Carmel of Lisieux
March 8, 1921
My dear Sister Ignatius,
I thank you very much for your kind letter of February 16th and for the check sent in payment of the account of October 4, 1920. I enclose a receipt for the same. As for the $20 credit note, as our letters crossed each other, I had already sent the relics for the amount on January 31, but it is all right since you sent $10 and noted that another $10 are due on the said relics. Perhaps in telling you this I make things rather confused. If so don’t mind my poor explication. I sent you relic pictures assorted; we sell the coloured $0.05 each and $0.10 for the heliogravures. Would you kindly sell the religious who asks for them to be very careful not to give them to persons who would sell them in the repositories or any kind of shop. Sometimes booksellers ask us to get these relic pictures, of course we refuse them, but they try to get some through other persons; there fore we ask our friends to be very careful about the distribution of these relics. The 5000 bookmarks were sent to you, and they should have been visited in order to take off all the bad ones, but if it happens that you still find some, won’t you make us the charity to burn them and to let us know how many were bad. Some of them are so awfully bad! The new picture in colour with the photograph attached is 4d. each, 25 % per 100 less 25% (Soeur Thérèse breathing her last). The others are 3/ per 100 for the small ones, and 5 per 100 for the large ones.. Is it not a pity to see things always increasing in price?
We sent you 6 copies of the new Shower of Roses for which I enclose invoice; we charge you for 5 copies as we wanted to present you with a copy for the Community. It is a very little token of our gratitude for all what you do for the cause. It is a very poor token indeed, but we console ourselves in thinking that Soeur is richer than we are and that she has a real shower of roses in store for her dear sisters and Apostles of Phila.
Owing to Messrs. Kenedy of N. York who has the American agency of the Shower, we must follow his prices for the sale. So it will be sold $1.75 in American money, We had decided to sell it in England at 6/ post free, but when we received our bill for the book, the price was increased by 21%, so we will have to sell it 6/ + 1/ for postage.
Since the English moneys worth is less than yours, I hope it will be possible for you to get a sufficient benefit in selling the book $1.15. Perhaps Kenedy will sell it $2.; you could assure yourself of his sale price. Fancy! He sells the book Soeur Thérèse of Lisieux $3.15. Of course the general expenses are increased and the booksellers must take a larger benefit on books. As for ourselves, we do just the contrary. In order not to prevent people to get books and pictures we take less profit than ever on our publications, we rely on our little saint to send us what is necessary to meet the two ends, and so far she has not deceived our confidence. But our agent here in Lisieux – a very devoted man is frightened for us and tries to convert us, but we are indeed very hard to convert, and I think we will continue to do as we did up to now. Before this gentleman took our affairs in hand, seeing the wonderful number of books and pictures made by us, he thought we had made a fortune with our publications. He is astounded to see we have not, and we are much pleased by this. Our little saint is also much pleased for she always sent us what was necessary for the expenses of the Cause which are tremendous, and for the buildings which we are making. I suppose she wants to do for us as the Carmelites of Compiègne. You know when our Mothers of Compiègne began the Process of the Holy Martyrs, they had not a penny in their cash box. Yet they never missed to get in time the sums they needed to continue the Process which was made in ten years time. Processes of martyrs are shorter than others and when they had paid the last expenses of the celebrations of the beatification there was not a penny left in the cash box. Is it not beautiful?
Sister Genevieve kept her silver Jubilee on February 24. Our little feast was a heavenly one; indeed we felt that Soeur Thérèse was near her “Céline.” The Pope had kindly sent her his blessing (5 lines of his handwriting on a photograph of Sr. Thérèse & Sr. Genevieve on the profession of the latter.) Card. Vies sent her also a nice letter; more than 50 masses were offered and hundreds of masses heard and communions, etc. She thanks you dear Sister for the communion you promise to give her, and in return she will pray for you.
Sister Marie de la Trinité will keep her Jubilee on April 30. I think I told you that she was also a novice of Soeur Thérèse. Now is it not time to finish this letter? Will you ever find time to read all this? It will be a good practice of patience, will it not?
With affectionate regards and all good wishes for a happy Eastertide,
I remain, dear Sister Ignatius,
Yours sincerely,
Sr. Anne of Jesus
PS
Many thanks for the nice little leaflet enclosed in your letter.