Ms A 78r

[78r°] And now, dear Mother, what more is there to say? Ah! I thought I was finished, but I haven’t said anything to you as yet concerning my good fortune at knowing our holy Mother Geneviève. This certainly was a priceless gift; God, who had given me so many graces, ^[5] willed that I should live with a saint. Not one that was inimitable, but one who was made holy by the practice of the hidden virtues, the ordinary virtues. On more than one occasion I received great consolations from her, but especially on one Sunday in particular.

Coming to pay her a visit as was my custom, I found two other Sisters with Mother Geneviève; I looked at her with a smile and was preparing to ^[10] leave since three Sisters are not permitted with a patient, but she said with an inspired look on her countenance: “Wait, my little child, I’m going to say just a little word to you; every time you come you ask for a spiritual bouquet. Well, today, I will give you this one: Serve God with peace and joy; ^[15] remember, my child, Our God is a God of peace.” After thanking her very simply, I left but was moved to the point of tears and was convinced that God had revealed the state of my soul to her. That day I had been severely tried even to the verge of sadness; I was in such a night that I no longer knew whether God loved me. You can readily understand, dear Mother, the joy ^[20] and consolation I then experienced!

The following Sunday, I wanted to know what revelation Mother Geneviève had received; she assured me she had received none at all, and then my admiration was greater still when I saw the degree to which Jesus was living within her and making her act and speak. Ah! that type of sanctity seems the truest and the most holy to me, and it is the type that I desire because in it one meets with no deceptions.

© Washington Province of Discalced Carmelite Friars, Inc