I. May God in His mercy prevent any one in this house

from experiencing this trouble, or being reduced to such
misery both of soul and body. I hope it may never
happen that the Prioress and confessor are such fast
friends that no one dare complain of the one to the

1 Valladolid edition, ch. vi. ; Escorial, ch. viii.

CHAP. V.] CONSULT OTHER CONFESSORS. 35

other. Hence comes the temptation to omit confessing
grave sins for fear lest the unfortunate culprit should
live in continual disgrace. God help us ! What mischief
the devil works in this way ; how many a soul he may
entrap, and how dear their miserable reserve and regard
for honour costs people ! Having no other director to
consult, they imagine that they are preserving religious
observance and the reputation of their monastery. Thus
Satan schemes to ensnare souls whom he could entrap in
no other way. If the poor nuns ask for another confessor,
they are told at once that this would destroy all religious
discipline, and if he should be a priest of another Order,
though as holy as St. Jerome, to speak to him is said to
be an affront to the whole of their own Order. Thank
God, my daughters, for the liberty you are allowed in
this matter, for though you cannot consult a large number
of priests, there are some with whom you may confer
besides your ordinary confessors, and who can give you
the requisite light.^ For the love of our Lord, I beg the
Superior to maintain this holy liberty, and to get per-
manent leave from the Bishop or Provincial for the nuns
to have, besides their ordinary confessors, learned priests

2 The holy Mother often charged her daughters, both by word
of mouth and in her books, to endeavour to talk to learned and
prudent theologians. She recommended the Dominicans for
this purpose, on account of the sound doctrine taught by this
holy Order. {Fuente, vol. vi. 280, n. 3. From the deposition of
Father Giles Gonzalez de Avila.)

36 THE WAY OF PERFECTION. [CHAP. V.

to whom they may all speak and open their souls,® es-
pecially if their own confessors, though holy, are not
great scholars. God forbid that the religious should ’ e
directed entirely by one priest, if he is ill-instructed,
however saintly his spirit may appear, and perhaps
may be in reality. Learning gives great light on all
points ; it is combined with holiness in some men. The
greater favours our Lord shows you in prayer, the
more need is there thct you should be well instructed
about your devotions, prayer, and all your other
duties.

2. You know that the foundation of all must be a
good conscience ; you ought to make every effort to
free yourselves even from venial sin and to do what is
most perfect. One would suppose any confessor knew
this ; however, it is not the case. I had .j consult one
on matters of conscience who had gone through a whole
course o. theology, and he did me much harm by telling
me certain matters were of no consequence.* Not that
he intended to deceive me, nor had he any motive
for doing so, but he knew no better : I have since met
with two or three like him. Everything rests on our
having light to keep the law of God perfectly ; on this
basis prayer rests solidly ; without this strong foundation
the whole building is out of the perpendicular. There
is need, then, for the nuns to consult men who are both
® Life, ch. xiii. 21, 28. ■* Life, ch. v. 6.

CHAP. V.] CONSULT OTHER CONFESSORS. 37

Spiritual and learned.® If the confessor cannot lay claim
to all this, let them occasionally see some one else : if
tdiey are forbidden to confess to any one but their regular
confessor, let them seek counsel about their souls from
such persons as I mentioned. I dare go further, and
say that the sisters should sometimes go to some other
priest, even if their confessor possesses all these qualities,
for he may be mistaken, and it would not do for all to
be misled by him. Nothing, however, must be done
against obedience. Matters can always be arranged,
and it is worth any trouble to help one soul — how much
more to help a number ?

3. All this is said to the Prioress, whom I again entreat,
for the love of God, to give the sisters this consolation,
since there are no comforts here except for the soul :
God leads pv^Ople by different ways, and the same con-
fessor may not understand them all. I assure you there
will always be holy persons ready to guide and io console
you if you live as you ought, however poor you may be.
God, Who sustains your bodies and supplies them with
food, will incite some one with the good will to enlighten
your souls, and to bring a remedy for this evil, which I
fear more than any others. When tempted by the devil to
levity or to mislead you on any point, the confessor will
be more wary and circumspect in his conduct if he knows
you will consult some other priest. If the evil one is
® Life, ch. XXV. 18. Castle, M. vi. ch. viii. 10.

38

THE WAY OF PERFECTION.

[chap. V.

stopped this entrance into the convent, I trust in God
that he will never get in at all. Therefore, for the love
of our Lord, I beg of the Bishop for the time being to
leave the nuns at liberty on this point, for they will
always be his most obedient children, and, when good
and learned priests can be found, not to withdraw the
permission. These will soon be known in a little town
like this. Even though they may have other confessors,
let the Bishop permit the sisters to confess to them
and to consult them on spiritual matters. I know this
is expedient for many reasons, and that any drawbacks
it may possess are as nothing compared with the serious,
hidden, and well-nigh irreparable harm that may other-
wise be done. In convents, good observance tends to
decline quickly if not preserved with great care : evil
customs, once begun, are most difficult to eradicate, for
imperfections soon grow into habits.

4. I have both seen and heard of what I have been
speaking, and have consulted experienced, learned, and
holy men, who have. considered what is best calculated
to advance perfection in this house. Among the many
dangers which beset us everywhere in this life, we shall
find it safest for no Vicar ® to be at liberty to go in or
out of the convent or to give such leave to others, nor
to give any order : neither shall any confessor hold such
power. They are to watch over the religious .observance

« The Vicar, either the Bishop’s nominee or the General’s.

CHAP. V.] CONFESSOR AND SUPERIOR. 39

and piety of the house, and its interior and exterior
well-being, in order to acquaint the Superior with any
fault they may detect, but are not to be superiors them-
selves.!/As I said, there are grave reasons why this
should be the most prudent regulation. Let the chaplain,
if he is fit, be the usual confessor, but when it is clearly
needful for a nun’s soul, she may go to confession to
such priests as I have mentioned, who are authorised by
the Bishop. If his lordship can trust the Prioress in
this matter, let him leave it to her discretion. As the
community is small, it will not take up much time.
This is our practice at the present day, not merely by
my advice, but by that of the prelate under whose obedi-
ence we live, as for many reasons we are not subject to
the Order. The Bishop, Don Alvaro de Mendoza,’ is
of a noble family and a great servant of God, and highly
favourable to all religious observance and holiness. He
is a well-wisher of this house, both in spiritual and tem-
poral matters, and esteems it very highly, desiring that
the nuns should attain great perfection. Therefore I do
not think that our Lord would permit him to be mistaken,
as his only object is the glory of God. He assembled a
number of men of learning, piety, and experience, who,
together with myself, miserable as I am, after much
prayer came to this decision. It is but reasonable that
the future Superiors should, by the grace of God, observe
’ Life, ch, xxxiii. 19. Found, ch. xxxi. i.

40 THE WAY OF PERFECTION. [CHAP. VI.

this most important decree. It has been resolved on
with careful deliberation by holy men, after fervently
begging the Almighty to show them what was for the
best ; which this regulation most certainly is, as far as
can at present be known. May God be pleased to pro-
mote its observance as may be most to His glory. Amen.