(Ibid. vol. i. pp. 310 et seq.) This spring still exists, and supplies a
public drinking fountain. Saint Peter's chapel stood about three
hundred paces above the dove-cote; access Avas difficult, especially
in Avinter. Fr. Mariano Avho Avas a clever engineer, excavated some
natural caverns in the hillside, and made chambers which could be
used as a refectory, kitchen, etc.; he then united the chapel to the
dove-cote by means of" a subterranean corridor, lighted by shafts.
It Avas done in the roughest and simplest manner. (Reforma de los
Descalgos, vol. i. p. 311.) At the end of the XVI. century an earth
quake destroyed the caverns, and the present church and monastery
were then built on the summit of the hill, and consecrated in January,
1600. (Recuerdos Teresianos en Espana, M. P. Y. C, p. 20.) The
ancient doA'e-cote Avas made into an oratory to replace the demolished
chapel (Reforma de los Descalgos, vol. i., p. 312). The situation of
this new Carmel Avas admirably chosen. It overlooks the junction
of three valleys: that to the north is fertile and populous, and
descends tOAvards Pastrana, about a mile aAvay; the second, to the
eastward, is wild and solitary; the third, Avhich runs soutrnvard is
lonely and not Avithout a certain grandeur. The hillsides overlooking
these valleys are planted Avith olives, pines and other evergreens
(Reforma de los Descalgos, \o\. i. p. 309).
After 1602 this monastery Avas the seat of the General Chapters
of the Order in Spain. (Ibid. vol. iii. p. 397.) The Carmelite friars
Avere expelled in 1836, and their home Avas given to the Alcantarists
in 1855 for the erection of a college for missionaries to the Philip
pines. These Religious pulled doAvn the cloister and added some
neAv buildings to the old edifice.
The picture in St. Peter's Oratory, the former dove-cote, bears
this inscription: "Juan Gimenez, an inhabitant of Pastrana, a simple
peasant and a servant of God, endowed Avith the gift of prophecy,
predicted the foundation of this monastery. He said in the presence
of several persons of the town who Avere going in procession to this
chapel and this dove-cote, "Do you see that nest of wild pigeons?
A time will come when it Avill be peopled by tame white doves who
in their flight Avill rise up unto heaven." In confirmation of this
prophecy many persons were said to ha\-e seen a procession of
Religious clad in serge covered with white cloaks, barefooted, with
lighted' candles in their hands, issue from a cavern in the hillside,
cross the hill and disappear in the dove-cote.

694 APPENDIX.
In the painting at Pastrana Our Lord bears upon his elbow the
Avound AA'hich St. Teresa insisted should be depicted in the painting
of Christ bound to the column in the hermitage of St. Joseph's
monastery at Avila.
Of all the grottoes Avhich afforded refuge to the Religious at the
beginning of the foundation, that of St. John of the Cross has alone
been preserved. It is reached from the novices' tier of cells by a
staircase hollowed out of the rock. At the foot of the stair, at a spot
where the rock is perpendicular, there is a sort of platform sheltered
from the rain and the sun by an overhanging ledge of rock; on the
right a grated door, painted red, gives access to the grotto. This
has two stories, of which the lower receives light only through the
door.- It is dark and damp, and contains simply an altar Avith a bust
of St. John of the Cross. The upper story was the cell of the Saint;
it contains his bed, the niche for his crucifix, the block of stone
on Avhich he sat, and that which served him as a table. The bed
is merely a shalloAV excavation in the rock; it is surrounded by a
little wooden balustrade hung with red damask. Above is an inscrip
tion in Latin Avhich reads, "John inhabited this grotto; he slept upon
this stone. Let us venerate a spot worthy to be remembered forever."
The cloister was decorated with paintings representing men
eminent in the Order, with short biographical notices; there Avere
also six large pictures depicting the story of the monastery's founding.
These are at present in St. Peter's Oratory. That on the left of our
engraving shows Prince Ruy Gomez giving his property to St. Teresa.

NOTE 15.
As stated in chapter xxiv. of her "Foundations," Saint Teresa
usually travelled in wagons. She, however, yielded to circumstances,
and adopted such methods of transportation as the roads permitted.
It is certain that she sometimes rode a mule. In a letter which she
wrote May 27, 1568, (Lettres de Ste. Therese, Bouix, vol. i. p. 75), to
Doria Luisa de la Cerda, she says, "I am taking Avith me your side
saddle from the castle, to which I hope you have no objection,
and also another very comfortable one Avhich I bought here. I know
you Avill be very glad that this saddle, which no one needed, should
be of use to me in my travels, and I shall have much pleasure in
having with me something which belonged to you." ,
De Ribera gives the following details as to the general conduct/
of the Reverend Mother upon her journeys: "As soon as the travellers
had started the rule was followed as though they had been in the
monastery. If a nun forgot to lower her veil when she might be seen,
the Mother reproved her severely. An hour-glass served to measure
time; a bell was rung for the hours of prayer and meditation; .'when
its tinkle gave the signal all those who accompanied the Carm'elites,
monks, priests, seculars, even the very wagoners must be silent?. ....
Each wagon was in charge of a nun appointed by the Mother whom

APPENDIX. 695
the others must obey. In the inns the Mother took a room for her
self and the nuns in Avhich they could shut themselves up, and a
portress Avas appointed Avho alone held communication with the inn-
people. If the tavern was so poor that no separate chamber could
be obtained she had counterpanes hung across a corner of the room
which the nuns could occupy Avithout being seen. In the morning
the Mother was the first to rise; at night she was the last in bed.
The Carmelites Avere always accompanied by a priest Avho confessed
them and celebrated Mass. The day began with the offering of the
Holy Sacrifice Avhenever it was possible. The Saint always carried
holy Avater and held an image of the Infant Jesus in her arms; in
this manner she avoided the distractions of the journey" (Vie de Sainte
Therese, by de Ribera, Bouix, trans, pp. 213 to 215).

NOTE 16.
The hired house in which the convent was founded belonged
to Don Gonzalianes de Ovalle, probably a relative of Juan de Ovalle,
St. Teresa's brother-in-law, who was originally from Salamanca.
At present it is cccupied by poor families. Tradition says that no
important alteration has been made in it, so that it must appear at
present very much as the Carmelites left it.
Beatrix of the Conception belonged to the noble family
of Zuniga. Early in youth she desired to give herself to God in the
religious life, but for six years her father opposed this. After a
severe illness, hoAvever, he changed his mind and repented having
made any objection to his daughter's vocation. Beatrix accom
panied Anne of Jesus to France and Belgium. Chosen prioress of
the convent at Brussels, after the death of the foundress, she soon
acquired a great reputation for wisdom and sanctity not only in the
convent but in the household of the Infanta Isabella. Her humility
took fright at this, and she resolved to return to Spain. "I Avish," she
said, concealing the real reason for her departure, "to die under
the obedience of the Superiors who received my vows." Returning
to the convent at Salamanca, she proved herself as talented and
devout in Spain as she had showed herself in France and Brussels.
She died in 1646 at the age of seventy-five. Her portrait, painted after
her death, is to be seen at Salamanca (Reforma de los Descalgos, vol. vi.
pp. 448-458).
' It is rather usual to meet in the streets of the university tOAvns
of Spain during the vacations bands of students, who sing and dance
tc\ the accompaniment of guitars and tambourines. One of them
holds out his hat to the passers-by and asks their generosity. The
alnVs thus contributed are usually spent on every sort of amusement,
but \ometimes students ill-provided with this world's goods obtain
in thfs way the means to carry on their studies.
In 1614 the city of Salamanca, upon the beatification of St-
Teresa, made her perpetual patroness of the town with the Blessed

696

APPENDIX.

Juan de Sahagon. On October 9th of the same year the Bishop,
Don Louis Ferdinand de Cordova, confirmed this choice in the
Reformed Carmelite church. (Reforma de los Descalgos, vol. iv. pp. 14
et seq.). A monument in the main street of the city bears the inscription:
"October 16, 1690, St. Juan de Sahagon Avas canonized. He is patron
of this city of Salamanca." On the subject of the patronage of St.
Teresa we may consult Historia Eclesiastica de Espafia by de la
Fuente, Barcelona, 1859, vol. iv. p. 91.

NOTE 17.
Approaching Alba by the road from Salamanca, across the SAveep
of country may be seen an ancient castle in ruins, which crowns the
hill on whose slope the city is built. The river Tormes Aoavs at the
foot of this hill. The steep descent of the slaty road, ends at a narrow
bridge of twenty-six arches, AA'hence the traveller is greeted by a most
picturesque view; on the left the city, with its four church spires
and three convent belfries, is outlined against the deep blue sky;
the massive donjon of the castle of the Dukes of Alba stands high
on a rocky knoll; and on the right stretch green plains as far as the
eye can reach, while in the foreground lies the Avide bed of the
Tormes Avith pastures reaching to the horizon where tOAver the
peaks of the Sierra de Gredos.
St. Andrew's Avell is noAv situated in a large Ioav room, belonging
to the monastery offices. It formerly supplied all the Avater used by
the community. Since a cat was drowned in it the Avater has not
been used, and Avater is noAv brought from Tormes in large jars,
and alloAved to stand to clarify beside St. Andrew's AA-ell.
When St. Teresa arrived at Alba the future monastery was not yet
finished. She therefore lodged for some days in the convent of St.
Elizabeth with the Franciscan sisters. The cell Avhich she occupied
there is still held in veneration.
The excavation of the original tomb of St. Teresa is surrounded
by a balustrade, and closed by a horizontal grating. It is now the
centre of a small, low-ceiled chapel, opening on the lower choir,
and reached from the church by descending several steps. A tablet of
black marble, above the entrance to the chapel, bears an inscription
in gold letters relating to the burial of the Saint.
The reliquary containing the Saint's heart is a heart of rock
crystal, with a cover in enamelled gold, ornamented with jeAvels.,'
The pedestal which supports it is also of enamelled gold, richly
studded with rubies, topazes and emeralds. The relic has been
tampered with, and lacks some portion of the upper half. The
heart appears fibrous and dry, of a reddish colour. It is fteld
upright by means of a silver thread. Near the centre a large wound
is distinctly seen, with gaping edges. The bottom of the reliquary
is covered with a greyish powder, which does not lie evenly but
i- heaped up on one side.

APPENDIX. 697
The tomb of Juan de Ovalle and his family bears the folloAving
inscription: "This grave is that of Juan de Ovalle y Godinez, of
Doha Juana de Ahumada, his Avife, sister of the sainted Mother Teresa
of Jesus, and of Don Gonsalo de Ovalle, their son, Avho left to this
convent all their possessions on the charge of having two Masses
each week celebrated in perpetuity, and on tAvo festivals each year,
and on certain saints' days. This monument Avas finished in 1594."
The tomb of the founders of the monastery is marked thus:
"Here are interred the illustrious Francisco Velasquez and Teresa
Layz his wife, who founded this convent and endoAved it Avith their
goods. This monument Avas finished in 1577."
The monastery of the Discalced Friars Avas founded in 1679 in
the someAvhat narrow confines of some houses belonging to the Duke
of Alba. After they were expelled from their cloister the government
sequestered it and hoav uses it as a school (Diccionario Geografico-
Estadistico-Historico de Espaha, por Madoz, Madrid, 1846 a-oI. i. p. 235).

NOTE 18.
Segovia stands upon a A-ery steep mountain; at the foot of the
hill runs the Atayada whose banks are strewn Avith numerous con
vents, abandoned to-day or used for other purposes. The most in
teresting thing in the city is the Roman aqueduct, dating from the
time of Trajan, consisting of seventy-seven arcades of prodigious
height, forming double toavs one above the other.
The memory of Saint Teresa is still cherished in Segovia, with
that of Saint John of the Cross and Saint Dominic, all three having
sojourned in the city.
St. John of the Cross died at Ubeda, but his body was carried
to Segovia. (Reforma de los Descalgos, vol. ii. pp. 594 et seq.) At
one time it Avas guarded faithfully by a solitary monk, the sole
survivor of the community suppressed during the dispersion of
the religious orders. Noav the Reformed Carmelites are re-established
in Spain, and are in possession of the glorious tomb of St. John of the
Cross. In the second story of the Carmelite monastery is an oratory
from Avhich one looks down upon the tomb of the Saint.
The owners of this house have kept intact for nearly three
centuries two survivals of St. Teresa's sojourn here — the turn
of the cloister, and the painted cross with a view of Jerusalem
'va the background. This fresco is now under glass surrounded
by a carved gilt frame. It is a true Italian type of
fresco, such as is seldom seen in Spain. The bold outlines recall
the Ecce Homo at Pastrana and the portrait of St. Teresa at Avila.
One is inclined to attribute it to Brother Juan de la Miseria, or
perhaps to St. John of the Cross Avho had some taste for draAving,
as is proved by the crucifix drawn by him in pen and ink, and pre-
servedHn a reliquary in the convent of the Incarnation at Avila.
Lacordaire records in his life of St. Dominic the severe penance-

698

APPENDIX.

Avhich the Saint inflicted upon himself each night in the caA'e at
Segovia during the construction there of the monastery of his Order.
St. Dominic's cave has been completely transformed; it is now
Availed in and supported by arches rich with decoration. Nothing
can be seen of the old walls but a small niche above the altar: in
the centre of this niche is a statue of St. Jerome, kneeling before a
crucifix and striking his breast. On the right of the altar in a niche
is a statue of St. Dominic, life size. Prostrate before this statue,
St. Teresa, while profoundly recollected, saAv St. Dominic standing
at her left hand. She asked him why he placed himself upon that
side, and he replied, "The other place is for my Master." Immediately,
she beheld Jesus Christ upon her right hand. Soon afterwards Our
Lord disappeared, saying to her, "Rejoice with Me." St. Teresa
remained there for about two hours, and St. Dominic remained with
her; he told her all he had suffered and how God had loaded him with
favours at Segovia.
The first foundation of Carmelite friars in Segovia Avas made
in an abandoned convent of the Trinitarians; later, they built the
present monastery, one of the most beautiful of the Order. This
monastery Avas founded in 1586 by a rich woman of Granada, carrying
out the last will of her husband, and according to the advice of Saint
John of the Cross, at that time Vicar Provincial of Andalusia
(Reforma de los Descalgos, vol. ii. pp. 289 et seq.).
It suffered much during the French invasion, when the troops
used it as a barracks. The enemy set it on fire and the populace
pillaged it, carrying off everything moveable, doAvn to the doors and
windows. In 1582 Gregory XIII. decreed the correction of the Calendar.
Accordingly October 4th became October 14th. St. Teresa died
on October 4th (old style) at nine o'clock in the evening but as that
date Avas already commemorated as the feast of St. Francis, St.
Teresa was given October 5th (old style) or October 15th (Gregorian
Calendar).

NOTE 19.
There are three towns called Veas in Spain; one on the road from
SeA'ille to Ayamonte, one near Granada, and a third, the one which
interests us. It lies very much out of the Avay, as Saint Teresa ex
presses it, amid the mountains which separate Andalusia from the
kingdom of Murcia, in a narrow valley traversed by a tributary
of the Segura. The country thereabouts is fertile, pleasant and well-/
shaded. At the westward end of the valley rises a hillock Avhich wa.s
formerly crowned by a stronghold of Moorish or Roman origin.
Near this hillock, which is inhabited as though it were a hive by a
kind of troglodytes, stood the convent of the Discalced Carmelites, in
a narow triangular space. /
It was at Veas that St. Teresa for the first time met Fr. Gratian,
who was then Visitor to the Carmelite Friars in Andalusia, j
In the background, against the mountains which rise up above the

APPENDIX. 699
city to the west, can be seen the tOAver of the parish church noAv in
ruins; in the middle distance is seen St. Teresa's cell, which a wretched
soap-maker who lives on the ground floor, has turned into a hen
house; on the left is a remnant of the garden; on the right, among
some fig trees may be seen the dilapidated basin of a fountain Avhich
formerly adorned the courtyard.
On her journey to Seville, St. Teresa stopped to rest with her
nuns in a field near La Venta de Albino in Andalusia. A quarrel
began between some soldiers and peasants gathered there in which
knives were drawn. The Saint cried out, "Brothers, remember that
God who Avill judge you is present here." Struck with fear at her
words, they stopped fighting and ran away.
The monastery adjoined the parish church of that day, Avhich was
pillaged and burned by the French in 1810. Since then it has been
replaced by the Carmelite church.
In 1838 Government troops in pursuit of Carlists quartered them
selves in the monastery church, and the terrified nuns dispersed to
other houses of the Order in the province. The house was plundered,
and now its clay walls have given Avay under the rains of winter, and
nothing remains but a huge ruin, in the midst of which the cell
of Saint Teresa alone remains standing.
The former choir of the nuns now serves as sacristy of the
church. The door occupies the place of the former grating. It is
said that the tomb of Caterina de Sandoval contains also all the
documents and papers which prove her beatification.
On her tomb is inscribed, "Here are venerated the relics of the
venerable Mother Catherine of Jesus, Sandoval y Godinez, who aided
the foundress St. Teresa of Jesus in building this convent, made at
her request and with her property. She took the habit here. . . These
relics were placed here November 27, 1832, at the expense of a relative
of the venerable Mother, Don Mariano Fontes Abad Queipo Llano,
Marquis d' Ordofio."
St. Teresa's table, which the Sisters intrusted to the care of the
rector of Veas on their departure, is now in the possession of his
nephew, a farmer of the neighbourhood. It is made of pine, and one
of its feet has been replaced. The cover which protects it, of walnut
inlaid with boxwood, Avas made in 1754.
After his release from the prison where he suffered so much.
St. John of the Cross Avas made vicar of the convent of Mount Calvary.
On his way thither he passed by Veas and visited the Carmelites.
\Anne of Jesus, who was Prioress, anxious to offer him some recrea
tion suited to his character and tastes, told one of the nuns to sing
hinti a hymn, composed for the previous Easter, which praised the
excellencies and merits of sufferings. The Saint had heard only the
first yerses when he signed to the nun to stop, and Avhile grasping
in his two hands the grating of the parlour, in an effort to resist
the foVce of the divine transport which inspired him, he was raised
above ihe ground. In spite of his endeavours he remained thus in
ecstasy for over an hour. The chair on which he had been seated
is preserved as a relic in the convent at Jaen.

700 APPENDIX.
The convent possesses three springs of water, of Avhich one called
Saint Albert's Avas formerly celebrated as a cure for all ills of the
eyes and throat. Noav it is frequented only by dogs.

NOTE 20.
Mary of St. Joseph, in the Avorld Maria de Salazar, of the family
of the Dukes of Medina Coeli, ruled the Carmel of Seville until 1584;
she then Avent to found the Carmel monastery in Lisbon, which she
quitted in 1603. She died at Cuerva, some miles from Toledo, in the
odour of sanctity (Lettres de Ste. Therese, Bouix, \-ol. i. pp. 427 et seq.).
The monastery of Our Lady of Reparation sketched from the
summit of the Giralda Avas founded in 1574. Fr. Ambrosio Mariano
lived here after the arrival of St. Teresa at Seville. In 1587 the Dis
calced Friars established a second monastery in this city Avith a
theological school. (Reforma de los Descalgos, vol. i. p. 479, and vol.
ii. p. 371.) These tAvo houses have escaped destruction.
This house given St. Teresa by her brother still retains its
beautiful interior court, Avith columns of Avhite marble, Avhich St.
Teresa, accustomed to the gloomy cloisters of Castille, thought ex
tremely elegant, and humourously described as built of alcorza,
the Avhite sugar icing which confectioners make. (Lettres de Ste. Therese,
Bouix, vol. i. p.417.) It has also preserved its open gallery, from
which the nuns, as the Saint tells us, could AA-atch the ships of Avar
coming up the Guadalquivir to protect the city against the revolting
Moors. (Escritos de Sta. Teresa, de la Fuente, vol. ii. p. 256.) The
entrance door Avith its Doric columns is the same as in the days of
St. Teresa. When St. Teresa had settled her nuns in the house bought by
her brother, she left them on June 4, 1576, and gave them as superior
her great friend Mary of Saint Joseph. Ten years later the kindness
of Don Pedro Cerezo Pardo permitted the Carmelites to acquire the
property Avhich they noAv occupy. The only daughter of this generous
donor entered the convent in 1618, and presented to it the manuscript
of "The Interior Castle," Avhich had been given to her father by Fr.
Gratian (Reforma de los Descalgos, vol. i. p. 881, and Escritos de Sta.
Teresa, de la Fuente, vol. i. p. 430).
Teresita, the daughter of Lorenzo, St. Teresa's brother, was only /
seven years old when her father returned with her from Peru. Av
soon as she met her aunt she loved her with all her heart. St. Teres/a
was in turn deeply attached to her. Fr. Gratian permitted the chjfld,
who did not seem to him made for the outer world, to be received
and kept in the Reformed monasteries, until the day when she should
make her profession if she so desired. Teresita, then, was adrhitted
into the monastery at Seville, and wore from that time the Carmelite
habit with the hood. She took the vows at Avila, after the d4ath of
her aunt, and died a holy death in 1610 (CEuvres de Ste. Therhi, Bouix,
vol. i. pp. 440-442, and Reforma de los Descalgos, vol. iii. pp. 723-725).-

APPENDIX. 701
In 1S66 the reliquary embroidered by St. Teresa Avas in the pos
session of the last survivor of the Carthusians of the monastery of
Our Lady of Grottoes. It is a Avonderful specimen of its kind, and
proves that those writers who have praised the skill of St. Teresa
in needleAvork have underrated, not exaggerated her ability.

NOTE 21.
What St. Teresa Avrote in 1576 of the journey to Caravaca is true
to-day; the roads are still Avhat they were then, or rather there are
no roads but what are called Caminos de perdices, that is unbeaten
paths across the Sierras, possible only for foot-passengers or mules.
Three summits of the Cordileras must be crossed from Veas to Cara
vaca. The descent on the third day towards the valley of the Segura
brings one into the Vega or plain Avhich extends to the walls of the
castle. The town is surrounded by suburbs planted with orange trees
and olives, a feAv groups of palms, some cypresses, and aloes.
The Carmelite monastery stands on the slope of a hill, facing
south and protected from the north by mountains. The building
is solid and well proportioned. There are three gardens, the first
enclosed by the house itself, the second, planted with cypresses, orange
trees and other trees with thick foliage, forms a shelter from the
sun, and the third, a kitchen garden is joined to the monastery
grounds by a modern Avail.
The original Act of Authorization is preserved in the city archives.
The impression of the seal is not very clear, and it is not possible to
distinguish Avhether or not the cross is placed above the Carmel.
The statue of St. Joseph at Caravaca is identical in appearance
Avith that described in note 8 of the Appendix (Lettres de Ste. Therese,
Bouix, vol. ii. pp. 143 et seq).
The statue of the Blessed Virgin given by St. Teresa (Ibid. p. 143)
is carved. The Infant Jesus has been added at a later date.
The cross of Caravaca is of Avood about three inches long, covered
with copper on one side only. On the copper is engraved a Spanish
inscription, saying, "Our holy Mother Teresa carried this cross during
her lifetime; it was found in her bed after her death." Anne of St.
Bartholomew, Avho laid out the body of the Saint, kept the cross for
some time, then she gave it to Anne of Jesus. The latter wore it
^ ahvays in memory of this dearly loved Mother. After her death,
\the Carmelites of Brussels agreed among themselves that their Prior
ess should have the privilege of wearing the cross suspended from
the\ girdle. This custom exists to-day, and when a new Prioress
is c'riosen, the retiring Prioress gives the cross of Caravaca to her
successor in the presence of the assembled sisterhood (Bollandists,
Acta St. Teresia, p. 308).
St.) Teresa's portrait at Caravaca appears to be a copy of that in
the monastery at Seville; it is of the same size, the canvas is the
same, and the method of painting has the same transparency. At
Seville a clumsy effort at cleaning has rubbed away the tones of the

702 APPENDIX.
face; here on the contrary, the features have been obscured by a
glaze of opaque colour. The guimpe and the upper part of the cloak
have also been retouched. The inscription, "La Madre Teresa de
Jesus" proves that the picture antedates the Saint's beatification.
The toAvn of Caravaca is celebrated throughout Spain for its
pilgrimages. The faithful come to venerate a Avooden cross with a
double transverse like the patriarchal cross. Popular belief declares
that it is made of the holy wood on Avhich our Saviour died, and
that it was brought down by angels under the following circumstances:
During the domination of the Moors a Catholic priest who had
been taken prisoner Avas ordered by his master, an infidel who was in
command of Caravaca, to celebrate before him the holy sacrifice of
the Mass, Avhose ceremonies had been explained to him. The priest
obeyed in the hope of converting the Mussulman. As he was about
to begin the office he perceived that there Avas no cross upon the altar,
and turned to request his master to place one there. At the same
instant the latter, filled with fear and respect, said to him, "Is not
that what you seek?" pointing to a cross which two angels bore
through a Avindow surrounded by a miraculous light. After Mass the
prince declared himself a Christian, received baptism, and gave all his
captives their liberty (Escritos de Sta. Teresa, de la Fuente, vol. ii. p.
104). The Bollandists in the VII. volume of the month of May of the
Acta Sanctorum, page 392 et seq. report numerous miracles vouch
safed to the pious who have gone to A-enerate the cross of Caravaca.
For centuries it has been the custom to make fac-similes of this sacred
cross of all sizes and materials.

NOTE 22.
Fr. Mariano had a cave constructed for Caterina of Cardona which
communicated by a subterranean passage with the church of Our
Lady of Help. (See note 13 of this Appendix.) This cave at present
forms part of a large paper factory, in the new village of Villagorda
de Jucar. In 1603 the monastery of Our Lady of Help, w^as transferred to ,
Villanueva de la Jara, and with it the relics of the illustrious penitent.,^'
Three years later her bones were placed ,by the Prior, Pedro of ,
Jesus-Maria, in a niche cut in the thickness of the church Avail, on the/
Gospel side and protected by a grat^rg. Above the niche was /a
representation of the servant of God, and some scenes from her ,Vife
(Reforma de los Descalgos, vol.*}. p. 639). V ';£\,'
In Spain wine is usually carried in bottles of calf or goat' skin,
coated with pitch. Plate X9?IL, No. 5, shows the pots of earthen
ware used to receive it, and the Catalonian merchants sampling it.
Anne of St. Augu%tlne died at Villanueva de la Jara, December
11, 1624, aged seventy-seven years. Her body retained its flexibility
and warmth; it exhaled a delicious odour, and the open eyes re-

APPENDIX. 703
mained clear. In 1628 a legal opening of her coffin took place and
the body Avas found not only uncorrupted but smelling very SAveetly
(Reforma de los Descalgos, vol. v. p. 520, and CEuvres de Ste. Therese,
Bouix, vol. ii. p. 126 et seq.).
Her tomb bears the inscription, "Here lies the body of the vener
able Anne of St. Augustine, companion of St. Teresa; she Avas en
dowed Avith rare virtues, and Our Lord Avorked many miracles through
her, both during her life and after her death. She died December
11, 1624, aged 77 years.''
Her hat, made of Avhitish felt, edged with braid, and ornamented
with the coat of arms of the Reformed Carmel, and trimmed Avith
pearls and a violet ribbon, is preserved as a relic.
St. Teresa arrived at Villanueva on February 21st, and spent a
month there. Before her departure she gave to Anne of St. Augustine,
whom she had appointed directress and sacristan, a statue of the
Infant Jesus given her by the Prior of La Roda, (Reforma de los
Descalgos, vol. i. p. 737) and begged her to pray constantly to that
august Provider. Anne placed the statue in the choir near the tower
and installed the Infant Jesus at the "Great Procurator of the com
munity." Her confidence was rewarded more than once by the
miraculous assistance of Providence. (Ibid. vol. i. pp. 737-740, vol.
iv. pp. 421-424, 436-437.) Some time later the statue was given to a
benefactress of the monastery, and passed into the hands of Don
Andre Pacheco, Bishop of Cuenca. The directress was broken
hearted at the loss, but was consoled by receiving a much more
beautiful representation of the Infant Saviour from Toledo (Ibid.
vol. i. p. 737 iv. p. 423).
The statuette is of carved Avood; covered by garments which dis
figure it. It has a very gentle and benign expression. The Infant
blesses with His right hand. Two keys, one of gold, the other of silver,
symbolizing those of the cloister and the turn, are fastened together
by a chain and hang from His hand. In the left hand He holds a
globe, surmounted by a cross. To this cross is attached by a pink
ribbon a little silver basket, beautifully made, which is intended to
receive the alms of visitors. Two silver bells hang from the girdle.
The jar belonging to Anne of St. Augustine is of Avhite Cuenca
pottery and thirteen inches high, the pot is of the same material.
Both pieces bear the coat of arms of the Order of Mercy, surrounded
by the inscription, "Para mi Madre Ana de S. Augustin." They are of
, excellent manufacture and carefully decorated.
\ Mary of the Martyrs, the first Prioress of the monastery at
Villanueva, founded that of Valentia in 1588 (Ibid. vol. ii. p. 453).

NOTE 23.
Dion Alvaro de Mendoza had obtained permission from the Dis
calced \Carmelites to be buried after his death by the side of St.
Teresa,\from whom he did not wish to be separated. This was
granted! on condition that he should, at his own expense, build a

704

APPENDIX.

sanctuary for the Carmelite church at Avila, and a tomb for the
sainted Mother in the most suitable situation, with his oavii beside it.
This agreement could not be carried out, for the body of the Saint,
transported clandestinely from Alba to Avila, was returned to Alba
by order of the Pope. The Bishop's tomb is surmounted by a fine
statue in white marble, representing the prelate at prayer.
No better eulogy of the canons Reinoso and Salinas can be
imagined than the title which St. Teresa gave them. "The two holy
friends of the Virgin." Their tomb is in the Cathedral of Palencia;
they lie together beneath a monument upon which their kneeling
figures are carved in stone.
The Bernardines at present occupy the convent adjoining the
church of Our Lady of the Street. It was given to them by Ferdi
nand VII. after the destruction of their OAvn cloister. St. Teresa's
cell is preserved Avith great veneration. The larger choir-grating Avas
placed there by the Saint with the permission of the Cathedral
chapter, according to a letter dated January 4, 1581: "The chapter
has granted us the infinite favour of opening a grating into this
church." (Lettres de Ste. Therese, Bouix, vol. iii. p. 250.)
The Carmelites lived only ten years in this building Avhich they
found very restricted. Then Canon Reinoso offered them his own
house, which they accepted with conditions. They then began to build,
but having no other resources, were obliged to use their own dowries
for the work and were soon reduced to the greatest poverty. God
was good to them and sent them as a novice Dona Luisa of
Aragon, whose fortune enriched the community (Reforma de los
Descalgos, vol. i. p. 746).
From her infancy Luisa d'Aragon was remarkable for her virtues
and her extraordinary piety. At the age of eleven she read the
writings of St. Teresa, and by constant study of them advanced rapidly
towards perfection. She wished to consecrate herself to God, but
at eighteen to please her parents, she married Don Eugenio Manrique
de Padilla, Adelantado of Castille, yet promised Our Lord that, if she
survived her husband, she Avould enter the Carmelite Order. Don
Eugenio died after sixteen years of married life. His widow had
over twenty thousand masses said for the repose of his soul, put
her affairs in order, and entered the convent at Palencia. Before
pronouncing her voavs, she gave away all her possessions to charitable
works, and endowed the convent so largely that she deserves to be
called its foundress. In the convent Luisa Avas distinguished for her
power of absorption in prayer. After praying she was sometimes/
fairly transfigured, and shone with an angelic beauty (Lettres de Ste/
Therese, Bouix, vol. iii. pp. 345-50, and Reforma de los Descalgos, vol.
iv. pp. 777-787). J
St. Teresa's folding chair recalls those of St. John of the Cross
in the monastery at Jaen and in the sacristy of the church at Tveas.
It is very plain, well made, and better preserved than the othe/ two.
Palencia is situated in a very fertile country and has a delightful
climate. Its Gothic Cathedral of the XIV. century presents a
number of fine studies in Christian archaeology. )

APPENDIX.

NOTE 24.

705

During the sojourn of Saint Teresa at Palencia the Bishop of
Osma (that Doctor Velasquez Avho had been her confessor at Toledo)
suggested to her the establishment of a convent at Soria, a little city
of his diocese. A rich AvidoAv, Dona Beatrix de Veamonte y Navarre,
had offered for this purpose her mansion, a fine building most desirably
situated, and Avith it the necessary funds for the foundation, as Avell
as an annual income of five hundred ducats. The Bishop Avas Avilling
to cede them a church Avhich Avas in a parish too poor to support it.
It Avas very near the proposed site, and could easily be connected As-ith
it by a covered passage.
Probably the first time the cross appeared emblazoned on the
order of Carmel Avas on the Act of Foundation at Soria. The Re
formed Rule had had a Provincial for only three months (Escritos de
Sta. Teresa, de la Fuente, vol. i. p. 14).
Catherine of Christ, first prioress at Soria, Avas a relative of St.
Teresa. From her childhood she was blessed by heaven. At ten
she consecrated herself to God by a vow of Airginity, and thence
forth led a life of recollection and penance. In 1583 she founded
the monastery at Pampeluna and in 1588 that of Barcelona. She
died in the latter, February 3, 1594. Seven months after her happy
departure her coffin Avas opened; the Avood had decayed, the habit
was consumed, but the body was fresh, rosy and flexible, and emitted
a sweet scented oil. Later it Avas transported to the Carmelite
monastery at Pampeluna.
To the historical critic the Life of St. Teresa by Yepes is inferior to
that by Fr. Francisco de Ribera. the Jesuit, written nine years earlier.
On this subject consult the Bollandists (Ada S. Teresicc, pp. 2 and 3).
The Order of Reformed Carmelite Friars contains a certain
number of establishments, known as hospices, Avhich are occupied
by a feAV religious not ruled by a Prior, but by a Vicar named by the
General or the Provincial, and ahvays removable. To be classed as a
Priory a house must count at least six religious in holy orders,
including the Prior.
After the suppression of the religious orders the hospice at Soria,
was put up for sale. A philanthropic society, la Numancia. bought
it as a lay school for boys and girls. Their cries and noisy games
much disturbed the retirement of the Carmelites. In 1867 the school
was removed. The influence of Monsieur Hye Hoys and another
prominent person had perhaps something to do with this change.
\ When Fr. Didace of the Presentation, General of the Discalced
Carmelites in Spain, Avas about to publish St. Teresa's letters, Palafox
composed in one month a magnficent commentary upon them. This
work, ^dedicated to Philip IV., appeared at Saragossa in 1658.
\ 
\ NOTE 25.
Saint'Teresa was in Avila when Saint John of the Cross arrh-ed
with the request that she found a monastery at Granada. Several

706 APPENDIX.
people of importance in that city, and some young ladies belonging
to distinguished families, had made a tempting offer through Fr.
lago of the Holy Trinity, Provincial Vicar for Andalusia. Gregory
XIII., by a brief of June 22, 1580, had made the reformed monasteries
into a special Province, exempting them from the jurisdiction of all
Superiors of the Order, except the Father General. On March
4th following, Father Jerome Gratian Avas elected first Provincial of
the Reform, by the Chapter of Alcala. But the large number of
monasteries and their distance from one another made the govern
ment of them by one superior a difficult task, so Father Gratian
appointed Vicars-Provincial who, within definite territorial limits,
acted in his name (Reforma de los Descalgos, vol. i. p. 725).
The latter, then on his regular visit to the community at Veas,
had proposed to the A-enerable Anne of Jesus to take this foundation
upon herself. She did not share in the illusions of her superior;
these seductive promises seemed to her without reality, and she also
foresaw that the Archbishop Avould never give his consent. However,
when the Divine Master showed her in prayer that He desired the
foundation, she ceased to oppose it. It was agreed that the Father
Vicar should return to Granada to talk over the matter with the
persons who had assured him of their generous support, and that
Saint John of the Cross, who happened to be also at Veas, should go
to Avila bearing two letters, one from Fr. lago, demanding per
mission from the Provincial, Fr. Gratian, then at Salamanca, the
other from Sister Anne of Jesus, begging Saint Teresa to come to
Granada. But Teresa, who was firmly persuaded that the divine
will required her presence at Burgos, sent Anne of Jesus to found
Granada in her place.
The Provincial did not have the success he expected; he had all
the difficulty in the world in obtaining even a small part of what
had been offered, and the Archbishop's permission was steadily
refused. In spite of his lack of success the foundress and her com
panions started on mules from Veas at three o'clock in the morning
of January 15, 1582, and arrived at Granada at the same hour on the
20th. The proprietor of the house rented by Fr. lago broke the con
tract when she learned it was to be used as a monastery, and the
Carmelites would have found themselves without shelter if a saintly
widow, Doiia Ana de Peiielosa, had not received them into her home, i
Anne of Jesus hastened to write the Archbishop herself, asking /
for his authorization; the prelate was in bed, sick with the fright/
he had received in a recent thunder storm when lightning had struck
the chamber next his bedroom in the night, burning part of This
library, and killing some of his cattle. He believed he saw, ''the
finger of God in this disaster, and dared no longer withhold his
consent; he even sent his Vicar General to say the first Mass, and
ordered him to acquiesce in any demand of the Prioress (CEuvres de
Ste. Thircse, Bouix, vol. ii. pp. 486-494). /
For seven months the Carmelites lodged with Ana de JPefielosa,
and at the end of that time they were able to hire a hoiYse. Soon
afterwards Anne of Jesus became so seriously ill that the last sacra-

APPENDIX. 707
ments were administered on October 4th. Almost at the same hour
Saint Teresa died at Alba. When the venerable Anne had received
the Holy Viaticum Saint Teresa appeared to her, and spoke Avith her
for a long time. Anne, who kneAV nothing of the illness of the Saint,
regarded this apparition as an announcement of her OAvn death. It
was on the contrary the signal for her recovery (Reforma de los
Descalgos, vol. iv. pp. 248 el seq.).
The dowries of six rich young ladies who entered the community
in the following year provided the means of buying the mansion of
the Duke de Seza, originally the property of the celebrated Gonsah-o
de Cordova, knoAvn as the Great Captain. It is occupied by the
Carmelites to-day (CEiares de Ste. Therese, Bouix, vol. ii. pp. 499-501;
and Reforma de los Descalgos, vol. iv. p. 249).
Anne of Jesus had accompanied St. Teresa to Veas. Besides the
foundation of Granada, she made that of Madrid, and later established
the Rule in France and Belgium. She also introduced the Discalced
Friars into the Netherlands. She died at Brussels March 4, 1621
(Reforma de los Descalgos, vol. iv. pp. 242-270 et seq.), having practised
virtue to a heroic degree, as Pope Leo XIII. declared in concluding
one of the processes for her beatification.
Over the side door of the church of the Discalced Carmelites is
a curious group in which a crowned woman gives Avith her left hand an
object which appears to be a lock, to a kneeling nun with a halo
about her head; Avhile in her right hand she holds a key.
The Bollandists give, on p. 509 of the Acta Sauctae Teresiae,
the original text and fac-simile of St. Teresa's act of renunciation.
This is the translation: "I, Teresa of Jesus, professed nun of the
monastery of the Incarnation at Avila, of the Order of Our Lady of
Mount Carmel, Avho now inhabit the monastery of St. Joseph in the
same city, where the Primitive Rule is observed, which I have
hitherto followed in that monastery with the permission of our
reverend father Juan Battisto Rubeo, and which I have also permis
sion to follow at the monastery of the Incarnation, if my superiors
order me to return there, I declare that I Avish to keep to the said
Rule all my life, and I renounce all the privileges Avhich our Sover
eign Pontiffs have permitted for its mitigation. With the help of
Our Lord 1 intend and promise to observe it unto my death, and as
this is the truth, I sign it Avith my name, this third day of July,
1571 — Teresa of Jesus."
\ Bishop Palafox, commentator of the Saint's letters, gave the
\ cross taken from St. Teresa's tomb to the Carmelites of Bologna.
v4n the pedestal are encased some bones of St. Teresa.
\ The first subject of the mural painting in the portress' room at
SaFamanca is a sort of allegory representing the extension of the
Carrsnelite Order, the second symbolizes the establishment of the
Reformed Rule in France and in the Low Countries. The order
did not cross the Spanish border until after the death of St. Teresa.
The translation of the Latin text, omitted in the engraving, is: "It
(the Carmel) shall extend its branches unto the sea." The Spanish

708

APPENDIX.

inscription runs: "From the grave goes forth a ray which like
a shining star illumines France and the Avhole Avorld."
Thomas of Jesus, after having held various offices in the Carmelite
Order in Spain, was at Rome Avhen Anne of Jesus, having made the
foundation at Brussels, asked the General of the Italian Congrega
tion to send some Carmelite Friars to direct the nuns in Belgium.
Fr. Thomas Avas sent to Brussels, arriving August 10, 1610, with five
other religious. In 1617 he was named first Provincial of the pro
vince created in Belgium under the patronage of St. Joseph. He
died at Rome, May 24, 1627 (Reforma de los Descalgos, vol. iv. pp.
677, et seq.).

NOTE 26.
On the print of Caterina de Tolosa, Avho gave herself and her
seven children to God in the Order of Mount Carmel, is the folloAving
inscription: "My children, I have known by experience hoAA' little
pleasure comes from the world and worldlings. May God be praised,
who is the source of all good, and the remedy for all evils."
The Augustinian church at Burgos Avas destroyed during the Avar
of Independence. At present the miraculous figure of Christ is
venerated in the Cathedral. That part of the hospital Avhere St.
Teresa lodged was respected scrupulously until very lately. But a few
years ago alterations were made Avhich nothing can excuse.
St. Luke's church was formerly parochial. It is noAv attached
to the convent of Augustinian nuns, called of the Mother of God.
The wall which contained the niche for the Blessed Sacrament
was rebuilt after a great inundation. The event is commemorated
by a painted monstrance, with this inscription: "On this spot there
Avas formerly a niche in the Avail, inscribed, 'On May 24, 1582,
Ascension Day, the river rose so high that the city Avas flooded.
The terrified inhabitants deserted their homes, and the religious their
cloisters. The sainted Mother, full of confidence in Divine Provi
dence, escaped all danger in her convent. She ordered the Sacred
Species to be brought to this spot and placed in this niche, and she
remained in adoration before the Holy Sacrament Avith her daughters,
begging the Lord to remove the impending danger. The Avaters sank
so mercifully that the Archbishop and other persons of distinction con- /
sidered it a miracle due to the holy Foundress.' " /
St. Teresa's cell in the monastery at Burgos has a vieAv extend
ing over the garden and beyond the walls to the hills which form •'the
horizon beyond the river. Below in a courtyard is a well wi'th a
pentagonal curb, and a basin paved AA-ith stone for washing, d/ating
from the period of the foundation. It is probably for this reasdn that .
it is called St. Teresa's well. {
Ribera writes: "I have seen two small pictures, one ( of our
Risen Saviour, the other of the Virgin, which the Mother had painted

APPENDIX.

709

at Salamanca by Juan de Pegna, Avho died since, a member of the
Society of Jesus. These paintings are of a truly ravishing beauty."
The foundation dates from 16C6; five years later the Carmelite
friars Avere installed in the present monastery (Reforma de los Des
calgos, vol. iii. p. 604 et seq.).

NOTE 27.
The body of the Saint was laid in a deep grave, filled in Avith
bricks and stones and slates. The Carmelites knew that the city of
Avila Avould claim it of them, and they even feared that the authorities
would use violence or fraud to obtain it. In this they Avere Avrong,
for strictly legal methods Avere employed.
God was pleased to glorify the virginal remains of His Avell-
beloved; the grave exhaled a peculiarly sweet odour, Avhich could
be perceived above the layers of bricks and stones. This marvel
led the Provincial to have the coffin opened, which was done July 4,
1583. The body had not suffered the slighest taint of corruption,
and its fragrance filled the convent and lingered for several days.
On this occasion Fr. Gratian detached the right hand. The body was
clothed in a new habit, laid in another coffin and replaced in the
grave. The entreaties of the civil authorities of Avila, supported by the
Bishop Don Alvaro de Mendoza (of whom frequent mention has
been made), found favour with the Superiors of the Reformed Rule.
The chapter held at Pastrana in the year 15S5, presided over by
Fr. Nicholas Doria, consented to the translation of the beloved
relics to the church of the Discalced Carmelites at Avila. Fr. Gre-
gorio Nazianzen Vicar Provincial of Castile, Avas charged to carry
out this order, in the greatest possible secrecy, lest the enmity of the
Duke of Alba and of the people generally be aroused. He was
instructed to leave the left hand at Alba. The body Avas lifted from
the coffin as SAviftly as possible, and was found to be intact and
still exhaling a delightful odour (Ribera, Bouix trans., pp. 584-588).
The joy of the Carmelites of Avila was not long lived. An uncle
of the Duke of Alba wrote to Rome and so influenced Sixtus V.
that His Holiness ordered the Avila nuns to return the body to
Alba as quickly as possible. This restitution was made on August
23, 1586 (Ibid. pp. 592 et seq.) On July 10, 1589, the Pope decreed
that the body of the Saint shou'.d remain at Alba forever (Ibid.
p. 595.) It noAv reposes in an urn of black marble, surmounted by
Vtwo angels in Avhite marble. The tomb is in the middle of the re-
tiable of the high altar, behind a silver grating. The Carmelites are
abVe to touch the tomb of their Mother, from which they are separated
only by the grating of the upper choir.
AThe room in which Saint Teresa died is on the ground floor; and
has b\een transformed into an oratory. The ceiling has been elevated
into a» dome, and the walls are covered with objects of piety, and
paintinfes representing different scenes in the life and death of the

710 APPENDIX.
Saint. The window alone keeps its primitive appearance. The altar
now stands in the place of the Saint's bed.
The elbow and upper arm shown in a reliquary at Alba are still
covered with flesh, much dried and almost mummified (Bollandists,
Acta Sice. Teresicc, pp. 325 et seq.).
Fr. Jerome Gratian wore the little finger of the Saint's right
hand about his neck all his life. He died in the Observant monastery
at Brussels, and the Prior of that house and the Provincial of the
Discalced Carmelite Friars in Belgium, each claimed possession of the
relic. The Infanta Isabella through the Nuncio induced the Pope
to give it to her. In October, 1614, the Archduchess gave it to Anne
of Jesus, Prioress of the Carmelites of Brussels.
St. Teresa's right collar-bone was detached by Thomas of Jesus
in 1604 when, by the order of the General of the Spanish Congregation,
he enclosed the body of the Saint in a new and hermetically sealed
coffin, to avoid the further indiscretions of the devotion of the faith
ful. When Thomas of Jesus was sent to the Netherlands he took the
relic with him, and at his death left it to the Discalced monastery
at Brussels to be preserved there perpetually. In 1833 the Pro
vincial Vicar of the Carmelites gave it to the Carmelite nuns of
Brussels, on their agreement to return it to the Fathers of their
Order if they ever established themselves again in Brussels.
The chest in which St. Teresa's body Avas placed at Avila now
holds the body of Isabel of St. Dominic, one of her earliest nuns,
and foundress of the convent at Saragossa in 158S (Reforma de los
Descalgos, vol. ii. p. 447).
Anne of St. Bartholomew made her profession as a lay sister in
St. Joseph's convent at Avila, August 15, 1572. She Avas among
the number of Carmelites who Avent to France in 1604; her Superiors
persuaded her to take the black veil at Paris, and she founded suc
cessively the convents at Pontoise and at Tours. In 1612 she founded
the convent at Antwerp, where she finished her days. By her virtues,
by the graces given her by God, she Avon the esteem of all, and was
in great favour with Prince Albert and Princess Isabella, governors
of the Netherlands. In 1622 and 1624 by her prayers, she miraculously
delivered the city of AntAverp, beseiged by the Gueux. She died
June 7, 1626. (Reforma de los Descalgos, vol. iv. pp. 577. et seq., and
Bollandists, Acta Stce. Teresia, pp. 643 et seq.) Her beatification has
been introduced at Rome.

NOTE 28.
Towards the end of the 16th century the Holy See was besiegssd
with prayers from all parts of Spain for the beatification of Terresa
of Jesus. Pope Clement VII. received these requests favours/bly.
In 1614 Paul V. sent the brief of beatification, authorizing Discjalced
Carmelite frairs and nuns to celebrate the feast of their beloved
Mother yearly on the 15th of October (Bollandists, Acta Stce. lieresice,
).p. 240 el seq.). ''

APPENDIX. 711
Her cult spread throughout Europe with the promulgation of the
Reformed Rule. Her Avritings, translated into several languages,
attracted the esteem of the learned (Ibid. pp. 353 et seq.) and the
love and veneration of souls eager for perfection. Scarcely had the
ceremonies of Beatification been completed ere the project for the
supreme honour of canonisation was formed. Paul V. began new
proceedings which his successor concluded in 1622. (Ibid. pp. 245
et seq.) Fr. Dominic of Jesus Maria, Governing General of the Order
in Italy, was the instrument employed by God to hasten the Avorkings,
usually so deliberate, of the Roman Congregations (Reforma de los
Descalgos, vol. iv. p. 893.) Fr. Dominic was born at Catalayud, in the
kingdom of Aragon, on May 16, 1559. At the age of fifteen he
entered the Carmelite Order, and at the age of thirty joined the
Reformed Rule. His poAver of recollection was extraordinary; in
hours of prayer his spirit detached itself from all external preoccupa
tion, and during the entire period of devotion his imagination never
wandered. Called to Rome by Clement VIIL, at the request of the
General of the neAvly-established Italian Congregation, he was invested
with high offices. In 1617 he was made Governing General. In 1620
Paul V. sent him as Legate to the army of Ferdinand II., Avhich Avas
fighting against the heretics. One day, Avhile walking near Piltzen,
he found in the ruins of a castle sacked by the Calvinists a small
picture of the Nativity of Our Lord, on which the schismatics had
wreaked their A-engeance by destroying the eyes of all the figures,
except that of the Infant Jesus. Moved to tears, he shoAved the
picture to Maximilian, Duke of Bavaria, commander-in-chief of the
imperial army, and declared he Avould haA'e it venerated throughout
the world. After the surrender of Piltzen the two armies approached Prague.
Owing to the inferior number of his troops, Maximilian dared not begin
the attack. Dominic, in the name of God and of the Blessed Virgin,
assured him of victory, and the battle was begun. Under the im
pulse of a sudden inspiration the monk, holding his crucifix in one
hand and the picture upon his breast, rode before the lines of Catholic
soldiers; his fiery words fii'.ed them Avith such courage that in a few
hours their adversaries were beaten.
Father Dominic profited by the favour of Gregory XV. which
this A-ictory brought him, to push the process of St. Teresa's canonisa
tion to a rapid and successful end. March 12, 1622, the great Reformer
of the Carmelites was placed among the ranks of saints, at the same
time as Saint Ignatius Loyola, Saint Francis Xavier, Saint Philip Neri,
\and Saint Isador, the Labourer (Bollandists, Acta Stce. Teresite, p. 305).
\ Fr. Dominic died at Vienna, in 1630, while once more Legate, sent
b£r Urban VIII. to the Emperor of Austria (Reforma de los Descalgos,
voL iv. pp. 789-910).
\The painting which was the cause of the victory of Prague is
venerated in one of the churches of the Discalced Carmelite friars at
Rome, called Our Lady of Victory.
The banner carried during the ceremonies of St. Teresa's canoni
sation is of red damask, ornamented Avith embroideries and escut-

712 APPENDIX.
cheons; in the centre is a figure of St. Teresa kneeling, looking up to
heaven, which is represented by rays surrounded by cherubim. At
each corner of the banner, and on each of the lobes that terminate
it, the escutcheon of the Reformed Carmelites is shoAvn. Tavo other
escutcheons, one of the Mendoza, are also on the lobes.
The cioak preserved by the Carmelites of Seville is bordered on
the outside by a sih-er braid, upon a band of dark blue silk; the
collar is trimmed Avith gold and silver embroidery, on a crimson
ground, betAveen tAvo narrow bands of yellow silk. The lining is of
blue damask; the button has a loop of silk and gold thread. Another
cloak is kept in the convent of St. Hermenegild at Madrid, in a
large glass reliquary. The Carmelite nuns of the Rue d'Enfer at
Paris claim to possess a third.
No access is permitted to this precious manuscript of "The Interior
Castle" without a special letter from the General of the Order. Armed
Avith this authority, M. Hye Hoys was permitted to examine the
volume and to make sketches from it. It measures about 12J-2 by
9 inches; the edges are giU, and the covers inlaid with silver; there
are hinges and other ornaments of enamel gilt. Dona Juana de Men
doza, Duchess of Bejar, who left her children and the attractions of
the world to don the sackcloth of the Carmelites at Seville, had this
rich binding executed during her novitiate (Reforma de los Descalgos,
vol. i. p. 881).
St. Teresa made with her own hands a chalice veil of very elaborate
netting, which she especially desired should be given to the first
Italian convent of the Reformed Rule. (Historia Generalis Fratrum
Discalceatorum Beatissmae Virginis Mariae de Monte Carmelo, Con-
gregationis Sancti Eliae, per Petrum a Sancto Andrea Roniae, 1668-
1671, vol. i. p. 41.)
The Saint's Avriting-case is made of a very thin dark Avood; it is
divided into four parts; in the centre between two sand bottles is
an ink well which has probably suffered from the devout rapacity of
visitors, for it is much injured. The compartment intended for pens,
etc., is empty; it formerly contained St. Teresa's pen, which has
recently disappeared. The hinges are replaced or strengthened by
pieces of silk with gold flowers. The case measures in length about
5J/2 inches; in width about 4J4 inches; in height, lf£ inches without
the cover.

INDEX.

Abecedario, Tercer, Life, iv. 8
Accusations, false, Found, xxvii.
19
Acosta, Diego de, Rel. viii. 20
Acquaintances, Life, vii. 11;
xxxvii. 4; xxi. 14
Acuna Dona Maria de, Found, x.
8; xi. 2, 6
Affection of the nuns, Found.
xxvii. 16
Agnes of Jesus, Life, xxxvi. 4;
Found, iii. 1, 5, 7, 17; xix. 6;
xxix. 9
Aguiar, the licentiate, Found.
xxxi. 31, 32
Aguila, Dona Antonio del, Found.
XAii. 4, 8
Aguila, Catalina, Life, iii. 5; xxiii.
7
Aguila, Juan, Rel. vii. 5
Aguila, Maria, Life, i. 3
Aguila, Mencia, Life, xxiii. 7
Aguilar, Barthol, Rel. vii. 13
Ahumada, Antonio, Life, iv.- 1
Ahumada, de Dona Beatriz, Life,
i. 3, note, 7; xxx viii. 1
Ahumada, Gonzalo, Life, xxxv. 14
Ahumada, de Juana, Life, xxix. 6,
8; xxxi. 22; xxxiii. 13; xxxv. 14;
xxxvi. 4; Found, xx. i.
Ahumada, de, Vicente, Found. 'iii.
7
Alba, Duchess of, Rel. vii. 11;
Found, xxi. 3
Alba de Tormes, Found, xx. 12
Alcala, Monastery founded in,
Life, xxxv. 1, 2; xxxvi. 29, note;
first chapter of the reform in,
Found, xxix. 24
Alcantara. See St. Peter of Al
cantara.
Alderete, Diego Gratian de,
Found, xxiii. 1
Alerio, Fra Juan, Found, ii. 1
All Saints, Rel. ix. 21
Alms, Found, xxvii. 12
Almsgiving of the Saint, Life, i.
6; Rel. ii. 3
Alonso de Jesus Maria, Found.
xxi. 9
Alonso, Martin, Found, xxviii. 20

Alonzo Juan, Found, xxxi. 5
Altimiras, Juan, Life, xxxviii. 34
Alva, Duke, Life, xxviii. 4
Alvarez, Alonso, Life. v. 16;
Found, iii. 5; xv. 6, S, 15
Alvarez, F. Baltasar. S.J., Life,
xxiii. 6; xxiv. 5; xxv. 13, 20;
xxvi. 4; xxvii. 4, 20; xxviii. 21;
xxix. 5, 6; xxxii. 16; xxxiii. 4,
12, 13; Rel. i. 9; vii. 5; xi. 7;
Found, iii. 1, 4, 11; xxix. 5;
Plate viii.
Alvarez del Aguila, Fernando,
Life, xxiii. 3, 18; xxiv. 5; xxix. 6
Ah-arez, F. Rodrigo, S.J., Rel. vii.
1; viii.; Found, xxvii. 19
Alvarez, Garcia, Found, xxv. 5, 7,
10, 11
Ambrogio Mariano. See Mariano
of St. Benedict.
Amusements, Life, vii. 1; Rel. i.
14
Andrada, Found, xv. 6, 7, 8, 9
Angels and evil spirits, Life, xxix.
16-18; xxxi. 11
Ana de Santo Domingo. See
Domingo.
Anne's, St., Medina, Found, iii. 9
Anne, St., Hermitage of, in Villa
nueva, Found, xxviii. 33
Anne of the Angels, Life, xxxvi.
23; Found, iii. 1, 7, 17; ix. 5;
xvii. 14
Anne of St. Albert, Found, xxiv.
3; xxvii. 7. Plate xx.
Anne of St. Augustine, Found.
xxviii. 14; Plate ix.
Anne of St. BartholomeAv, Ven.,
Life, ii. 2; xl. 18. Found, xxvi.
1; xxviii. 14; xxix. 9; xxxi. 16
note. Plate xxvi.
Anne of the Incarnation (de Ar-
bizo) Life, xiv. 12
Anne of the Incarnation (Tapia)
Life, xxxvi. 4; Found, iii. 1, 5, 7
17; xvii. 15; xix. 4; xxvii. 7
Anne of Jesus, Found, xv. 14; xvii.
13; xix. 4, 7; xxii. 24, note. Plate
xxiv.
Anne of St. John, Life, xxxvi. 23

713

714

INDEX.

Anne of the Mother of God. See
Palma.
Anne of Toledo, Found, xxviii. 3
Antisco, Juana de, Found, xxiii. 1
Antonio of the Holy Ghost, Life,
xxxvi. 5. Found, iii. 17; xiii. 2, 4
Antonio of Jesus. See Heredia.
Antonius a S. Joseph, Rel. i. note.
Found, v. 3, 13; xxii. 3, not', 19;
xxiii. 9; xxix. 14; xxv. 5; xxvii.
5, 7, 12; xxviii. 4; xxix. 23; xxx.
12
Antonius a Spiritu Sancto, Life,
xv. 15; xviii. 16; xx. 1, 2; xxvii.
3; xxviii. 5
Antony, St., of Padua, Life, xxii.
10
Aranda, de, Don. Gonzalo, Life,
xxxvi. 4, 18. Found, xv. 3
Araoz Antonio, Rel. vii. 5
Arbiol, Found, vi. 1
Arevalo, Found, iii. 5
Arias, de, Doiia Isabel. See Isa
bel of the Cross.
Aridity, Life, xv. 15
Artiega, Dona Maria de, Found.
xix. 9
Art, The, of Serving God, Life,
xii. 2
Ascent of the Mount, Life, xxiii.
13
Ascent of Mount Carmel, Life,
xxxviii. 29; xxxix. 8. Rel. iii.
19; v. 2
Assumption, the. Life, xxxiii. 16;
xxxix. 37
Athanasius, St., Life, xxxix. 36
Attachments, Life, xi. 5; xxiii. 5
Augustine, St., Confessions of,
Life, ix. 8, 9; xiii. 4; xl. 10. Rel.
ix. 12
Augustinians, the, of Medina del
Campo, Found, iii. 5
Augustin of Vitoria, Found, xxix.
8
Austerities of the friars of Du
ruelo, Found, xiv. 6; of the nuns
of Toledo, xv. 6
Avila, Life, xxxvi. 14. Found, iii.
2
Avila, Alonso de, of Toledo,
Found, xv. 6, 7
Avila, Alonso de, Found, xxvii. 7
Avila, Ana. See Anne of St. John.
Avila, Cristobal, de, Found, iii.
1, 4, 5, 7
Avila, Gonsalvo, Rel. vii. 5
Avila, de Juan, Ven., Life, xl. in
fine, Rel. vii. 8, 9
Avila, Julian of, Life, xvi. 12;
xxxvi. 4, 5, 25. Found, at. 2; x.
4; xiii. 2, 4; xvii. 15; xix. 7; xxi.

4, 5; xxiv. 3, 8; xxv. 7; xxvii. 3,
4, 7; xxx. 12
Avila, Luisa de, Found, xxvii. 1
Avila, Doiia Quiteria, Found, xix.
7
Balmaseda, Christoval de. Found.
xxx. 14
Baltasar of Jesus, Fra., Found.
xvii. 13, 14; xxiv. 1, note; xxviii.
24; xxix. 24.
Banes, Fra. Dominic, Life, v. 20;
xvi. 10, 12; xx. 22, 30; xxix. 6,
16; xxxi. 6; xxxvi. 15; xxxviii.
15; xxxix. 4. Rel. vii. 9, 11, 13,
16; xi. 7. Found, iii. 4, 6, 7, 17,
note; A-iii. 3, 4; ix. 3; xi. 3; xvii.
12, 15; xix. 9; xx. 1
Barbara of the Holy Ghost,
Found, xxvii. 7
Barron Fra., Vincente, Life, v. 8;
vii. 26, 27; xix. 19; xxxiv. 8. Rel.
vii. 11. Found, xv. 12
Basil, St., Monks of, Found. 12
Beatriz of Christ. See Veamonte
and Navarre.
Beatriz of the Conception, Plate
xv.
Beatriz of the Incarnation, Found.
xii. 1,2,3,4,6,9, 11, 12
Beatriz of Jesus, Found, xv. 17;
xxix. 9; xxx. 14. Plate xii.
Beatriz of St. Michael, Found.
xxii. '24
Beatriz of the Most Holy Sacra
ment, Found, xvii. 11
Beatriz of the Mother of God,
Found, xxvi. 3-16
Beginners, Life, vii. 16; xi. 13, 15-
17, 25; xii. 2; xiii. 9; xv. 19
Benedict, XIV., Pope, Life, xiv. 12
Benitez, Found, xxviii. 22, note.
Bernard, St., Life, xxii. 10; xxxvii.
2, note.
Betrothal of the Saint, Rel. ix. 8,
25
Birth, pride of, Found, xv. 15
Bishopric, a, Life, xl. 21
Blanca of Jesus Maria, Found.
xxvii. 12
Blessed, the joys of. Life, x. 3;
xxvii. 12
Blindness healed, Life, xxxix. 1
Body, the, shares the joy of the
soul. Life, xvii. 14; xviii. 15;
state in raptures, xx. 2, 4, 23 '
Bona, Cardinal, Found, vi. 1 ; viii.
7 /
Books, Life, iv. 2; ix. 6; xiii., 18;
xiv. 10; xxii. 3; xxiii. 13,. 17;
xxvi. 6; xxx. 20; xxxi. 21. (Rel.
i. 7; vii. 3 /

INDEX.

715

Borja, de, St. Francis. See
Francis.
Bouix, Marcel, Life, i. 3; xxiv. 5;
xxix. 16; xxxiv. 8, 12. Found.
xxiv. 2; xxv. S; xxvii. 21; xxviii.
27
Bracamonte, Francisco Barros de,
Found, xxi. 2, note.
Brances, Doiia Antonio de. See
Beatriz of the Most Holy Sac
rament.
Breviary, Correction of the,
Found, xxviii. 36, note.
Brief, the, sanctioning St.
Joseph's Life, xxxiii. 13, 15;
xxxiv. 2; xxxvi. 1; xxxix. 20.
Rel. ix. 27
Brizeno, Dona Maria, Life, ii. 12;
iii. 1. Plate iv.
Buencuchillo, Juan de, Found.
xxviii. 10
Bull, the Sabbatine, Life, xxxviii.
40
Bullon, Pedro, Found, xxiii. 3
Burgo, see Osma.
Burgos, Found, xxxi. 3, 18, 33, 41
Burgos, Archbishop of. See Vela.
Bustaniante y San Martin, Doiia
Juana, Found, xxx. 14
Camarasa, Marquis of, Found, x.
6
Caravaca, Found, xxiv. 2; xxvi. 1;
xxvii. 7
Cardenas, Fra Diego de, Found.
xxviii. 4
Cardona, de, Doiia Catalina, Rel.
iii. 12. Found, xvii. 1, note;
xxviii. 7, 18-30; Plate xxi.
Cardona, Don Ramon de, Found.
xxviii. 18
Carlos, Don, Found, xxviii. 18
Carmel, the Order of, Rel. iii. 14;
v. 9; x.; our Lord's promise
to the nuns of, Found, xvi. 5.
Carrera, F. Francis, S.J., Found.
xxx. 9
Casilda, Dona, Found, x. 12, 14;
xi. 3, 4, 6, 7, 8; xii. 1; xv. 4
Casilda of the Holy Angel, Found.
xxxi. 7, note.
Cassian, Rel. v. 11
s Castilla, Don Juan de, Found, xxx.
7
Castillo, Ferdinand, Rel. vii. 13
Castillo, Hernando del, Found.
xvii. 15; xxviii. 4
Cas^anza, Bartholomew, Found.
xv'. 4; xxviii. 18
Castro, Eleanora, Life, xxiv. 4
Castro, de, Pedro, Prologue to
Life.

Catalina, Dona, Found, xxxi. 9, 12
Catherine, St., of Siena, Life, xxii.
10. Found, xix. 9
Catherine of the Assumption,
Found, xxvii. 7; xxxi. 7, note,
16 note.
Catherine of Christ, Found, xxx.
4, 12; Plate xxiii.
Catherine of the Holy Ghost,
Found, xxx. 4
Catherine of Jesus. See Godinez.
Cazalla, Agostino, Life, xvi. 12
Censoriousness, Life, xxxi. 19
Cepeda, de, Alonso Sanchez, Life.
i. 1; ii. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9; iii. 9; v. 5, 6,
15, 17; vii. 16, 20, 22-25; xxxviii.
1
Cepeda, Diego, Life, xxxvi. 25.
Cepeda, Francisco, Life, xxxvi. 23
Cepeda, Francisco Alvarez, Life,
i. 4
Cepeda, de, Don Lorenzo, Life,
xvi. 12; xxxii. 16; xxxiii. 13;
xxxi a'. 2. Rel. iii. 11; ix. 11; xi.
7. Found, xxv. 3, 8; xxvi. 1,
note; xxvii. 9, 18, note, 21, note.
Cepeda, de, Maria, Life, i. 3; ii. 4,
iv. 6; vi. 3; xxxiv. 24, 25
Cepeda, de, Pedro Sanchez, Life,
iii. 5; xxiii. 7
Cepeda, de, Rodrigo, Life, i. 4
Cerda, de la, Doiia Luisa, Life,
xxxiv. 1, 4; xxxv. 6; xxxviii. 5;
xxxix. 11. Rel. ii. Found, ix. 2,
4, 5; x. 2; xv. 3, 10, 13; xxv. 6
Christ, Life, iii. 8; iv. 10; ix. 1, 7;
x. 1; xi. 8, 13, 16; xii. 3; xiii. 17,
20, 31; xxii. 2, 4, 19, 21; xxvii. 3,
15; xxviii. 2, 4, 7; xxix. 2; xxxii.
14; xxxvii. 4, 5; xl. 3. Rel. iv. 6;
Found. Pro. 4; i. 2; ii. 3
Ceremonies, the, of the Church,
Life, xxxi. 4; xxxiii. 6
Charles, St., Found, xxiv. 1
Charles V., Found, xxiii. 1
Chaves, Diego, Rel. vii. 11
Cheerfulness, Life, xii. 1
Cherubim, Life, xxix. 16 _
Cistercian nun's delusions, a.
Found, vi. 15
Clare, St., Life, xxxiii. 15
Cloud, Life, xx. 2, 3
Cobas, Don Francisco de los.
Found, x. 6
Comforts, Life, xxxiv. 4
Communion, Life, xvi. 3-10; xviii
10-18; xxx. 16; xxxvii. 24; xxxix.
31. Rel. iv. 5; ix. 13, 20; delu
sive longing for. Found, vi. 12,
14, 16, 18; vi. 20, 25
Complaint of the Saint, Life,
xxxvii. 13

716

INDEX.

Conception, hospital of the, in
Burgos, Found, xxxi. 26
Confession, Life, v. 17. Rel. v. 11
Confessors, Life, iv. 8, 13; v. 6, 20;
ai. 6; viii. 15; xx. 23; xxiii. 19;
xxvi. 5; xxx. 15; xxxiii. 4, 5;
xxxvii. 6. Rel. i. 9; vii. 5, 11, 12,
13
Confidence in God, Found, iv. 4;
xxvii. 11
Consecration, poAver of the Avords
of, Life, xxxvii. 30
Consolations, Life, xi. 21; xxii. 15
Constance of the Cross, Found.
xxviii. 14
Constitutions, the, Found, iii. 17;
ix. 4; xvii. 3; xviii. 9; xxii. 21;
xxiii. 13
Contemplation, Life, xxii. 1, 22,
23
Contradiction, Life, xxviii. 24;
xxx. 6
Conversation, Avorldly, Life, ii. 6;
A-ii. 10, 12; spiritual, xxxiv. 20
Conversions, Life, v. 12; xxxix. 5
Cordova, Found, xxiv. 7
Cordula, St., Found xviii. 9
Coria, Found, xxviii. 4
Council of Trent, Found, ix. 3;
x. 1; xxi\'. 9
Counsels, keeping of eA'angelical,
Life, xxxv. 2
Courage, Life, viii. 10; x. 8; xiii.
3; xxxi. 19
Covarrubias, Don Diego de,
Found, xxi. 2, note, 31
Covarrubias, Dona Beatriz,
. Found, xxxi. 45, note.
Covetousness, Life, xxxii. 14
CoAvardice, spiritual, Life, xiii. 6
Creator, the, Life, ix. 9
Crosses, Life, xi. S; xvi. 9
Cross, the Avay of the, Life, xi. 8;
xv. 17, 21 ; xxvii. 13
Crucified, the soul, Life, xx. 14
Crucifix, the miraculous, of Bur
gos, Found, xxxi. 18
Crux, Beatriz de la, Life, xxxvi.
25
Cuevas, Francisco de, Found.
xxxi. 26
Cuevas, Juan, Rel. vii. 13. Found.
xxix. 24
Cyrenean, the, Life, xxvii. 14
Dangers of Melancholy, Found.
vii. 4
David, King, Life, xvi. 5; xx. 13,
32. Found, xxix. 9
Davila, Alonso Alvarez, Life,
xxxvi. 25
Davila, Catalina, Life, xxvii. 18

Daza, Gaspar, Life, xvi. 12; xxiii.
6, 16; xxxii. 21; xxxvi. 4, 5, 8
Deaths, peaceful, Found, xvi. 5, 6;
xxix. 9
Delusions, Life, xxii. 3; xxv. 3, 11;
xxix. 6. Found, vi. 11; viii. 7, 9
Desires, good. Life, xiii. 8; xxi. 9.
/??/. xi. 5
Desolation, spiritual, Life. xxx. 10
Detachment, Life, xi. 2, 16; xv. 17,
18; xviii. 8; xx. 10; xxxi. 22;
xxxi\'. 19; xxxvii. 7. Ret. ii. 5;
iv. 3; ix. 11
Detraction, Life, vi. 4; vii. 3. Rel.
ii. 4
Detractors, Life, xi. 11
Devotion, SAveetness in. Life, ix.
10, 11; xi. 21; xxviii. 10; true,
Found, vi. 23
Devotions, overstrained, Life, iii.
2; vi. 9; xiii. 24
Diaz, Maria, Life, xxvii. IS
Die, to, or suffer, Life. xl. 27
Diego de San AJatia, Life, xxxviii.
40
Diego of the Trinitv, Found, xxix.
24
Direction, Life, viii. 15, 16; xiii.
4, 25; xxxviii. 16
Directors, Life, xiii. 21, 24, 26, 23,
29; xxiii. 14; xxxiv. 15; xxxix.
35; xl. 12. Rel. vii. 18
DiscDuragements, Life, xi. 15;
xix. 6; xxxi. 21
Discretion, Life, xi. 23; xiii. 2, 8.
Found, xviii. 6, 8, 12
Distractions, Life, xv. 10; xxx. 19;
xxxv. 3
Distrust of self, Life, viii. IS; ix.
3; xix. 20
Domingo, Ana de Santo, Found.
iii. 1
Dominic, St., Found, xix. 9
Dominic of Jesus, Maria, Plate
xxvii.
Dominicans, the, help St. Teresa,
Life, v. 8. Rel. vii. 11-14. Found.
xxii. 3, nole; xxiii. 1, 9
Dominion, true, Life, xl. 21
Doria. See Nicholas of Jesus
Maria.
Dove-cotes of Our Lady, Found.
iv. 5 J
Dreaminess, spiritual, Found, vii
1, 2, 5, 6, 18 - /
Duruelo, Found, xii. 3; xiv. 5y 6,
11 !
Eboli, Princess of, Found, xvii. 1,
11. 14; xviii. 15; xxviii. 24;. Plate
xiii.
Ecija, Rel. vi. 3

INDEX.

717

Ecstasy, Life, xx. 1, 2, 9; xxiv. 7
Elevation of the Spirit, Life, xviii.
o
Elena of Jesus, Found, xxxi. 45,
note.
Elias, the prophet, Found, xxvi.
10; xxviii. 17
Eliseus. See Gratian, Jerome.
Eliseus -of the Mother of God,
Fra, Found, xxx. 6
Elizabeth of St. Francis, Found.
xxii. 24
Elvira of San Angelo, Found.
xxviii. 14
Enclosure, Life, vii. 5. Found.
xxxi. 42
Envy, Life, xxxix. 19; holy,
Found, i. C>
EndoAvments, Life, xxxv. 4, 5;
xxxvi. 19; xxxix. 20
Ervias, Augustin de, Found.
xxviii. 7, 10, 31
Espousals, Rel. iii. 20; ix. 8, 25
Esteban, Alfonso, Found, iii. 5
Eugenius IV., Pope, Life, xxxiii.
12
Exorcisms, Life, xxix. 4
Experience, Life, xiv. 10, 11
Faber, Father, Life, vi. 9
F'aith, the, Life, xix. 13; xxv. 16
FaA'our, popular, Found, xxvii. 20
Fear, Life, xv. 22; xxv. 27; xxvi.
1
Fernandez (Hernandez) Gre-
gorio, Life, xxxii. 16, IS; xxxiv.
1; xxxviii. 34
Fernandez, Pedro, Found, xvii.
15; xix. 6, 7; xxi. 1; xxii. 3, note;
xxiv. 2; xxv. 5; xxviii. 5, 26;
xxix. 24
Ferrer, St. Vincent. Life , xx. 31
Flight of the Spirit, Life, xx. 4,
32. Rel. viii. 11
Foundations, history of the,
Found. Pro. 2, 4, 6; iv. 1, 2;
xxvi. 21 ; xxvii. 9, 14, 17, 18, 19;
xxix. 19
Founders of religious Orders,
Life, xxxii. 17. Found, iv. 6;
xiv. 3, 4
Frances of the Cross, Found.
xxvii. 1, 2, 3, 7
^Frances of St. Joseph, Found.
\ xxvii. 1, 2, 3, 7
Frances of the Mother of God,
Found, xxvii. 1, 2, 3, 7
Francis, St., Life, xxii. 10
Francis, St., de Borja, Life, xxiii.
3; xxiv. 4; xxv. 2; xxxiii. 9;
xxiiix. 4. Rel. vii. 5, 9, 11, 13,
16; viii. 6; xi. 7; Plate vi.

Francis a Sancta Maria, Rel. i.
note; Found, xxx. S
Franciscus a St. Thomas, Life,
xii. 5; xv. 15; xvi. 1
Franco, Alonso, Found, xv. 17
Friendship, spiritual advantages
of, Life, vii. 33-37; xv. 8; xxiv.
6, 8; xxx. 6; Rel. i. 16
Friendship, Avorldly, Life, ii. 4; v.
9; xxi. 1
Fuente, F. MattheAV de la, hermit
of Tardon, Found, xvii. 5, 7
Fuente, Don Vincente de la. Life,
i 3; ii. 8; xx. 1; xxv. 15; xxviii.
20; xxix. 16; xxxiv. 12; xxxv. 1;
xl. 18; Rel. i. 4; ix. 4, 6, 24;
Found, ii. 1, 2; iii. 2, 5, 16: iv. 7;
v. 3; vi. 22; vii.. 1, note; xix. 10;
xxi. 9; xxii. 12, 19; xxiii. 2, 9;
xxiv. 9; xxv. 8; xxvii. 7, 18, 21;
xxviii. 27, 36; xxix. 24
Gabriel, St., Archangel, Life,
xxvii. 5
Gabriel of the Assumption, Fra,
Found, xvii. 15; xxviii. 10, 15;
xxix 24
Gallo, Fernando, Found, xi. 1
Gambler, story of a, Found, xvi.
7,8
Garcia de Toledo, Life, xi. 12;
xvi. 10, 12; xxii. 10; xxxi. 6;
xxxiv. 8; xxxix. '4; xl. 32. Rel.
ii. 13; Found. Pro. 2. xxvii. 21
Garden, the prayer in the, Life,
ix. 5
Gaytan, Don Antonio, Found.
xvii. 15; xxi. 4, 5; xxiv. 3, 11;
xxvii. 3, 4, 7
Generosity of God, Found. Ii. 7
German of St. Mathias, Fra,
Found, xix. 6; xxviii. 3
Gifts of God, the, Life, x. 4, 7, 8;
xvii. 7; xxvi. 5; xxxiv. 14, 21;
xxxix 12
God, Life, x. 1; xi. 19; xiii. 13, 15;
xviii. 5; xxxvi. 31; xl. 13, 14.
Rel. iv. 6
Godinez, Doiia Catalina, of Veas,
Found, xxii. 4, 13
Godinez, Doria Catalina, Found.
xxii. 4, 6, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,
18, 20; xxiv. 3; xxxi. 16, note.
Gomez, Ana. See Anne of the
Angels.
Gomez, Ruy, de Silva, Found.
xvii. 1, 3, 10, 11, 12, 14; xxviii
10, 18, 20, 24; xxix. 24; Plate
xiii.
Gongalez, Alonso, (Gonzalez);
Found, ii. 2; xiii. 6
Gonzalez, Gil. Rel. vii. 5. Found.
xviii. 1

718

INDEX.

Grace, Life, A'iii. 13; xi. 18; xxxiv.
12; Rel. iii. 13
Grasa, de, Fra Raimundo, Found.
ii. 1
Gratian, Jerome, Life, ii. 2; XA-iii.
20; xxviii. 4; Rel. vi. 1; vii. 5,
8, 11; ix. 7, 21, 23, 26, sqq. Found.
ii. 6; viii. 6; xvii. 5; xxiii. 1, 2,
4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13; xxiv. 1,
note, 2; xxv. 8; xxvi. 10, 11, 12;
xxvii. 5-23; xxviii. 4, 21; xxix.
6, note, 24; xxx. 4, 12, 14; xxxi.
10, note. 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20.
24, 25, 26, 29, 31, 43; Plate xviii.
Gregory IX., Pope, Life, xxv. 2
Gregory XIII., Pope, Found.
xxiv. 1, 2; xxvii. IS; xxix. 24
Grenada, Luis de, Life, xxvi. 6;
xxviii. 20; xxx. 2; xxxix. 21;
Found, xxviii. 36
Guadalajara, Diego de, Found.
xxviii. 38
Guiomar of Jesus, Found, xxi. 3
Gutierrez, Juan, Rel. vii. 13;
xxviii. 3, 4
Gutierrez, Martin, S.J., Rel. iii. 12;
iv. 3; vii. 5; Found, xviiii. 1,
note.
Gutierrez, Nicholas, Found, xix.
2, 8
Guzman, Aldonza, Life, xxxvi. 1
Guzman, de, y Barrientos, Don
Martin, Life, ii. 4; iii. 4; xxxiv.
24
Hardships of the religious life,
Life, xiii. 30
Health, Life, \\. 3-8; xi. 23; xiii.
9; xx. 29; xxxvi. 9, 31; xl. 27;
Rel. i. 26; vii. 22
Heaven, Queen of, Life, xix. 9;
xxxiii. 16; xxxviii. 8
Hell, Life, xi. 6; xxx. 14; xxxii.
1, 7, 10
Heredia, Fra Antonio de, Found.
iii. 4, 7, 8, 15, 16; x. 4; xiii. 1, 4;
xiv. 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 11; xvii. 13, 14;
xix. 7; xxiii. 7; xxiv. 1; xxviii. 4,
10, 15, 36; xxix. 24, note; Plate
xi.
Heretics, Life, vii. 8; xiii. 14; xv.
8; xxxii. 9; xl. 9; Rel. i. 22
Hernandez, Paul, S.J., Rel. vii. 5;
Found, xv. 2, 3; xxvii. 18
Herrera, Dona Maria de, Found.
iii. 4, 9
Herrera, the licentiate, Found.
xxi. 9
Hiera, Dona Catalina, Found, xv.
14
1 Hera, Dona Juana. See Juana of
the Holy Ghost.

Hilarion, St., Life, xxvii. 2
Honorius III., Pope, Life, xxxviii.
40
Host, Sacred, Rel. iii. 7, 19; iv. 5;
ix. 13, 20
Hugo, Cardinal of Santa Sabina,
Life, xxxvi. 27
Humanity, the Sacred, Life, xii.
3; xxii. 1, 3, 9, 11; xxiii. 18;
xxiv. 2; xxviii. 4; xxix. 4;
xxxA'iii. 22
Humility, Life, vii. 37; x. 4; xii. 5,
11; xiii. 4; xv. 13; xix. 2, 15-23;
xx. 33; xxii. 16; xxx. 12; xx-cix.
21-23
Hyprccrisy, Life, vii. 2. Rel. i. 18
Hysteria, Life, xxix. 11, 12
Ibafiez, Pedro, Life. x. 10, note;
xvi. 10; xxxii. 19, 21; xxxiii. 5, 7;
xxxiv. 8, 16; xxxv. 5 7; xxxvi.
23; xxxviii. 15, 16; xxxix. 14;
Rel. ii.; vii. 11
Ignatius, St., Found, iii. 17
Illness, Life, iv. 6; v. 4, 14
Images, Life, vii. 3; ix. i-3, 7
Imagination, Life, ix. 6; xvii. 9
Imitation of the Saints, Life, xiii.
5-8
Immaculate Conception, Life, vi.
12
Imperfections, Life, xiv. 14;
Found. XA'iii. 11
Impetuosities, Life, xxix. 10, 11,
13, 15; xxxiii. 9
Incarnation, Monastery of, Life,
iv. 1; xix. 12; xxi. 16; xxxii. 12,
13; xxxiii. 2, 3; xxxv. 8, 10;
xxxvi. 1, 11; Found, ii. 1; iii. 2;
xix. 6; xxi. 1, 9
Indisposition, Life, xi. 23
Inebriation, spiritual, Life, xvi. 3;
xxviii. 14
Inez of the Cross, Found, xxxi.
16, note.
Iiiez of Jesus. See Agnes of
Jesus.
Inez de Tapia. See Agnes of
Jesus.
Ingratitude, Life, xiv. 16; xxiv. 6
Innocent IV., Pope, Life, xxxvi.
27; xxxviii. 40
Inquisition, the, Life, xxxiii. 6 /
Inspiratons, Life, iv. 3 /
Intentions, good, Life, v. 12 /
Isabel of the Cross, Found, iiu' 2
Isabel of the Angels, Found, xix.
4
Isabel of St. Dominic, Life,/ xx.
22; xxxvi. 25; xxxviii. ' 41;
Found, xv. 3, 6; xvii. 4, 14,; xxi.
9; xxiii. 3 i

INDEX.

719

Isabel of St. Francis, Found, xxiv
3
Isabel of St. Jerome, Found, xvii.
13; xxii. 24; xxiv. 3
Isabel of Jesus, Rel. iv. 1; Found.
xxi. 3, 7; xxix. 9, 23; xxx. 8;
xxxi. 10, note.
Isabel of St. Joseph, Found, xv. 14
Isabel of St. Paul, Life, xxxvi. 23;
Found, xv. 3; xvii. 4; xxi. 3
Isabel of St. Peter, Found, xvii. 14
Isabel of the Trinity, Found, xxxi.
7, note.
James, St., Knights of, in Veas,
Found, xxii. 3, note. 13
Jerome, St., Life, iii. 8; xi. 17;
xxxviii. 2
Jerome of the Mother of God.
See Gratian.
Jeronyma of Jesus, Found, iii. 13;
xix. 4
Jewel, Life, XA-iii. 6
Jezebel, Found, xxvii. 15
Jimena, Doiia Ana de, Found, xxi.
2, note, 3, 4
Jimena, Don Andres de, Found.
xxi. 2, note, 4
Job, patience of, Life, v. 16; trial
of, xxx. 12
John of the Cross, St., Life, xiii.
21; xv. 20; xvi. 1, 12; xviii. 20;
xx. 9, 16; xxii. 11; xxv. 1, 22,
25; xxvi. 5; xxvii. 4, 12; xxviii.
3, 14; xxix. 13; xxxviii. 29;
xxxix. 8; xl. 10, 12; Rel. iii. 19;
v. 2, 5; viii. 22; Found, iii. 4, 7,
16, 17; ix. 3; x. 3, 4; xiii. 1, 5;
xiA'. 1, 2, 5; xix. 6; xxi. 4; xxiv.
1; xxvii. 7; xxviii. 1, note; xxix.
24; Plate xvii.
Joseph, St., Life, v. 12; vi. 9; xxx.
8; xxxiii. 14
Joseph, St., the monastery of,
Life, x. 11; xiv. 12; xxxii. 22;
xxxiii. 18; xxxa'. 13; xxxvi. 4,
14, 25; xxxviii.. 15; xxxix. 14.
Rel. x. 1; Found. Pro. 2; i. 1, 2,
3, 4; ii. 1; xxxi. 46, 47
Joseph of Christ, Fra, Found, xiv.
5, 6
Joys, Life, x. 3; xxvii. 13, 15
Juan, Don, of Austria, Found.
xxviii. 18, 26
, Juan of Jesus, Fra, Found, xxiii.
¦ 3; xxviii. 4, note; xxix. 24
J^uan de la Miseria. See Miseria.
Juan of the Mother of God,
Found, xxix. 24
Juana, Doiia, sister of Philip IL,
Found, iii. 17
Juana of the Holy Ghost, Found.
xv. 14; xx. 12

Juana of St. Jerome, Found, xxvii.
7
Juana of Jesus, Found, xix. 4
Judas, temptation of, Life, xix. 15
Judgement, day of, Life, xl. 16
Julian of Avila. See Avila.
Kindred, detachment from. Life,
xxxi. 22; Rel. ix. 11
Kings, Life, xxi. 2, 4; xxxvii. 8
Labourer, story of a, Life, xxxviii.
26
Lady, service done to our, Found.
x. 5
Lady, Our, of Anguish, Rel. ix. 22
Lady, Our, of Charity, Life, i. 7
Lady, Our, of Grace, (Augus
tinian Convent), Life. ii. 8
Laptaza, Don Pedro, Found, x. 4
Laredo, de, Bernadino, Life, xxiii.
13
Laxity in religious houses. Life,
vii. 6, 9; Found, xxvii. 9; xxix.
26
Layz, Teresa de, Found, xx. 2, 4,
5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12
Learning, Life, xii. 6; xiii. 24-26;
xiv. 9; xv. 12
Leiva, Doiia Isabel de. Found.
xiv. S
Leon, Don Juan de, Found, xxviii.
27
Leon, Luis de, Found, xxvii. 18
Leonor of St. Gabriel, Found.
xxii. 24; xxiv. 3
Lie, a, Satan is, Life, xxv. 26; the
saint's hatred of, Life, xxviii. 6;
Found. Pro. 3
Life, the, of the Saint, Life, x. 11.
weariness of, xxi. S; the illumi
native, xxii. 1
Light of visions, Life, xxviii. 7;
xxxviii. 3
Locutions, Life, xviii. 18; xix. 13,
14; xxiv. 7; xxv. 2, 3, 5, 8, 12,
13, 17, 22; xxvi. 3, 6; xxvii. 10;
xxix. 7; xxx. 17; xxxi. 15; xxxii.
17; xxxiii. 10, 14; xxxv. 7, 9;
xxxvi. 20; xxxviii. 4, 19, 21;
xxxix. 29, 34; xl. 1, 21, 24; Rel.
iii. 1 passim; Rel. iv. 4, 5, 6;
Rel. ix. 1 passim; Found. Pro. 2;
i. 7; ix. 3; x. 3; xv. 16; xvi. 5;
xvii. 3; xxv. 4; xxviii. 13; xxix.
6, 14; xxx. 9; xxxi. 11, 25, 33. 41
Longings for the conversion of
sinners, Found, i. 5, ii. 3
Lord, Our, accounted mad, Life,
xxvii. 15
Louise of Aragon. See Louise of
the Blessed Sacrament.

720

INDEX.

Louise of the Blessed Sacrament,
Plate xxii.
Love, Life, ix. 7; xi. 1, 20; xv. 6;
xxii. 21; xxvii. 12; xxix. 10, 11;
xxx. 25
Loyalty, worldly, Life, v. 9
Ludolf of Saxony, Life, xxxviii.
11
Luis of the Assumption, Life, xl.
18
Luis of Jesus, Fra, (Don Enri
que), Found, xiv. 8
Lukewarmness, Life, vii. 1
Lunar, Rel. vii. 13
Lutherans, Life, xxxii. 9; Rel. ii.
14; v. 5; Found, xviii. 4
Machuca, Doiia Catalina de.
Found, xvi. 12
Madness, spiritual, Life, xvi. 1-8;
xxvii. 15
Madrid, Alonso de, Life, xii. 1
Magdalen of the Cross, Life,
xxiii. 2
Magdalen, St. Mary, Life, ix. 2;
xxi. 9; xxii. 19; Rel. viii. 6; ix.
9
Malagon, Rel. iii. 2; Found, ix. 5
Maldonado, Alonso, Found, i. 6
Maldonado, Fra Fernando,
Found, xxviii. 3
Mancera, Found, xiv. 8
Mai.cio, F., Rel. ii. 18
Manrique, Don Alonso de Santo
Domingo, Found, xxxi. 9
Manrique, Dona Elvira, Found.
xxix. 12
Manrique, Don Luis, Found.
xxAiii. 4
Manrique, Don Pedro, Found, xv.
4-12
Manso, Don Pedro, Found, xv. 4;
xxxi. 19, note, 22, note, 37, 39,
40, 41
Mantles of the religious, Life.
xxxi. 27
Maria Bautista (Ocampo), Life,
xx. 5; xxxii. 13; xxxvi. 25;
xxxix. 14; Found, i. 2, 3; iii. 2,
7; xxix. 1, 5
Maria de la Crux, Life, xxxvi. 5
Maria of Jesus, Life, xxxv. 1;
xxxvi. 29; Found, iii. 17; x. 2;
xxiii. 3; xxx. 4
Maria of the Martyrs, Found.
xxviii. 14
Mariano of St. Benedict, Fra,
Found, xvii. 5-14; xxiv. 9, 12;
xxviii. 4, 25; xxx. 4; Plate xiv.
Martin of the Cross, (Order of
St. Francis), Found, xv. 6, 7
Martin, Don Guzman y Barrien-
tos. See Guzman.

Martin, St., Found, xxxi. 10
Martinez, Found, xxiv. 2
Martyrdom, Life, i. 4
Martyrs, the, Z-i'/«, xvi. 6
Mary and Martha, Life, xvii. 6;
xxiii. 13; Rel. viii. 6
Mary of the Baptist, Found, xxxi.
16, note.
Mary of the Blessed Sacrament,
Found, xvii. 14; xviii. 3; xix. 5;
xx. 12
Mary of Christ, Found, xix. 4;
xxx. 4, 12
Mary of St. Francis, Life, xiv. 12.
Found, xv. 6; xix. 4
Mary of the Holy Ghost, Found.
xviii. 3; xxiv. 3; xxix. 9
Mary Isabel, Life, xxxvi. 23
Mary of St. Jerome, Found, xxx.
12
Mary of St. Joseph, (Davila),
Life, xxxvi. 5.
Mary of St. Joseph (Salazar),
Found, xxii. 24, note; xxiv. 3;
xxv. 6; xxvi. 15; xxviii. 14; xxx.
4; xxxi. 7, note; Plate xix.
Mary of the Visitation, Found.
xxii. 24, note.
Mascarefias, de, Doiia Leonora,
Life, xxxv. 1; xxxvi. 29; Found.
iii. 17, note; xvii. 4, 5
Matanza, Hernando de, Found.
xxxi. 26, 40
Maurique, Dona Maria, Found.
xxxi. 9
Medina, Bartholomew, Rel. vii.
11; xi. 7
Medina, Bias de, Found, iii. 13
Medina, Cceli, Duke of, Life,
xxxiv. 1
Medina del Campo, Rel. iii. 2.
Found, iii. 1, 8, 17; ix. 1; x. 3;
xvii. 13
Meditation, Life, iv. 11; A-iii. 9, 10;
xi. 7, 20; xiii. 19; xa'. 20; Found.
v. 2, 3; vi. 7
Melancholy, Found, vi. 4, 9; vii.
3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12; xxvii. 8, 9
Memory, Life, xvii. 5, 9, 11;
Found. Pro. 5; xx. 13
Mendoza, de, Don Alvaro, Life,
xx. 5; xxii. 10; xxxiii. 9, 16, 19;
xxxiv. 19; xxxvi. 1, 18; Found. ;
ii. 2, 4; iii. 7; x. 1; xiii. 6; xvii..
10; xxiii. 11; xxix. 1, 9, 22, 23>;
xxxi. 2, 39, 47, 48
Mendoza, Ana de, y la Cer«3a.
See Eboli. '
Mendoza, Don Bernadino, Fortnd.
x. 1, 2, 5 /.
Mendoza, Diego Hurtado- de,
Found, xvii. 1

INDEX.

721

Mendoza, Don Luis Hurtado de,
Found. xx\iii. 4
Mendoza, Dona Maria de, Found.
iii. 17; x. 6; xiii. 6
Mendoza, Don Pedro Gonzalez
de, Found. x\ iii. 1, 3
Men, great, Life, xxxvii. 7
Meneses, Philip, Rel. vii. 12
Mercenarians, Found, xxviii. 23
Mercies of God, the. remem
brance of, Life, xv. 23
Michael, St., Life, xxvii. 2
Michael of St. Joseph, Fra, Found.
xxi. 2
Minims, Order of, Found, xxxi. 12
Miracles, Life, xxxviii. 1; xxxix.
1; Found, xix 9, note.
Misdirection, a, Life, xiii. 22
Miseria, Fra Juan de la. Found.
xxiv. 3; xxviii. 10 26
xxiv. 3; xxviii. 10. 26
Mitigation, the Bull of, Life,
xxxii. 12; xxxvi. 27, 28
Monasteries, courts in politeness.
Life, xxxvii. 17; not grand
buildings, Found, xiv. 3
Monterey, Don Pedro de, Found.
xix. 9, 10
Moriz, Don Juan, Found, xix. 2.
Mortification, Found, xviii. 6, 10
Moya (Cuellar) Doiia Francisca
de. See Frances of the Cross.
Moya, Doiia Isabel de, Found.
xxix. 7
Moya, Roderigo de, (of Cara
vaca), Found, xxvii. 1
Munificence of God, Life, xviii.
5; xxii. 26
Munoz, licentiate, Found, xxvii. 1
Music, Rel. i. 12
Nativity of our Lady, Rel. ix. 13
Nazianzen, Gregory, Fra., Found.
xxiv. 3; xxaj. 1 ; xxvii. 5, 6
Neatness, Life, ii. 2. Rel. ix. 13
Nicholas of St. Cyril, F'ra.,
Found, xiv. 10
Nicholas of Jesus Maria, Fra.,
Found, xxiv. 3; xxix. 23, 24;
xxx. 4, 5, 6, 12; Plate xxii.
Novices in St. Joseph's, Life,
'. xxxix. 15
iNovitiate of the Saint, Life, v. 1
Nuns, Life, v. 3; xxxviii. 37, 38;
found, iii. 17; iv. 2, 5, 8; xv. 10;
xxvi. 2
Nunez, Vela, Life, i. 3
Obedience, Life, xviii. 10; xxiii.
19; xxxiii. 9; Rel. i. 9, 29; vii.
14; Found. Pro. 1; i. 2; iv. 2;

v. 6, 8, 14, 18, 21, 24; xvi. 3;
xviii. 12, 13, 14
Objects, natural, Life, ix. 6
Ocampo, de, Mary. See Maria
Bautista.
Office, the divine, Life, xxii. 19;
xxxi. 26
Olivares, Count of, Found, xix. 9
Onez, Beatriz. See Beatriz of the
Incarnation.
Oratory, the Saint's, Life, xxiv.
1; xxv. 19
Order, vision of a certain. Life,
xl. 18, 19
Ordonez, Diego, Life, xxxvi. 23
Ordonez, Maria. See Mary Isa
bel.
Ordonez, S.J., Rel. vii. 5
Organ, Life, xxxi. 24
Original sin, Rel. viii. 17
Ormaneto, Nicholas, Monsignore,
Found, xxiii. 13; xxiv. 1, 2;
xxviii. 1, 3, 26
Orosco, Don Juan de, Found, xxi.
8
Orosco, Fra Pedro, Found, iii. 16
Ortega, Isabel. See Isabel of St.
Dominic.
Ortega, Juan, Life, xxxvi. 25
Ortiz, Diego, Found, xv. 3, 4
Osma, Found, xxx. 6
Osorno, Countess of, Rel. iii. 16
Osuna, de, Francisco, Life, iv. S
Otalora, Doiia Catalina de, (of
Caravaca), Found, xxvii. 1, note,
2
Otayud, Don Lorenzo de, Found.
xiv. 9
Ovalle, de, Don Juan, Life, xxxi.
22; xxxiii. 13; xxxv. 14; xxxvi.
2, 4; Found, xx. 1
Pablo, Pedro, Found, xxv. 6
Padilla, Don Antonio de, Found.
x. 10; xv. 4
Padilla, Doria Casilda de. See
Casilda.
Padilla, Doria Luisa de. Found, x.
10, 12
Padranos, or Pradanos, de, Juan,
Life, xxii. 5; xxiii. 18; xxiv. 1,
5; xxvii. 4
Pain of raptures. Life, xx. 11, 19
Palafox, Found, i. 2; xxx. 1, 14;
Plate xxiii.
Palencia, 7??/. xi. 4; Found, xxix.
1, 8, 21, 23
Palma, Ana de la, Found, xvi. 1,
2; xxviii. 14
Pantoja, Fernando, Found, xxv. 8
Paradise of His delight. Life.
xxxv. 13

722

INDEX.

Pardo, Arias, Life, xxxiv. 1
"Passer Solitarius," Lite, xx. 13;
Rel. viii. 22
Passion, the, Life, ix. 5; xiii. 19,
20; xxii. 8
Pastrana, Found, xvii. 11, 13, note,
15, note; xxiii. 8
Paterna, Convent at, Rel. ix. 14
Patience, Life, v. 3, 16; viii. 8
Paul, St., Life, xxi. 9; Rel. ix.
19, 21, 22
Pazos, Don Mauricio de. Found.
xxviii. 4
Peace, Life, ix. 7, 8
Peculium, Life, xx. 34
Pedro of the Angels, Found.
xxviii. 3
Pedro of the Apostles, Found.
xxviii. 26
Pedro of Jesus Maria, Found.
xxviii. 27
Pedro of the Purification, Found.
xxxi. 14, note.
Penance, Life, xxiv. 2; xxvii. 14.
Rel. i. 5; ii. 11; xi. 2
Pena, Isabel. See Isabel of St.
Paul.
Pentecost, Life, xxxviii. 11; Rel.
vi. 3; x. 1
Perfection, Life, xxi. 10; xxxv. 15;
xxxix. 21; Found, iv. 3; v. 10;
vii. 11
Persecution, Life, xix. 12; xxxiii.
5; xxxvi. 13
Perseverance in prayer, Life, viii.
5; xi. 6, 17; xiv. 17; xix. 7
Peso y Henao, Catalina, Life, i. 3
Peter, St., Rel. ix. 17
Peter, St., of Alcantara, Life,
xxvii. 4, 17-22; xxx. 5, 7, 20;
xxxii. 16; xxxv. 6; xxxvi. 1 and
note. 5, 20, 21; xxxviii. 41; xxxix.
14; xl. 12; Rel. i. vii. 6; Found.
vi. 20; xxviii. 19, 36; Plate vi.
Petronila of St. AndreAV, (Sister),
Found, xvi. 5
Philip IL, King, Rel. vii. 12;
Found, xxii. 3, note; xxvii. 5;
xxviii. 4; xxix. 24, 25; xxx. 1
Philip, St., Found, v. 3; xvii. 5,
note.
Philippus a SS. Trinitate, Life,
xv. 15; xviii. 18; xx. 1; xxv. 1;
xxviii. 3
Phoenix, the, Life, xxxix. 33
Pilgrims, Life, xxxviii. 8
Pillar, the, meditation on Christ
at, Life, xiii. 19, 31
Pincenza, Chapter of, Found.
xxvii. 18
Pimentel, Dona Maria, Found.
xix. 9

Piiia, (a hermit), Found, xxviii.
20, note.
Piux IV., Found, xxiii. 13
Pius V., Found, xxii. 3; xxiv. 1;
xxviii. 36
Pole, Cardinal, Found, xxiv. 1
Politeness, monasteries courts in,
Life, xxxvii. 17
Porras, a priest, Found, xxix. 8
Porraz, Diego, Found, xxi. 7
Poverty, Life, xi. 3; xxii. 17;
xxxv. 3; Rel. i. 10; ii. 2; Found.
x. 11; xv. 4, 15; xxvii. 11; xxxi.
43, 44
Prayer, mental, Life, vii. 19; viii.
11, 12; x. 3; xi. 12, 13, 20, 27;
xii. 3; xiii. 18; xv. 5; xix. 7;
xxii. 16; xxix. 9; xxxi. 9; xxxix.
8-10; Rel. i. 1; Found, iv. 3; v.
2, 18; xviii. 10
Preachers, Life, xvi. 12
Presence of God, the, Life, xii.
4; xiv. 8; xviii. 20; xxvii. 6
Presentation of Our Lady, Rel.
ix. 2
Priests, Life, v. 9, 13; xxxi. 7;
xxxviii. 29; Rel. ix. 20
Prioress, the, Found, vii. 3, 7, 8,
9; viii. 6, 10; xviii. 6, 12; xix. 1
Profession, Life, iv. 4; Rel. vi. 3
Progress in raptures, Life, xxi. 11
Prophecies, Life, xxxiv. 23; Rel.
ii. 6, 17
Provincial, the, of the Carmeltes,
Life, xxxii. 16, IS; xxxiv. 2;
xxxv. 8; xxxa'L 12, 14, 15, 17, 23;
xxxviii. 34-36
Prudencio, steAvard of the bishop
of Palencia, Found, xxix. 9, 21
Purgatory, Life, xa-. 11; xx. 17,
21; xxxv. S; xxxviii. 41; xxxix.
6; Rel. vii. 2
Queen of Heaven, the, Life, xix. 9
Quadra, Juan de la, Found, ii. 1
Quesada, Dona Teresa de, Found.
iii. 2, xix. 6
Quiet, the prayer of, Life, iv. 9;
ix. 6; xiv. 1, 5, 7; xv. 3, 6, 7,
9, 15
Quiroga, Cardinal, Found, iii. 13
Quiroga, Dona Elena de, Found;.
iii. 13 /
Quiroga, Don Gaspar de, Found.
xxi. 2 ;'
Quiroga, Dona Geronimo. /See
Jeronyma of Jesus. ('
Ramirez, Alonso, Rel. iii. 1;
Found, xv. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 15
Ramirez, Martin, Found, xv. 1, 3,
16, 17

INDEX.

723

Ransom of captives, Order of,
Found, xxi. 7
Rank, slavery of. Life, xxxiv. 6
Rapture, Life, xx. 1, 9, 11, 13, 23,
25, 29, 30; xxxviii. 8; Rel. i. 8,
15, 26; iv. 1; Found, vi. 1
Reading, spiritual, Life, i. 1; iv.
12, 13; viii. 14; xii. 10; xviii. 14;
Rel. i. 7
Recollection, prayer of, Life, xiv.
2; Rel. viii. 3
Recreation, Life, xi. 24; xiii. 1
Reflections, in prayer, Life, xv. 11
Reform, the Carmelite, Life,
xxxii. 13
Reinoso, Don Francis de, Found.
xxix. 8, 23
Reinoso, Don Jerome de, Found.
xxix. 7, 8, 14, 20; xxxi. 6
Relaxation of the Order, Life,
vii. 9
Religious, Life, xxvii. 16
Remedies for melancholy, Found.
vii. 5, 7
Resignation of the Saint, Life,
xxi. 6; Rel. i. 20
Revelations, . Life, xxxii. 19;
Found, viii. 1, 6
Ribera, Francis, Life, i. 4; v. 19,
20; xxiii. 18; xxxii. 1; xxxiii. 12;
xxxiv. 8; xxxvi. 2; xl. IS; Rel.
i. 17, 28; ii. 4, 6; iii. 3, 12; ix. 4;
Found, iii. 5, 7, 9, 13, 17; ix. 4;
x. 2; xviii. 1; xx. 6; xxi. 9; xxii.
14, 20, 24; xxv. 6; xxvii. 1; xxx.
7
Ribera, Pedro de, Found, xxx. 4,
12
Ripalda, Jerome, S.J., Rel. vii. 5;
xi. 7; Found. Pro. 2; x. 8; xi.
1; xxvii. 21 ; xxix. 4
Roca, Isabel, Found, xxiii. 3
Roda, La., monastery of, Found.
xxviii. 17
Rojas, Juan de. Found, xxviii. 7
Rosary, the, of the Saint, Life,
xxix. 8
Roxas y Sandoval, Don Cristobal
de, Found, xxiv. 2, 9, 10, 12, 14;
xxiv. 9, 10, 12, 13; xxv. 11; xxix.
24; Plate xix.
Rubeo, Juan Battisto, (Rossi),
Life, xxxii. 16; xxxiv. 1; xxxvi.
23; Found, ii. 1, 2, 4, 5; xxvii.
1 18; xxviii. 1; Plate vii.
Rniz, Ana Hernandez, Found.
xxviii. 10
Rule, the Carmelite, Life, xxxii.
12; xxxvi. 27, 30, 31; Found.
xviii. 6
Salazar, Fra Angel, Life, xxxii.

16; xxxiv. 1; xxxA-i. 12 sqq.
xxxviii. 34; Found, ii. 2; xvii.
15; xix. 6; xxiv. 1; xxvii. 18;
xxviii. 6, 11, 14; xxix. 1, 24
Salazar, de, Gaspar, S.J., Life,
xxxiii. 9, 11; xxxiv. 18; xxxv. 1;
xxxviii. 17; xxxix. 2; Rel. \ii. 5;
Found, xxviii. 27
Salazar, Mencia, Life, xxxvi. 25
Salcedo, Ana de, Found, xxvii. 7
Salcedo, de, Don Francisco, Life,
xvi. 12; xxiii. 6, 11, 12; xxxii.
21; xxxvi. 1, 4, IS, 21; Ret. ii. 7
Salinas, Juan, Rel. vii. 13
Salinas, Canon of Palencia,
Found, xxix. 10, 20; xxxi. 18, 21,
22
Samaria, the woman of, Life, xxx.
24
Sandoval, Doiia Maria de, Found.
xxii. 4, 12, 20
Sandoval, Sancho Rodriguez de.
Found, xxii. 4, 12, note.
Sanchez, Maria, of Pedroza de
Campos, Found, xi. 1
San Lucar, Duke of, Found, xix, 9
Santander, Luis, Rel. vii. 5
Saojosa, Doiia Francisca de. See
Frances of the Mother of God.
Satan, Life, iv. 14; vii. 2, 12, 35;
xiii. 5, 9, 26; xv. 16; xix. 8;
xxv. 26; xxvii. 4-8; xxviii. 15;
xxxi. 2, 10; Rel. i. 29
Scandal, Life, xxvii. 16
Schram, Dominic, Life, v. 6.
Found, v. 3
Scorn, signs of, Rel. xxix. 6
Sega, Philip, Monsignore, Found.
xxviii. 3, 4; xxix. 1, 24
Segovia, Found, xvii. 15, note;
xxi. 1, 4, 6; xxx. 14
Self-contempt, Life, xxxi. 23
Self-denial, Life, xxxi. 25
Self-knowledge, Life, xiii. 23
Self-love, Life, xi. 2, 4, 5; Found.
v. 4; vi. 19
Self-respect, Life, xxi. 12; xxxi.
24
Senses, the suspension of the,
Life, xviii. 19
Sensitiveness, Life, xi. 4
Sermons, Life, viii. 17; xvi. 12
Sevilla, Juan, Ven., Life, ii. 8
Seville, Archbishop of. See
Roxas y SandoAral.
Seville, Rel. vi. 3; ix. 8; Found.
xxiv. 2, 3, 10; xxv. 1, note, 5, 6
Shame, fruits of, Life, v. 9
Sickness of the Saint, Life, xxx. 9
Sickness, as penance, Life, xxiv.
2

724

INDEX.

Sight restored by prayer of the
^aint, Life, xxxviii. 1
Silicio, Don Juan Martinez,
Found, xv. 4
Sincerity of the Saint, Rel. i. 28
Sin, Life. viii. 14; xiii. 14; xxx. 20;
xxxix. 3; xl. 15; Rel. iii. 13
Sins, the divulgng of, Life, x. 10
Society of Jesus, the. Life, v. 8;
xxiii. 3, 19; xxxviii. 18-39;
Found, xxxi. 21
Soldoratus, Found, iii. 17
Solitude, Life, i. 6; vi. 5; Rel. i. 6;
Found, v. 5, 15
Sorcery, Life, v. 10
Soria, monastery in, Found, xxx.
L 7, 9
Soto y Salazar, Francisco, Rel.
Aii. 8
Soul, our OAvn, Life, xiii. 13, 14;
likened to a bird, xviii. 13; xix.
22; to a garden, xl. 10: xiv. 13;
in the prayer of quiet, xv. 1;
growth of, xv. 20; powers of,
xvi. 1, 4; beside itself, xvi. 1-5;
crucifixion of, xx. 14; detach
ment of, xx. 33; strengthened
in raptures, xxi. 14; effects of
visions in, xxvii. 11; helpless
ness of, without God, xxxvii. 11
Spark, Life, xv. 2, 6, 7, 9, 11
Spinning, Life, x. 11
Spirit, liberty of, Life, xi. 25;
Found, v. 7; vi. 17; poverty of.
Life, xviii. 8; Rel. viii. 11
Spirits, evil, Life, xxv. 25; xxxi. 4
Spirituality, influence of bodily
health on, Life, xi. 24
Sponge, Rel. iii. 9; ix. 10
Stephany of the Apostles, Found.
xi. 1, note.
Stevano, Ambrosi, Found, xxix. 24
Suarez, Found, xxviii. 4
Suarez, Isabel, Found, xv. 14
Suarez, Juan, S.J., Life, xxxviii.
17; Rel. vii. 5; Found, xviii. 1
Suarez, Juana, Life, iii. 2; iv. 1
Suffer, to, or to die, Life, xl. 27
Suffering of the Saint, Life, iv. 7;
v. 4, 14; vi. 1; xi. 19; xx. 16; xl. !
27; the aim of a Carmelite,
Found, xxviii. 37
Sun, Rel. ix. 20
Supper, Rel. iv. 6
Sweetness, spiritual, Life, ix. 11;
xi. 21; xx. 19; xxiv. 1
Tabera, Cardinal, Life, xxxiv. 1
Tamayo, Found, xxx. 12, 17
Tapeta, Don Gomez, Found.
xxvii. 5
Tapia, Doiia Maria de, Found.
xxi. 9

Tardon, hermits of, Found, xvii.
7
Tauste, Dofia Franci=ca de. See
Frances of St. Joseph.
Tears, gift of, Life, iv. 8; ix. 1;
xiv. 5; xix. 1, 2, 10; xxix. 11;
Rel. a iii. 15
Tello, Giron, Don Gomez, Found.
xv. 4
Temptation, poAver of, Life, xxx.
13
Tenderness of soul, Life, x. 2
Teresa, S., desires martyrdom,
Life, i. 4; placed in a monastery
ii, 8, unwilling to become a nun,
ii. i0; becomes more fervent,
iii. 2: is resolved to folloAv her
vocation, iii. 6; first fervours
of, iv. 2; failure of health, iv.
6; God sends her an illness, v.
4; suffers grieviously, vi. 1;
afraid of prayer, vi. 5; leads
her father to prayer, vii. 16;
present at her father's death,
vii. 22; perseveres in prayer,
viii. 2; found it hard to pray,
viii. 10; delights in sei mons,
viii. 17; devout to the Mag
dalene, ix. 2; never doubted of
God's mercy, ix. 8; depreciates
herself, x. 9; Avilling to have
her sins diA'ulged, x. 10: ahvays
sought for light, x. 13; com
plains of her memory, xi. 9;
unable to explain the state of
her soul, xii. 10; supernaturally
enlightened, xii. 11; read books
on prayer to no purpose, xiv.
10; Avrites Avith many hin
drances, xiv. 12; xl. 32; bewails
her ingratitude, xiv. 16; scarcely
understood a Avord of Latin, xv.
12; understands her state in the
prayer of imperfect union, xvi.
3; and describes it, xvi. 6; be
wails her un worthiness, xviii.
6; writes under obedience, xviii.
10; confesses ignorance, xviii.
20; abandons her prayers
for a time, xix. 8; evil spoken
of, xix. 12; misled by false
humility, xix. 23; prays to be ,
delivered from raptures, xx. 5;
6; never cared for money, xx.
34; gives up her whole being
to God, xxi. 7; unable to learn
from books, xxii. 3; afraid of
delusions, xxiii. 3; is directed
by a layman, xxiii. 10; seA-ere
to herself, xxiv. 2; her first
ecstasy, xxiv. 6; had no visions
before the prayer of uniop, xxv.

INDEX.

725

Teresa, S. (Con.)
14; told by her confessor that
she Avas deluded by Satan, xxv.
18; not airaid of Satan, xxv. 27;
spoken against, xxvi. 3; prays
to be led by a different spiritual
Avay, xxv. 20; xxxii. 3; Rel. vii.
7, troubles of, because of vis
ions, Life, xxvii. 4, xxxiii. 6; her
defence when told that her vi
sions were false, xxviii. 18, 19;
afraid nobody Avould hear her
confession, xxviii. 20; harshiy
judged by her directors, xxviii.
23; would not exchange her
A'isions for all the pleasures of
the Avorld, xxix. 5; vehemence
of her love, xxix. 10; her super
natural Avound, xxix. 17; mani
fests her spiritual state to S.
Peter of Alcantara, xxx. 4;
boclly trials of, xxx. 17; finds
no relief in exterior occupa
tions, xxx. 13; buffeted by
Satan, xxxi. 3; converts a great
sinner, xxxi. 7; troubled be
cause Avell thought of, xxxi.
13-17; her singing of the Office,
xxxi. 26; commanded to labour
for the reform of her Order,
xxxii. 14; commanded to aban
don her purpose, xxxiii. 1; her
vision in the Dominican church,
AAila, xxxiii. 16; goes to To
ledo, xxxiv. 3; the nuns wish
to have her as their prioress,
xxxv. 8; restores a child to life,
xxxv. 14; note; begins the Re
form, xxxvi. 4; her grievious
trial, xxxvi. 6 7; her health im
proved, xxxvi. 9; wou[d suffer
all things for one additional de
gree ot glory, xxxvii. 3; her af
fection for her confessors,
xxxaH. 6; supernaturally helped
when writing, xxxvii. 2S; ob
tains sight for a blind person,
xxxix. 1; and the cure of one
of her kindred, xxxix. 2; her
spiritual state became known
without her consent , xl. 23;
submits all her writings to the
Roman Church, Rel. Aii. 14;
commanded to Avrite the his
tory of the foundations, Found.
Pro. 2; distrusts her memory,
5; delights in her nuns i. 1;
longs for the salvation of souls,
L 5; ii. 2; afraid Avhen the gen
eral of the Carmelites arrived
in Spain, ii. 1; frank with her
superiors, i. 2; wishes to have

Teresa, S. (Con.)
monasteries of friars founded,
ii. 5; iii. 15; begins her work in
poverty and alone, ii. 6; pre
pares the house in Medina del
Campo, iii. 9; alarmed by the
difficulties of her task, iii. 10;
devotion of, to the Most Holy
Sacrament, iii. 12; goes to
Alcala de Henares, iii. 17, note;
beAvails her own shortcomings,
iv. 6, 7; cures tAvo nuns of de
lusions, vi. 14, 16; her longings
for communion at one time a
snare, vi. 19; her reflections on
her own communions, vi. 22; is
taught by Banes how to deal
with visions, viii. 3, 4; visits
Duruelo to make preparations
for the house of the friars, xii.
3; dislikes large monasteries,
xiv. 3; begs the first friars of
the reform to be less rigid Avith
themselves, xiv. 11; is much hin
dered in making the foundation
in Toledo, xv. 5; loves poverty,
xv. 14; joy of, in the monas
tery of Toledo, xvii. 1; returns
to Toledo a,ter making the
foundations of Pastrana, xviii.
1; laboriousness of her jour
neys, xviii. 4; xxh'. 3; xxvii. 15;
xxx. 13; xxxi. 14 — IS; founds a
house in Salamanca, xix. 4; or
dered to return as prioress to
the Incarnation, xix. 6;xxi. 1;
commanded by our Lord to
found a monastery in Segovia,
xx. 1; resigns the priorate of
the Incarnation, xxi. 8; asked
to make a foundation in Veas,
xxii. 1 ; cause of that request,
xxii. 2; ill on the road to Veas,
xxvii. 15; sees Fra Jerome for
the first time, xxiii. 1; xxiv. 1;
is glad that Fra Jerome had
become a friar of Carmel, xxiii.
12, 13; xxiv. 1; is sent to Seville
by Fra Jerome, xxiv. 2; illness
of, in going to Seville, xxiv. 5;
reaches Seville, xxiv. 9; meets
with difficulties, xxiv. 10; is
destitute of money, xxiv. 11;
wishes to return to Veas, xxiv.
12; receives an order to quit
Seville, xxv. 2; accepts the
foundation in Caravaca xxvii.
2; Avrites to the king for his
help, xxvii. 5; sent to Seville
by the visitor, xxvii. 5; unable
to go to Caravaca, xxvii. 6;
never refused a postulant be-

726

INDEX.

Teresa, S. (Con.)
cause of her poverty, xxvii. 11;
her pure intentions in making
the foundations xxvii. 13; is
falsely accused xxvii. 18, 19;
distressed because she had in
curred the displeasure of the
general, xxviii. 2; is asked to
make a foundation in Villa
nueva de la Jara, xxviii. 7; her
difficulties, xxviii. 11, 12; con
sents to make the foundation
in Villanueva, xxviii. 14; in a
trance sees Dona Catalina de
Cardona, xxviii. 30; bewails her
unworthiness, xxviii. 33; sent
by the provincial from Villa
nueva to Valladolid, xxix. 1;
asked to make a foundaton in
Palencia, xxix. 1; sets out for
Palencia, xxix. 7; seeks another
house for the community in
Palencia, xxix. 10; always re
paid all who helped her Avith
money, xxix. 20; joy of, at the
separation of her friars from
those of the mitigation xxix.
25; enters the diocese of Osma,
xxx. 6; reverence of, for the
bishop of Osma, xxx. 10; leaves
Soria for Avila, xxxi. 6; in
tends not to go to Burgos,
xxxi. 11; arrives in Burgos,
xxxi. 18; troubles of in Burgos,
xxxi. 24; is lodged Avith her
nuns in the hospital of the
Conception in Burgos, xxxi. 26;
cancels the deeds by Avhich the
endowment of the house in
Burgos Avas secured, xxxi. 43.
Teresa of Jesus, (neice of the
Saint), Found, xxxi. 16, note.
Theology, mystical, Life, x. 1; xi.
8; xii. 8; xviii. 4
Thomas Aquinas St., Life, xxii.
1; xxxviii. 15
Thomas a Jesu, Life, xviii. 18;
Plate xxiv.
Throne, vision of a, Life, xxxix.
31,32
Toad, Life, vii. 13; xiii. 4; xxii. 20
Toledo, Don Luis of, Found, xiv.
7,8
Toledo, Found, xv. 3, 9; xvi. 3, 5
Tolosa, Catalina de, Found, xxxi.
7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 18, 22, 27, 28, 33
note, 37, 38, 40, 41, 43
Tomasina of the Baptist, Found.
xxxi. 16, note.
Torres, Fra Francis de, (Fran
ciscan), Found, xxviii. 19

Tostado, Fra Jerome, Found.
xxvii. 18; xxviii. 1, note, 3, 4
Trance, a, Life, xviii. 17; xx. 1;
xl. 11; Rel. viii. 10; effects of,
Found, vi. 40
Transport, Rel. viii. 10
Transverberation, Life, xxix. 17
Trials, Life, xi. IS; xxx. 9; xxxix.
25
Trinity, the. Life, xxxix. 36; Rel.
iii. 6; v. 7, 8; vii. 20; ix. 12
Truth, divine. Life. xl. 3-8
Ulloa, de, Doiia Guiomar, Life,
xxiv. 5; xxx. 3; xxxii. 13, 18;
xxxiv. 23; xxxv. 14; xxxvi. 1, 3,
Ulloa, Miguel, Fra., Found, xxiv.
14; xxvii. 18
Understanding, the, Life, viii. 19;
xiii. 17; xv. 10; xvi. 4; xxviii. 10
Union, imperfect, prayer of, Life,
xvi. 1; xvii. 1, 5, 6, 7; xviii. 1
Union, perfect, prayer of, Life,
xviii. 1, 3, 14, 16; xix. 4
Union, prayer of, Life, iv. 9; fol
lowed by visions, xxv. 14; what
it is, Rel. v. 2; of the soul's
faculties, Rel. viii. 7
Unreasonableness of melancholy
people, Found, vii. 2
Untruth, the great evil of, Found.
Pro. 3.
Ursula de los Santos, Life, xxxa-i.
Vainglory, Life, vii. 2, 34; x. 5;
Rel. i. 18; ii. 15; vii. 23
Valdemoro, Found, xxviii. 3, note.
Valdes, Fernando, Life, xxvi. 6
Valera, Dona Leonor de, Found.
xxv. 1; xxvii. 12
Valladolid, Found, x. 3, 6
Vanda, Pedro de la, Found, xix. 7,
note, 9
Vanity of possessions. Life, xx.
35; xxxix. 11; of family pride.
Found, x. 9; xv. 16
Vargas, Francesco de, Found.
xxii. 3, note; xxiv. 2
Vasquez, Dionisio, S.J., Life,
xxviii. 20; xxxiii. 9
Veamonte and Navarre, Dona
Beatriz de, Found, xxx. 3, 8
Veamonte, Don Francis di,
Found, xxx. 3
Veamonte, Francisco Carlo de.
Found, xxx. 3
Veas, Rel. vi. 1; ix. 25; Found.
xxii. 19; xxiii. 1; xxiv. 1; xxvii.
Vega, Juan de, Found, xxix. 12

INDEX.

727

Vega, Suero de, Found, xxix. 12. I
23
Vela, Don Cristobal, Found, xxxi. :
1, 2, 5, 6, 12, 19, 23, 26, 37, 41, \
45; Plate xxv.
Velada, Marquis de, Life, xxxvi.
23 :
Velasco, Ana de, Found, iii. 5
Velasquez, Alonso, Rel. ix. 1; xi;
Found, xxviii. 9; xxx. 1, 3, 7, 9, i
12; xxxi. 47
Velasquez, Francis, SteAvard of <
the Duke of Alba, Found, xx. i
1, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11; Plate xvi.
Velasquez, Don Rafael Megia, ¦'
Found, x. 3; xiii. 2
Venial sin, Life, xxv. 26
Vergas, Maria, Life, xxxvi. 25 I
Vesgas, Dona Maria de, Found.
xi. 1
Villanueva de la Jara, Found.
xxviii. 7, 11, 12, 31, 34
Villaroel, Don Diego de, Found.
iii. 13 !
Villavicencis, Lorencio de, Found. '
xxviii. 4
Vincente de Christo, Fra., Found.
xiv. 10
Vinuessa, Don Juan de, Found. \
xxx. 3 I
Virgins, the Eleven Thousand,
Found. XA'iii. 9
Virtue, growth of, Life, xiv. 6;
xvii. 4
Visions, Life, vii. 11; xxa-. 14;
xxvii. 3, 4, 6, 13; xxviii. 2, 5,

14, 15, 17, 19; xxix. 1, 2, 6;
xxxvii. 4; xxxviii. 13, 14, 17, 22,
23, 24, 31; xxxix. 31, 32; xl. 1,
2. 8; Rel. iii. 13; v. 6; vii. 4;
Found, viii. 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Vocations, Found, x. 9
Voragine, Jacobi a, Found, xviii.
9
Water, holy, Li'/e, xxxi. 4, 5, 9, 10
Water, the first, Life, xi. 13; the
second, xiv. 1; the third, xvi. 1;
the fourth, xviii. 1; Rel. viii. 22
Wax, miracle of the, Found, xii.
12
Well, likeness of, Life, xxx. 23
Will, the state of, Life, xiv. 4; xv.
2, 10; xviii. 16; submission of
the, Found, v. 10; sacrifice of
the, rewarded, v. 14
Women, Life, xx. 7; xxvii. 16;
xxxi. 19; xxxvii. 15, 16; Rel.
i. 21
World, xxxi. i. 21
Wound of the soul, Rel. viii. 16, 17
Yanez, Gonsalo, de Ovalle,
Found, xviii. 2
Yangues, Diego, Rel. vii. 13
Yepes, Diego, Life, xx. 5; xxxiv.
8; xl. 18; Rel. iii. 18; ix. 1;
Found, xix. 10; xxii. 14, 24;
xxiv. 2, 14; xxvii. 18; xxx. 12,
note; Plate xxiii.
Zeal, indiscreet, Life, xiii. 11

Life, x. 7; xxvii. 16;
19; xxxvii. 15, 16; Rel.

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