movements ought not, therefore, to alarm you, or disturb you, or make you lose courage. For this is the warfare in which a man must be engaged during his whole life, and from which he cannot be delivered except by a very special grace of God. It is this warfare, this struggle, which has caused so many saints to exclaim: ́Alas! when shall I be delivered from this body of death?'* This struggle, so far from being a sin, is an occasion of great merit. Consequently, far from being troubled or afflicted, you ought to give no heed to it, but humbly beg God's assistance and keep yourself ever on your guard. This is the most terrible enemy of the inferior will, because it never leaves it at peace, and often it has scarcely been driven away before it returns with renewed vigour and at the moment when it is least expected.

“These thoughts come also from the imagination. The imagination, struck and impressed by these impure ideas, is continually presenting them to the will. Now, in order not to sin, not to give consent, it is not necessary to feel horror and distress at what the imagination presents to the will; it is sufficient to be indifferent and to take no pleasure therein. The horror or the distress you might feel, far from deadening the imagination, would sometimes only impress it all the more. The better way is to keep yourself indifferent, to pay no attention, to close gently the door of your heart, and remain at peace. If it is the devil who excites these ideas in the imagination, this will mortify him.

"Often, not being able to make a soul lose grace by succeeding in getting it to take pleasure in impure

* Rom. vii. 24.

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thoughts, he avails himself of the state of distress or horror which these thoughts inspire in that soul to rob it of its peace; he disturbs and agitates it, and then takes advantage of its uneasiness to fill it with discouragement. It is thus, especially, that he attacks pious souls. They ought to be aware of this, to recognise therein the artifice of the devil, and, in place of this horror and sensible distress, prefer to entertain contempt and indifference, which suffice.

Finally, these thoughts sometimes come from God. When it pleases God to enlighten a soul and show it the truth, that is to say, order and good, He gives it lights and thoughts upon these things, which, so far from causing it trouble and sin, bring it tranquillity and peace.

"Thus, My daughter, I have come to enlighten you and to teach you where evil is and where it is not. Your mind and your heart were disquieted because they were not in possession of the truth. Now that I have made it clear to you, be calm and tranquil, and keep yourself in peace. Be ever mistress of the superior will of your soul, and despise all else."

of

You will form what opinion you think proper this; I shall conform myself to your judgment. Receive, Monsieur le Curé, the assurance of my profound respect and most grateful sentiments.

Your very humble servant,

MIMBASTE, 8th October, 1843.

MARIE.

LETTER XXIV.

God protects the humble, and punishes the impious.

MONSIEUR LE CURE,

Permit me to relate to you what I saw and heard one day after having had the happiness of receiving Holy Communion.

I was raising the eyes of my soul towards Heaven to offer myself to my God in union with Jesus Christ, whom I had just received, when I seemed to see a person in the air, but discovered only the half of his body.

"The

He said, in a loud and determined voice : Lord hath looked down on the prayer of humble souls, and hath not despised their petitions. Sion shall be restored, and its restoration shall be written in the annals of history, to transmit the memory thereof even to the latest age, that generations to come may praise the Lord for that He hath looked down from His sanctuary, and hath regarded the earth from the height of Heaven, to hearken to the groanings of the captives, and break asunder the bonds of the children of those who have been put to death. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost."

Here he stopped, and cast his eyes upon me, as though bidding me finish, and I pronounced the concluding words: "As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen."

I then beheld another person, who covered his ears with his hands, and cried : "I hear the sound of trumpets and of cymbals, but what is this noisy music. which resounds in my ears?"

The first voice made answer: "It is the din of the

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Men have banded together to rebel against the Lord, and have said: 'Who will punish us?' But He who has had no beginning, and will never have an end, has beheld them and has heard them; He will launch against them burning and consuming arrows, and they shall be scattered."

I saw a third

person, whose countenance inspired devotion, and on which were reflected the love of God, joy, and thankfulness. He raised his eyes and his hands to Heaven, saying: "I will praise the Lord on instruments of harmony, because He has not suffered those who hope in Him to be given up to ravening wolves, or to the enemies of souls to be ground between their teeth."

I saw a fourth person who cried with a voice full at once of wonder and of artless simplicity: "I beheld a field of ripe wheat; it was burning, and the reapers were scarcely able to gather a few sheaves to carry into the granaries of the great king; they said that the loss was very great."

I submit these lines to your judgment; I did not ask the Saviour Jesus for an explanation of them, but it seems to me that it is sufficiently easy to divine it. I content myself with telling you what I saw and heard as faithfully as I possibly can, and I pray you, Monsieur le Curé, to accept the homage of my most respectful sentiments.

Your very humble servant,

MIMBASTE, 4th November, 1843.

MARIE.

LETTER XXV.

God will protect and sustain His Church to the end of time.

MONSIEUR LE CURÉ,

I heard one day the voice of the Saviour Jesus pronounce these words: "I will remember My covenant with the Church through all ages. The Church is My spouse; the Cross is our nuptial bed. On the Cross I have begotten My children by the shedding of My Blood; and it is on the Cross that the womb of the Church has become fruitful of the grace of the Holy Ghost.

'My spouse is beautiful, and I am ever near to sustain her and console her; she would suffer too keenly from My absence if I withdrew from her. Like her Bridegroom, she is the object of persecution. Satan rises up from beneath the feet of the Church; he arins her own children against her to lacerate her bosom, and the unnatural children of My spouse listen to the voice of Satan.

"She lifts up her voice and turns towards Me her eyes moist with tears. No: I will not permit her enemies to gain the ascendancy; they will but have succeeded in casting some imperceptible dust upon her countenance; she will wash if off with the water of her tears, and her beauty, become more radiant, will ravish even her enemies."

Such were the words pronounced by the Saviour Jesus. Deign to receive, I pray you, Monsieur le Curé, the homage of my profound respect and entire submission. Your very humble and obedient servant,

MARIE.

MIMBASTE, 10th November, 1843.