Letters of

 

 

St John of God

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Letter to Luis Bautista.................. 1

Letter 1 to Gutierrez Lasso........... 4

Letter 2 to Gutierrez Lasso........... 6

Letter 1 to the Duchess of Sessa.. 9

Letter 2 to the Duchess of Sessa 13

Letter 3 to the Duchess of Sessa 19

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Printed by:        Brothers of St John of God
Province Centre
PO Box BN1055
Burwood North 2134
1999

Letter to Luis Bautista

In the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ and of Our Lady the Ever-Virgin Mary; God before all and above everything in the world. God save you, my brother in Jesus Christ and my very beloved son, Luis Bautista.

I have received the letter you sent me from Jaen; it gave me a great deal of joy and much satisfaction, although I was sorry to hear that you have had toothache, because any ill that befalls you makes me suffer too, just as any good thing makes me joyful.

You tell me that you have found no solution there for what you went to find. On the other hand, you say you want to go to Valencia, or some other place. I do not know what to tell you.

I am writing this letter in haste so that I can send it at once, and I am in such a hurry that I hardly have time to commend the matter to God—and it needs a great deal of commending to Our Lord Jesus Christ, and with more time than I have.

And seeing that you are often very weak, especially where women are concerned, I do not know if I should have you come here, because Pedro has not left and I do not know when he will do so; he says he wants to leave, but I am uncertain as to when his departure will in fact take place.

If I were certain that here you would draw benefit for your soul and for those of everybody else, I would at once tell you to come. However, I am afraid that the opposite might be the case. It would thus seem to me better to spend some days in the midst of difficulties now, so that you can become quite accustomed to toil and distress and to the alternation of very bad days with very good ones. On the other hand, I feel that if you were to end by losing yourself it would be much better to return. However, God knows what is best and true in all this.

I therefore feel it is best that before you leave that city you should strongly commend the matter to Our Lord Jesus Christ and that I should do the same here. You should thus write to me very frequently. You can collect what information you can there from pilgrims coming from the various directions. They will tell you about the situation in the Valencia area: if you go to Valencia you will see the holy body of Saint Vincent Ferrer.

It seems to me that you are drifting about like a rudderless boat. Indeed, I often wonder whether I too am not a man without any proper aim, so that there are two of us—you and I—who do not know what we should do.

 However, God is the One who knows and solves matters. May he grant solutions and counsel to all of us.

Since it seems to me that you are moving about like a rolling stone, it will be good for you to go and mortify your flesh for a while and suffer a hard life, hunger and thirst, disgrace and weariness, distress and anxiety, and misfortune; all this must be borne for God's sake, because if you come here you must suffer all this for the love of God.

You must offer God deep thanks for everything, both the good and the bad.

Remember Our Lord Jesus Christ and his blessed Passion and recall how he gave back good for the evil they did him. You must do likewise, my son Bautista, so that when you come to the house of God you can recognize both good and evil. However, if you were certain that with this journey you would be lost, it would be better either to come back here or to go to Seville — wherever Our Lord Jesus Christ guides you.

But if you come here, you will have to be very obedient and work much harder than you have ever done, while always remaining absorbed in the things of God and losing sleep in order to care for the poor.

The house is open to you. I should like to see you go from good to better, as a son and brother.

This letter will not be enough to explain my whole attitude to you because I am in a great hurry and cannot write to you at greater length since I do not know whether the Lord wants you to come back to this house so soon or to stay and suffer where you are. But remember that if you do come, you must be serious about it and must guard yourself against women as if they were the devil.

For you the time is drawing near when you must choose your path. If you come here, you must offer some fruit to God and leave the flesh and everything else behind.

Remember Saint Bartholemew: they skinned him alive and he carried his own skin on his shoulders. If you come here, it is solely in order to work, not to sit idle, for the most beloved son is entrusted with the greatest tasks and labour.

With regard to coming here, do what seems to you best: God will grant you discernment. If it now seems best to you to wander about the world seeking the undertaking in which God can best be served, do exactly as he wants, like those who go to the Indies seeking their fortune. But make sure that you always write to me, wherever you may be.

Each day of your life you should look to God; always attend the full Mass; make frequent confession, if at all possible; never go to sleep in mortal sin — not even for a single night; and love Our Lord Jesus Christ above everything in the world, for however much you love him he still loves you more.

Always have charity, for where there is no charity God is not there—even though God is everywhere.

When I can, I shall go and give Lebrija your greetings. I have given your letter to Bautista at the prison: he was very pleased to have it, and I told him to write at once so that the letter could be sent off to you; I am going now to see if he has written, so that I can send it. My greetings to everybody. 

I have given your greetings to everybody, both great and small, and to Senora Ortiza and Miguel. And Pedro says that if you come you will be with him until he leaves—and again if he then returns.

I have nothing else to say to you, except to express the wish that God may save and keep you and lead you and everybody in his holy service.

I shall stop now, although I shall not stop praying to God for you and for everybody. I must tel1 you that I have been getting on very well with the Rosary, and I hope in God that I shall recite it as often as I can and as he wishes.

As I have already said, if you think making this trip will mean you lose yourself, you should do as you think best.

Before you leave that city, have some Masses said to the Holy Spirit and the Three Magi if you can afford to, and if you cannot afford it your good intentions will be enough — and if they are not enough may God's grace make up what is lacking.

The lesser brother of all, John of God, dying if God so wills, but keeping silent and hoping in God, slave of Our Lord Jesus Christ and with a great desire to serve him. Amen Jesus.

Although I may not be such a good slave as others, since I often serve him badly or betray him, and although, despite my deep sorrow over this, it should cause me much deeper sorrow, may God forgive me and save everybody.

Write and tell me everything that happens to you there. I am enclosing a letter they have sent me for you. Good manners have prevented me from opening it, so that I do not know if it is meant for you or for the prison Bautista. If, when you read it, you see that it is in fact meant for the other one, send it back to me, so that I can give it to him. And if he has written his letter, I shall send it now with these two.

Now stay with God and go with God.

NOTE: The original of this letter is found in the archives of the Order, at the General Curia on the Tiber Island in Rome.

Letter 1 to Gutierrez Lasso

In the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ and of Our Lady the Ever-Virgin Mary.

God before all and above everything in the world. Amen Jesus. May God save you, my brother in Jesus Christ, Gutierrez Lasso—you and all those with you and as many as God wishes and commands. Amen Jesus.

This letter is to let you know that thanks to God I reached here in good health and with more than fifty ducats. Together with what you have there, that should make a hundred ducats. Since my arrival here I have borrowed thirty ducats or more, but neither this nor the other sum is enough because I have more than one hundred and fifty people to support and God looks after their needs each day.

So if you can add something more to the twenty five ducats you have, there is a great need.

Send me all the sick and suffering poor people you find there, but if this is not possible do not distress yourself.

Send me the twenty five ducats immediately, because I must pay out that much and more, and they are waiting for this payment. You will recall that I entrusted this money to you in a canvas purse one evening while we were walking together in your orange-grove. I hope in Our Lord Jesus Christ that one day you will walk in the heavenly gardens.

The muleteer is in a great hurry, so that I have not been able to write at length. Apart from this, there has been so much work that I have not even had the time to recite the Creed. For the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ, send me the money at once, because they are pressing me hard.

For the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ, send my regards to the very noble, virtuous and generous slave of Our Lord Jesus Christ, your wife, who has such a deep desire to serve and please Our Lord Jesus Christ and Our Lady the Ever-Virgin Mary, and, for the love of God, to obey and serve her husband Gutierrez Lasso, who is the slave of Our Lord Jesus Christ and who longs to serve him. Amen Jesus.

Give my greetings also to your son the archdeacon, who went with me to ask for blessed alms, who is the least slave of the slaves of Our Lord Jesus Christ and of Our Lady the Ever-Virgin Mary, and who wants always to serve and please Our Lord Jesus Christ and his blessed mother, Our Lady the Virgin Mary. Tell him to write to me at once with the help of God.

You too, good knight and good brother in Jesus Christ, should write to me and also give my greetings to all your sons and daughters and to whomever else you wish. In Malaga, you should speak for me and convey my respects to the bishop and to everyone else you wish and see, for I am obliged to pray for all people.

With regard to the good knight who I believe is your eldest son, things will turn out as God wills; may Our Lord Jesus Christ be with him in all matters and in his deeds and actions. It seems to me that, if God so wills, it would be better to marry him as soon as possible if he himself says that this is what he wants. When I say, "as soon as possible", I do not mean that you should kill yourself over this, for your main concern should be to pray to God to give him a good wife, since I have the feeling that he is still very young; Our Lord Jesus Christ willing, I hope that he is inwardly mature for his years.

Every person must embrace the state for which God intends him. And parents should therefore not be so anxious and exercised over it but should rather pray to God to grant the state of grace to each of their sons and daughters.

When God so wishes, one will marry and the other will sing Masses, and I really know nothing about all this, for God knows everything. May it please Our Lord Jesus Christ to settle your children as you wish in the way in which he is best served.

Our Lord knows better than you what he must do with your sons and daughters, and you must accept everything Our Lord Jesus Christ does and see it as for the best.

I want to confess the sins I commit and do penance for them because the good things people do are not theirs but belong to God: honour, glory and praise to God, because everything is his. Amen Jesus.

Your lesser brother John of God, dying if God so wills, but keeping silent and hoping in God, and desiring the salvation of all people as much as his own. Amen Jesus.

May Our Lord Jesus Christ so will that everything you and your sons and daughters do may be for his service and for that of Our Lady the Virgin Mary, and may he prevent you from doing anything unpleasing to him. Amen Jesus.

 

NOTE: The original of this letter is found in the archives of the Order, at the General Curia on the Tiber Island in Rome.

 

 

Letter 2 to Gutierrez Lasso

This letter should be handed to the most noble, virtuous and generous knight of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Gutierrez Lasso, who is the slave of Our Lord Jesus Christ and longs to serve him. Amen Jesus.

It should be handed to him in person in Malaga or wherever he may be. Amen Jesus.

In the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ and of Our Lady the Ever-Virgin Mary.

God before all and above everything in the world. Amen Jesus.

May God save you, my most beloved and respected brother in Jesus Christ.

This letter will let you know in what dire straits and in what very great need I am (although I still thank Our Lord Jesus Christ for everything) because, as you must know, my most beloved and dear brother in Jesus Christ, so many poor people flock here that very often even I am afraid we shall not be able to look after them all; however, Jesus Christ sees to everything and provides them with food.

Seven or eight reals a day are needed for wood alone, for the city is large and very cold, particularly now in wintertime, and many poor people come to this house of God, so that counting all of them—the sick, the healthy, servers, and pilgrims—there are more than one hundred and ten.

Since this house is for everybody, without making any distinctions we take in people suffering from every disease and people of every type, so that there are cripples, the maimed, lepers, mutes, the insane, paralytics, people with ringworm, and also very old people and many children — and this is without counting the large numbers of other pilgrims and wayfarers who come here and to whom we give fire, water, salt, and pots, so that they can cook.

There is no income at all for all this, but Jesus Christ looks after everything, for there is never a day on which four and a half crowns—and sometimes five — are not needed for household provisions (bread, meat, chickens, and wood), not to mention medicine and clothing, which is another quite separate expense.

On the days when the alms are not enough to pay for all this, I buy on credit, or else we fast.

And thus I find myself a debtor and a prisoner solely for Jesus Christ. I owe over two hundred ducats for shirts, gowns, shoes, sheets, blankets, and the many other things that are needed in this house of God, and also for the maintenance of the children abandoned here.

So, my most beloved and respected brother in Jesus Christ, I often do not leave the house because of my many debts, and I am also very unhappy when I see so many poor people (who are my brothers and neighbours) suffering and in great need in both body and soul, and I cannot help them. Nevertheless, I trust solely in Jesus Christ, who will bring me out of debt, for he knows my heart.

Thus I say: accursed is he who trusts in men and not in Jesus Christ alone, since you will be separated from other people whether you will or no, while Jesus Christ is faithful and constant; and because he looks after everything, may thanks be rendered to Jesus Christ for ever. Amen Jesus.

My most beloved and respected brother in Jesus Christ, I wanted to let you know of my worries, because I know that you will suffer over them just as I would suffer over yours, and also because I know that you love Jesus Christ and feel compassion for his children, the poor. This is why I am letting you know about their needs and mine.

Since we all share the same aim (even though each person should follow his own particular path according to God's wishes) it is a good thing if we encourage one another.

Therefore, my most beloved brother in Jesus Christ, never stop praying to Jesus Christ that he may grant me the grace and strength to resist and overcome the world, the flesh and the devil, and also humility, patience and charity towards my neighbour.

May he lead me to confess all my sins with sincerity and obey my confessor, to despise myself and love only Jesus Christ, and to profess and believe everything Holy Mother Church professes and believes. And I do well and truly profess and believe what Holy Mother Church professes and believes, and I will not budge one inch from this position; and I close and seal this with my key.

My brother in Jesus Christ, writing to you brings me great relief because I feel I am talking with you and sharing my troubles with you. I know you feel them, as I have seen from your actions, for the two times I have visited your city you have given me a very warm welcome and shown great good will towards me. May Our Lord Jesus Christ reward you in heaven for the good you have done for him, for the poor and for me; may Jesus Christ repay you. Amen Jesus.

My brother in Jesus Christ, please give my greetings to your household and your most beloved children, particularly my beloved brother in Jesus Christ, the schoolmaster, the good father and my brother in Jesus Christ, the bishop, and my hospitable sister, Dona Catalina, who is much loved in Jesus Christ, and all those God may wish and command. Amen Jesus.

My brother in Jesus Christ, I am sending you the young bearer of this letter to deal with the question of the legacy of a young man from the city of Malaga who died in this hospital leaving various possessions to this house. The bequest consists of a vineyard or the revenue therefrom, and the bearer can tell you more about this since he has been dealing with the matter from the beginning.

I want it to be sold because I am in great need of cash and also because the income is not very much, considering that somebody has to go and collect it each year. Therefore, for the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ, if you know someone who would like to buy it, please sell it to him at once, so long as neither the buyer nor the poor suffer any loss through the transaction. This should be done quickly so that the bearer of this letter can return at once with the money, for he has my complete trust and I have given him full power to act with the documents he is bringing with him. Please forgive me if I bother you, but one day you will be rewarded in heaven. For the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ I commend this matter to you, because we need the money he will bring me to buy some clothes for the poor so that they may pray to God for the soul of the person who left us this bequest; we must also pay for meat and oil because they no longer want to give me credit since I owe a great deal and am holding my creditors off by saying that someone will shortly be bringing some money from Malaga for me. I do not want to ask you for a donation at this moment, because I know that there too there are many poor people in need of assistance. I ask only that Our Lord may grant you salvation of your soul because in this unhappy life living well is the key to being saved; all the rest is nothing. Your disobedient lesser brother, John of God, dying if God so wills, but keeping silent and hoping in God, and desiring the salvation of all people as much as his own. Amen Jesus.

Granada, 8th January 1550.

 

NOTE: The original of this letter is found in the archives of the Order, at the General Curia on the Tiber Island in Rome.

 

 

Letter 1 to the Duchess of Sessa

This letter should be given to the very noble and virtuous lady, Dona Maria de Mendoza, Duchess of Sessa, wife of the generous Duke of Sessa, Don Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba, who is a virtuous and good knight of Our Lord Jesus Christ and is keen to serve him. Amen Jesus.

It should be handed to her personally at Cabra or wherever she may be. Amen Jesus.

In the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ and of Our Lady the Ever-Virgin Mary.

God before all and above everything in the world. Amen Jesus.

May God save you, my most beloved sister in Jesus Christ, good Duchess of Sessa—you, all those who are with you, and all those whom God wishes and commands. Amen Jesus.

This letter, virtuous Duchess, is to let you know that when I left you I went straight to Alcaudete to see Dona Francisca and then went on from there to Alcala, where I was very ill for four days and borrowed the sum of three ducats for some poor people who were in great need. Since I found all the more influential people in revolt against the governor, as soon as I felt better I left for Granada without begging alms in Alcala; God alone knows in what need the poor had been waiting for me.

My sister in Jesus Christ, good Duchess, the angels have already recorded the alms you gave me in the book of life. The ring was put to such good use that with the money obtained from its sale I clothed two poor people who had sores, and also bought a blanket; these alms will intercede for you with Jesus Christ. I immediately put the alb and candlesticks on the altar in your name so that you might share in all the Masses and prayers said there. May Our Lord Jesus Christ be pleased to reward you for all this in heaven.

May God reward you for the warm welcome you and all those in your home gave me. May God receive your soul in heaven and also the souls of all the members of your household.

I am very grateful to all the good people of Andalusia and Castille, but above all to the good Duke of Sessa and all his estates. The charity I have received from his house and estates is very, very great. May God reward him for all the times he has freed me from the imprisonment of debts, and may it please Our Lord Jesus Christ to restore him to health and grant him children of blessing.

Good Duchess, I have constantly kept in mind the matter you commended to me (you will know what I am referring to), while always remembering that God is before all and over all the things of the world, and trusting solely in Jesus Christ, who is perfect certainty.

I, John of God, say that if God so wills the Duke will very soon be restored to health of soul and body with God's help, and when, if God so wills, he arrives ask him about what I have said to you and see if it is true, with the help of Jesus Christ.

Trust only in Jesus Christ. Cursed be the person who trusts in men, because whether he will or no he will be abandoned by men, but not by Jesus Christ, who is faithful and endures for ever: everything passes away except for good works.

Good Duchess, you should be ever wakeful and ready to leave, for if we really think about it we are at constant war with the world, the flesh and the devil, and we must always watch over ourselves because we do not know the hour at which they will knock at the door of our souls—and as they find us so will we be judged.

When you go to bed, good Duchess, make the sign of the cross and affirm your faith by reciting the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Ave Maria and the Salve Regina, which are the four prayers that Holy Mother Church commands us to recite. And tell your companions, maids and servants to recite them too (and I believe that you do in fact always do so, because when I have been with you I have heard them recite Christian doctrine).

You will be feeling very sad, good Duchess of Sessa, for I have been told that Don Alvaro and Don Bernardino have already left us. May Jesus Christ be with their souls, guiding them and bringing them safely to salvation before your virtuous and humble mother, Dona Maria de Mendoza.

Do not be sorrowful, seek consolation in Jesus Christ alone, do not look for consolations in this life but in heaven, and give unceasing thanks to God for everything it is his will to give you here.

When you are troubled or distressed, turn to the Passion of Jesus Christ Our Lord and to his precious wounds, and you will feel great consolation. Reflect on his life: what was it if not trial and toil, so as to set us an example?

He preached by day and prayed by night. Why do we poor sinners and miserable worms seek rest and riches when even were we masters of the whole world we would be in no way better, and even if we had much more we would not be satisfied?

The only truly happy person is the one who despises all things and loves Jesus Christ, giving everything for the everything which is Jesus Christ, just as you do and seek to do, good Duchess: you say that you love Jesus Christ more than the whole world, that you trust always in him, and that for his sake you love all people, in the hope that they may be saved.

 O good Duchess! You live like the chaste turtle- dove, alone and withdrawn in your villa, far from contact with the court, waiting for the good Duke, your generous and humble husband. You spend your time in prayer and alms-giving, always practising charity so that your generous and humble husband, the good Duke of Sessa, may share in this, and so that Christ may protect his body from danger and his soul from sin.

May God be pleased to bring him back to you soon and give you children of blessing, so that you may always serve and love the Lord and offer him the fruit he gives you so that he may make use of it.

The Duke owes you a great deal, because you always pray for him and because you work so hard in running the house, performing works of mercy, and distributing food and clothing to all who live there, including the aged and the very young. And where would those maids and matrons, the other orphan-girls and the widows, go without you?

They are all duty-bound to serve you and be faithful to you, and you are duty-bound to treat them with goodness and kindness, because God loves everybody.

If we reflected on the breadth of God's mercy, we would never cease doing good while we were able because, while for his love we give the poor what he himself gives us, he promises to reward us one hundredfold in the joy of heaven. What a happy reward and exchange!

Who will not give what he possesses to this blessed merchant, seeing that he offers us such a good bargain and with open arms begs us to be converted, to mourn over our sins and to have charity first towards our own souls and then towards our neighbour? For, as water puts out fire, so charity wipes out sin.

As my companion Angulo will be able to tell you, my sister in Jesus Christ, you must know that I am kept very busy at the moment repairing the whole house, which was so dilapidated throughout that the rain was coming in. This undertaking means that I am in great need. I have therefore decided to write to Zafra to the Count of Feria and the Duke of Arcos because Master Avila is there and will be a good intermediary, asking them to send me some assistance to free me from my debts. With the help of Jesus Christ, I think they will do so.

My sister, I am always causing you problems and trouble, but I hope in God that one day your soul will find repose.

I must tell you that while I was walking through the city of Cordoba the other day I came across a household in very dire need. There were two girls whose parents had both been sick and bedridden for ten years. They were so poor and in such distress that it broke my heart. They were half-naked and totally lice-ridden, and their bed consisted simply of bundles of straw. I gave them what little assistance I could, since I was in a hurry to go and talk with Master Avila; however, I did not give them as much as I should have.

Master Avila ordered me to leave at once and return to Granada. In my haste, I commended these poor people to some people who then forgot—or would not or could not do more. They have written me a letter and what they tell me in it is heartbreaking. I am in such straits that on the days when I have to pay the workers some of the poor go without food, and God knows—and may he be my witness—that I was left with only one real, which I gave to Angulo for the journey.

Thus, good Duchess, if it so pleases God I should like you to gain these alms which the others have lost. They consist of four ducats: three for those poor girls, so that they may buy two blankets and two skirts, because a soul is worth more than all the treasures of the world and those girls should be saved from sinning for such a small thing; and the other for Angulo, my companion, for his journey to and from Zafra, because I am expecting him to come back with some assistance. You have a greater duty towards your household than towards outsiders, but whether you give there or here, it is all gain: the more you give, the more you gain.* If you are not able to, Angulo will come back and sell two measures of grain at Alcaudete, but if you do give him these alms he knows what to do with them and where those poor girls live.

My dear sister, please convey my gratitude and my good wishes to your housekeeper in Valladolid and to all your maids, to the one who sings, to all those of your household, and to Father Juan.

May Our Lord Jesus Christ protect you, my good Duchess. Your lesser and disobedient brother, John of God, dying if God so wills, but keeping silent and hoping in God, and desiring the salvation of all people as much as his own. Amen Jesus.

Good Duchess, if you give him these alms, please also give him a brief letter so that he may bring it to me and let me know about this—in which case the grain will be sold all in good time. Send Angulo off as soon as possible with what God wishes and commands and with what you give him. Amen Jesus.

 

*Literally: "The more Moors there are, the greater the profit."

 

NOTE: We do not have the original of this letter. The copy that was used in the beatification of the saint is, however, kept in the archives of the Order, at the General Curia on the Tiber Island in Rome.

 

 

 

Letter 2 to the Duchess of Sessa

In the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ and of Our Lady the Ever-Virgin Mary.

God before all and above everything in the world. Amen Jesus.

May God save you, my most beloved sister in Jesus Christ, most noble, virtuous, generous and humble Duchess of Sessa. May Jesus Christ save and keep you and all your household, and all those whom God wishes and commands. Amen Jesus.

This letter is to let you know how I am and to keep you abreast of all my various tasks, needs and troubles, which increase daily—and especially now.

The debts and the poor increase by the day, and many of the latter arrive naked, barefoot, and covered in sores and lice, so that one or two men need to be employed just to kill the lice in a cauldron of boiling water. This work will continue throughout the whole winter, from now on until next May. Thus, my sister in Jesus Christ, my work grows each day.

Our Lord Jesus Christ has been pleased to take away one of his much beloved and favourite daughters, Dona Francisca, daughter of Don Bernardino who is the nephew of the Marquis of Mondjar. Our Lord Jesus Christ gave her great grace so that during her life on this earth she always did much good to the poor and to anybody who asked anything of her for the love of God. She never refused to give them some blessed alms, so that nobody went away from her house without being comforted by the good works, the good example, and the good teaching this blessed maid communicated.

She did so many things that it would need a thick book to write them all down. One day I shall write at greater length on this blessed maiden, Dona Francisca, whom Our Lord Jesus Christ has been pleased to take to himself (where, as our faith teaches us, she is alive and well and has much joy and repose), and on what all of us who knew her have witnessed.

Through the will of God and the good works that Jesus Christ performed in her and the grace he gave her, she did good to everybody, both with advice and with alms: Jesus Christ gave her grace for everything and for each person. Thus, in accordance with our faith and with what we saw her do on this earth, all of us who knew her cannot but believe that she is now at eternal rest with Our Lord Jesus Christ and with all the angels of the heavenly court.

All those who knew her, both poor and rich alike, have been deeply affected by her death, and this of course applies even more deeply to me than to anyone else, because of the consolation and good counsel she always gave me. However troubled I was when I arrived at her home, I never left without consolation and a good example. And since Our Lord has been pleased to take so much good from us, may he be blessed for ever, for he knows much better than we can imagine what he is doing and what is good for us.

My very beloved sister in Jesus Christ, I have tried to keep you informed about my work, my problems and my needs, because I know that you suffer for me, just as I would for anything connected with you

I owe you a great deal, good Duchess, and I shall never forget your kindness towards me, which has been much greater than I deserved. May Our Lord reward you in heaven, restore the good Duke of Sessa, your very humble husband, to health for you, and grant you children of blessing; in this way may you serve and love him above all the things of the world.

Trust only in Jesus Christ that he may very shortly be restored to health of body and soul, and do not be downcast or dejected, because from now on you will feel happier than you have been and you will know that what I told you was true, about trusting only in Jesus Christ, with God before everything and above all the things of the world; for I do not know anything, Jesus Christ knows everything and, with his assistance, you will very soon receive the consolation of seeing your humble husband, whom I greatly respect and love (although I am such a great weight to him and all his affairs).

How very many times he has rescued me from trouble, freed me from debt, and comforted me with his blessed alms—which the angels have recorded in heaven in the book of life, where he already possesses a great treasure for when you go there, good Duchess; and you will enjoy this treasure there for ever together with your humble husband, the good Duke of Sessa. May it please Our Lord Jesus Christ to bring him back to you soon and to grant you children of blessing, so that you may do as you in fact always do and thank Our Lord Jesus Christ for everything he does and gives us; if he sometimes gives us toil and trouble, this is for our own good and so that we may become worthier of more.

When I am troubled I find no better antidote or consolation than considering and contemplating Jesus Christ crucified and reflecting on his most holy Passion and the troubles and toils he suffered in this life—and all for us wicked, ungrateful and unappreciative sinners.

When we consider that the spotless Lamb suffered so much toil and torment without having deserved it, how can we seek or want rest and pleasure on this earth where they inflicted so many evils and sufferings on Jesus Christ who created and redeemed us? What can we hope to have?

If we think about it, good Duchess, we can see that this life is nothing but constant warfare for as long as we are living in this exile and in this vale of tears: we are ceaselessly beseiged by three mortal enemies—the world, the devil, and the flesh.

The world attracts us with vices and riches, promising us long life and saying: “Now you are young, give yourself over to pleasure, and then in old age you can mend your ways.”

The devil attracts us by constantly laying traps and snares for us, to make us trip and fall and thus prevent us from doing good and being charitable, and by making sure that we are taken up solely with wordly matters so that we forget God and the care we should take of our souls by keeping them pure and clothing them with good works. When we are relieved of one problem, we are immediately taken up with another, although we say that we want to change our lives as soon as the matter in hand is resolved. In this way, we keep putting off the decision to change our ways and therefore never manage to shake ourselves free of the wiles of the devil; this goes on until the hour of our death, when everything the world and the devil have promised is revealed as false. Since the Lord will judge us as he finds us, it would be wise to mend our ways in time and not be like those who keep saying, “Tomorrow,” but never actually begin.

There is also another enemy— the greatest — who behaves like the master of the house or one of the family, and tries to bring us to perdition with pretty words and ways. This is the flesh—our own body—which wants only to eat well, drink well, dress well, sleep, work little, give itself up to the pleasures of the flesh, and bask in the admiration of others.

In order to overcome these three enemies, we need the presence, help and grace of Jesus Christ. We must count ourselves as nothing for the sake of the everything which is Jesus Christ, trusting only in him, confessing the truth and all our sins at the feet of our confessor, carrying out the penance we are given, and promising never to sin again—and all this for Jesus Christ alone. And if we do sin, we should make frequent confession.

In this way each one of us will be able to overcome the enemies of which I have spoken. We must not trust in ourselves, because we shall fall into sin a thousand times a day, but trust only in Jesus Christ, and solely for his love and goodness we should avoid sinning; nor should we complain; nor do any evil or harm to our neighbour, but desire for him what we would want for ourselves. We should desire that all may be saved; we should love and serve only Jesus Christ for what he is and not for fear of hell; and, so far as possible, the confessor should be good and wise, and of good repute and life. And you know all this better than me, my sister in Jesus Christ. When you wish to send me some good advice, I shall accept it very willingly as coming from my sister in Jesus Christ.

And now, my most beloved and dear sister, let me know how you are after the departure of Don Alvaro and Don Bernardino, your very noble, virtuous and humble uncles, who are my brothers in Jesus Christ and whom I love very much.

May God reward them for the warm welcome they have always given me wherever we have met. May Our Lord Jesus Christ receive their souls in heaven and bring them with every good thing into the presence of your very humble mother, Dona Maria de Mendoza, who is so noble, virtuous and generous, and who wants always to please and serve Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let me know how they are, and also let me have some good news of the good Duke, your very humble husband, because I shall greatly rejoice over his every good. Tell me how and where he is. May Our Lord Jesus Christ be pleased to restore him soon to health of body and soul—both him and all those who are with him, and all those whom God wishes and commands. Amen Jesus.

My most beloved sister, good and humble Duchess, you are alone and cut off in the Castle of Baena, surrounded by your most virtuous maids and your most respected and respectable ladies, always working and never idle by night and by day, so as not to fall prey to sloth or waste your time. You seek to follow the example of Our Lady the Ever-Virgin Mary, who was Mother of God, Queen of the Angels and Mistress of the World, but who wove and worked all day long for her living; she then prayed at night and part of the day in solitude, in order to show us that after our work we must give thanks to Our Lord Jesus Christ, who shows so much mercy towards us, giving us food, drink, clothing and everything else, although we do not deserve it — and, indeed, without his intervention, what would be the use of our work, acumen and zeal?

Thus you are always busy and taken up with charitable or merciful works. You have everybody recite Christian doctrine and also the four prayers commanded by Holy Mother Church (and have those who do not yet know them learn them). You reflect constantly on the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ and his precious wounds. You say that you love him alone above all the things of the world and that you seek and love what he seeks and loves and hate what he hates. And for his love and goodness and not for some other hidden motive you want to do good and show charity towards the poor and those in need.

My sister, you must please forgive me for always being so longwinded when I write, but even so I do not tell you everything I would wish, because I am much afflicted, my eyes are sore, and I am in great need; may Our Lord Jesus Christ enable you to understand this. For I have begun renovating the whole hospital and therefore cannot leave here. Apart from this, the poor are very numerous and the outgoings here are very high. All this is done without any income. However, Jesus Christ looks after everything, for I do nothing.

Soon I want to travel through Andalusia to Zafra and Seville, but I must wait until I have finished this work so that it does not all go to waste. I am therefore in the midst of debt and such great need that I do not know what to do. This is why, my most beloved sister in Jesus Christ, I am sending Angulo so that he can sell the grain or bring it here—whichever seems best to you. However, my most pressing primary need is money to pay for this work and to repay some debts which are causing me considerable concern. Moreover, I do not have enough money to pay those who would bring the grain and the cost of transportation is high. It therefore seems to me a much better idea to sell it. However, my sister, see what you think is the best course.

Angulo is bringing the certificate for the grain and the proxy to act on my behalf that I have had drawn up by my clerk.

For the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ, make sure that he does not come back without bringing some assistance of one sort or another, for as soon as he gets here we shall leave for Seville and Zafra to see the Count of Feria and the Duke of Arcos, now that Master Avila is with them there, paying them a visit; maybe it will please Our Lord Jesus Christ for them to free me of some debts.

It is better that I should go in person rather than sending letters because they have so many concerns and so many poor people to whom to give alms that if one does not go in person they tend to forget what one has written—and I am not surprised by this, since gentlemen are much beseiged by the poor, who bother them a great deal.

Master Avila has sent a message to me through Angulo to go there.

My sister in Jesus Christ, may the Lord reward you in heaven for the alms you gave to Angulo for those poor girls and for his journey—four ducats in all. He has told me everything and described how you suffer because of my difficulties. Forgive me for not having been able to come myself, but I have been prevented by legal problems.

Now, my most beloved sister in Jesus Christ, I pray you for the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ to have pity on my toils, tribulations, and needs, so that God may have mercy on you and on all your affairs and on whatever God wishes and commands. Amen Jesus.

My sister, good Duchess, give my greetings to your most virtuous housekeeper and ask her to pray to God for me as I shall do for her, and also to all the very humble and virtuous ladies and maids of your noble house, asking them all to pray to God for me, because I am greatly embattled and sore beset.

Please also convey my respects to my very beloved brother Father Juan, asking him to write and tell me how he is, and also to all the gentlemen and servants of your most noble house.

Please would they all pray to Our Lord Jesus Christ that he may grant me the grace and assistance to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil, and to observe his holy commandments; and that he may make me profess and believe all that Holy Mother Church professes and believes, confess all my sins with sincerity and contrition, carry out the penance imposed by the confessor, and love and serve only Jesus Christ. And I shall do the same for them.

Give my respects to Dona Isabel, the musician, saying that I hope that Our Lord Jesus Christ may make her go from good to better in the virtues.

John of Avila, who is one of my companions, is coming to see you. (Although I always call him Angulo, his real name is in fact John of Avila.)

My most beloved sister, good Duchess of Sessa, send me another ring or anything else you mav have, so that I have something to pledge, because the other has already been used and you already have it in heaven.

Tell your very humble housekeeper and all the ladies and maids that if they have some little gold or silver trinket they should send it to me for the poor and so that it can be sent to heaven. If they send it to me I shall keep them in my memory.

May Our Lord Jesus Christ save and keep you, good Duchess—you and all those who are with you, as well as all those God wishes and commands. Amen Jesus.

And in any case I have a deep obligation to pray for everybody in your noble and hospitable house.

Your disobedient lesser brother, John of God, dying if God so wills, but keeping silent and hoping in God, and desiring the salvation of all people as much as his own. Amen Jesus.

Good Duchess, I often remember the gifts you made me in Cabra and Baena and the pieces of fresh bread you gave me; may God grant you heaven and bring you to share in its good things. Amen Jesus.

 

NOTE: The original of this letter is now found in the camarino of the Basilica of Saint John of God in Granada.

 

 

Letter 3 to the Duchess of Sessa

This letter should be given to the humble and generous lady, Dona Maria de los Cobos y Mendoza, wife of the noble and virtuous lord, Don Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba, Duke of Sessa, my sister and brother in Our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ and of Our Lady the Ever-Virgin Mary.

God before all and above everything in the world. Amen Jesus.

May God save you, my sister in Jesus Christ, good Duchess of Sessa, you and all those who are with you, and also whomever God wishes and commands. Amen Jesus.

The great love I have always had for you and your humble husband, the good Duke, means that I always have you in my mind—and also because of all the gratitude I owe you for having always helped and supported me with your blessed alms and charity in my undertakings and needs, so as to provide the poor of this holy house of God and many others outside it with sustenance and clothing. You have always done very well in this, as good defenders and knights of Jesus Christ, which is why I felt I should write this letter, good Duchess, in view of the fact that I do not know if I will ever return to see and talk with you. May Jesus Christ see and talk with you for me.

The pain caused by my illness is so great that I can hardly speak and I am not at all sure whether I shall be able to finish this letter.

I should very much like to see you, so I would ask you to pray to Jesus Christ that, if it so please him, he may grant me the health he knows I need in order to be saved and to do penance for my sins.

If he is pleased to restore me to health, as soon as I feel better I shall come to see you and bring you the little girls you asked me for.

My sister in Jesus Christ, I thought that I would come to you for Christmas, but Jesus Christ has arranged things much better than I deserved.

O good Duchess, may Jesus Christ reward you in heaven for the alms and holy charity you have always extended to me, and may he restore the good Duke, your most generous and humble husband, to health and grant you children of blessing; and I hope in Jesus Christ that he will indeed grant you them.

And keep in mind what I said to you one day in Cabra: place your hope solely in Jesus Christ; for he will give you comfort and consolation, even if you are now in difficulty, because in the end everything will turn out for your greater consolation and glory if you suffer it for Jesus Christ.

O good Duke and Duchess, may both you and all your kinsfolk be blessed by God, and although I am an unworthy sinner I send you my blessing from here since I cannot see you.

May God, who made and created you, grant you the grace with which you may be saved. Amen Jesus.

The blessing of God the Father, the love of the Son, and the grace of the Holy Spirit, be with you, with everybody else and with me, for evermore. Amen Jesus.

May Jesus Christ comfort and assist you, since for love of him you have helped and supported me, my sister in Jesus Christ, good and humble Duchess.

If Jesus Christ is pleased to remove me from the present life, I give authorization with this letter that when my companion Angulo returns from court (and I commend him to you because both he and his wife will be very poor) he should bring my emblem to you — three letters in gold thread on red satin. I have had it since I entered on my struggle with the world. Keep it carefully with this cross so that you can give them to the good Duke, when God brings him back to you.

The letters are on red satin so that you should constantly recall both the precious blood which Our Lord Jesus Christ shed for the whole human race and also his most sacred Passion, because there is no higher contemplation than that of the Passion of Jesus Christ, and with his help anybody who is devoted to it will not be lost.

There are three letters for the three virtues that set our steps on the path to heaven: the first is faith [which is practised] by believing everything Holy Mother Church believes and professes, and observing and following its commandments; the second is charity, first towards our own souls, purifying them with confession and penance, and then towards our neighbours and brothers, wanting the same for them as we want for ourselves; and the third is hope in Jesus Christ alone who, in exchange for the tribulations and sufferings we bear in this miserable life for his sake, will give us eternal glory through the merits of his sacred Passion and through his great mercy.

The letters are in gold because, just as gold, which is a very precious metal, must first be extracted from the earth in which it is found and then refined and purified with fire so that it can shine and have the right colour before it has its true value, so the soul, which is a very precious jewel, must be separated from the pleasures and fleshly ways of the earth and left alone with Jesus Christ, and then be purified in the fire of charity with toil, fasting, discipline and harsh penance, so that it can be appreciated by Jesus Christ and shine before the divine presence.

This cloth has four corners for the four virtues that go together with the above-mentioned three: prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude.

Prudence teaches us to act prudently and wisely in everything we must do and think, seeking the advice of those who are older, because they know more than we do.

Justice means being just and allotting to each person what is his: give to God everything that is of God and to the world what is of the world.

Temperance teaches us to use moderation and sobriety in our use of food, drink, clothing and all the other things needed for the care of the human body.

Fortitude means that we must be strong and constant in serving God, greeting trial, tribulation and sickness with the same smiling face as if they were prosperity and joy, and offering our thanks to Jesus Christ for them all alike.

On the other side of the cloth there is an X- shaped cross, which each person who wants to be saved must bear in the way God wishes for him personally and grants him grace. Although we all have the same goal, each of us follows the path along which God leads him. Some are monks, some are priests, some are hermits, and yet others are married, so that each person can be saved if he so wishes, whatever his state.

Good Duchess, you know all this much better than me; it is just that I like to talk with somebody who understands what I mean.

We owe God three things: love, service, and reverence. Love: as heavenly Father we should love him above all the things of the world. Service: as Lord, we should serve him not for the sake of the glory he will give to those who have served him, but solely for his goodness. Reverence: as Creator, we should not speak his holy name except to give him thanks and bless it.

Your time each day should be taken up with three things, good Duchess: prayer, work, and looking after your bodily needs. Prayer: thanking Jesus Christ as soon as you get up in the morning for his unceasing goodness and generosity in having created you in his image and likeness and for the grace he gives us to be Christians; asking Jesus Christ for the mercy of forgiveness; and praying to God for the whole world.

Work: because we must work physically and have some virtuous occupation, wherever possible earning our own food, both because Jesus Christ worked until his death and because there is nothing that causes more sins than idleness.

Caring for the body: because, just as a muleteer feeds and looks after his beast so that he can make use of it, so we should give our bodies what they need so that we have the strength to serve Jesus Christ.

My most beloved and respected sister, I beg you for the love of Jesus Christ to keep three things in mind: the first is the hour of death, which none of us can escape; the second, the pain and suffering of hell; and the third, the glory and beatitude of paradise.

As regards the first: think how death consumes and destroys everything this miserable world gives us and allows us to take with us nothing but a piece of torn and roughly sewn canvas. As regards the second: think how, if we die in mortal sin, we must go and pay for such fleeting pleasure and momentary enjoyment in the fires of hell—which last forever. As regards the third: reflect on the glory and beatitude that Jesus Christ has reserved for those who serve him and that no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived.

Thus, my sister in Jesus Christ, let us all make an effort for the love of Jesus Christ and not allow our enemies—the world, the flesh, and the devil—to get the better of us. And above all, my sister, always have charity, for this is the mother of all the virtues.

My sister in Jesus Christ, I am in such pain that I cannot write any more now. I shall therefore rest for a little while, because I want to write you a long letter and I do not know if we shall meet again.

May Jesus Christ be with you and all those around you, etc..

 

NOTE: We do not have the original of this letter, but the copy made when the writings of Saint John of God were examined at the time of the process for his beatification is found in the archives of the Order, at the General Curia on the Tiber Island in Rome.