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CHAPTER VI.
SHE MAKES KNOWN HER VOCATION; TRIALS; TRIUMPH.
"Behold, I have loved Thy Commandments, O Lord; quicken Thou me in Thy Mercy." — Ps. CXVIII, 159.
The grace of the Holy Spirit unceasingly drew the soul of Anna Maria to the cloister of Carmel. She therefore made known this secret attraction to her then confessor, Father Jerome Maria Cioni of the Society of Jesus, who fully approved of it. Under what obligation the Teresian reform is to this Society. The Life and other works of our holy Mother St. Teresa contain glorious proof of it. The sacred traditions of reciprocal esteem between the Society of Jesus and Mary's favorite Order have continued. We owe here this acknowledgment of gratitude: as many of the best subjects of the Reform, in all times and all countries, have been sent us by the sons of St. Ignatius.
Let us now return to our narrative. Anna Maria, with the approbation of her director, received also the advice to take the first steps towards informing her mother. On the 15th of July, eve of the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and the 17th anniversary of her birth, she made known to her mother with equal respect and firmness, her longing for the cloister. Her choice was made; she asked to enter the Monastery of the Discalced Carmelites of St. Teresa at Florence. Her pious mother's heart was broken. As for the Chevalier Redi, to whom the news was made known by the latter and by Father Cioni, he was crushed. On learning of this immolation, so bitter to nature, he dreaded for his cherished daughter the rigors of Carmel. He thought it his duty to insist that this vocation should be examined carefully and by persons of exalted piety and great prudence. Such a one was the Canon Touci of Siena, by Father John Colombini of Holy Mary, provincial of the Discalced Carmelites, and even by his Lordship Monsignore Inghiram, Bishop of Arezzo. All declared that the vocation of Anna Maria came from the Holy Spirit. This Christian father was finally persuaded that God wished to impose on him this great sacrifice. He bowed his head, although his sorrow was beyond words, for he loved his daughter with a tenderness full of veneration. She then obtained permission to write to the Rev. Mother Prioress of the Carmel of Florence to beg admission.
But while the wisdom of her parents caused measures to be taken suggested by Christian prudence, the enemy of souls sought to trouble the mind and break down the intrepid constancy of this devout virgin. He made use first of the effrontery of a house-maid, who dared to murmur in her presence at her vocation, and to speak of the attractions of a life in the world. Then of a gentleman, a cousin of advanced age, who, proud of his experience, sought to divert her from her holy purpose. It was all useless; Anna Maria easily gained the victory by replying to these overtures with sublime contempt. The most terrible assault came from her excellent father, and it was almost contrary to his will. Up to that time, guided by prudence and fearing his own feelings, the Chevalier Redi had never directly questioned his daughter regarding her fixed determination to become a Carmelite. One evening, when all the family had retired, he was talking with her alone of spiritual things, as was his custom. Suddenly, overcome by an emotion of paternal tenderness, he cried out in a touching manner: "Is it then true, my dear child, that you wish to abandon me?" And he burst into tears. What a blow to Anna Maria's heart was this outburst of paternal grief! Strength given her from on high could alone support her in this struggle with filial affection. Let us listen to her father's account of it. "After such a shock, perhaps the one most calculated to touch her tender heart, she remained for a few moments speechless; and then she retired to her room." Those who understand the human heart will see the prudence of such conduct in the height of the battle. The Divine Spouse who gave the victory to His dearly beloved, prepared for her a beautiful reward: her worthy father, now more than ever persuaded of the Will of God in her regard, and wishing to correspond generously with it, entered into the disposition necessary to carry out, as soon as possible, the holy desires of his privileged child.
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