the Carmel
From Sister Marie‑Dosithée Guérin to her brother Isidore – November 23, 1862

DE  
GUERIN Marie-Louise, Sr Marie-Dosithée
À 
GUERIN Isidore

23/11/1862

From Sister Marie-Dosithée Guérin to her brother Isidore.
                                                                  V+J.
                                                                                                       From our Le Mans Monastery
                                                                                                                   the November 23 1862
Beloved Brother
 
Your letter relieved my worries a little, now I understand why it took so long to wait: since you had to change bosses. You don't give me all the details that could interest me: you don't mention the ones I want the most, not a word about how people behave in this house with regard to religion. Do you go to mass? do you lean on the days when the Church orders it? That's what concerns me the most, I'm afraid you'll lose the rest of the religious principles that our good Mother had inculcated in you; please do not deviate from it, always remain faithful to it. I also very much want you to write to me often, at least every month, it must be a need of the heart when one loves, and certainly that if I*[v°] were not a nun, that is to say to say obliged by my condition to practice mortification, I would write to my dear family every 8 or 15 days; you object that you don't have time; I would certainly be very angry if you lost 1/4 hour of sleep for that but when you would take 1 hour on your days out it would not be a great misfortune; don't be afraid, I will reply to each of your letters, as much as possible.
You tell me that you have been faithful to my recommendations, that gives me great pleasure, you see, the Blessed Virgin is your Mother; Mom has consecrated you to it in a very special way, she will protect you if you invoke her; therefore be very faithful to your remembrance and to your 3 invocations to NeDe du bon Conseil.
If you knew how you occupied me, the days were not long enough to think sadly of you, it was still necessary to employ the nights.
I strongly approve of you helping your uncle Macé (Mme Louise Guérin, née Macé, had two brothers, Louis and François. They were probably François (1810‑1867), father of Alphonsine), this will attract Heaven's blessings upon you.
My health is very good and according to appearances I will not die yet, although it won't be long. A young Sister [2 r°] died for us a few days ago; you wouldn't have said that I would have survived her, she was doing much better than me and however an illness of a few months took her away from us (it was a galloping consumption) it was at this supreme moment, I would even say Horrible to nature that one is grateful for not having attached one's heart to the earth and I assure you that if one were to shut oneself up in a cloister only to die in peace one would do well. This holy nun had a smile on her lips despite her dreadful suffering, when they told her that in a few moments she was going to have the happiness of seeing Our Lord and the Blessed Virgin; she took on everyone's errands for eternity, and I didn't fail to give her my errands about you.
Our sisters really die like saints, you know that I spoke to you several times about my first Mistress of the Novitiate (Sister Marie-Victoire Doney) who had been superior and who died this year; well, we had one of our sisters who had been very ill for many years, she had been talking only in a low voice for a long time* [2 v°] she was suddenly inspired to make a novena to my Sister Marie-Victoire ( name of this deceased I am talking to you about) to be able to recover her speech and say her office and behold, on the last day of the novena she was suddenly healed and even now she continues to speak well; for my part, I felt a great joy, I loved this dear Mistress very much and this is a proof of her beatitude.
Farewell my dear brother, all I wish for you and for me too is to imitate those holy souls; I do not desire for you the goods of here below, nor the honors, nor the pleasures, but virtue.
Oblige me then, when you go to Paris, to pay me a visit to Ne De des Victoires, place des Petits Pères, and to recommend all my intentions to him, I shall be very grateful to you.
I `m kissing you with all my heart
Your sister who loves you dearly
Sr. M. Dosithee Guérin      
From the Von Ste Marie
          DSB 

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