Correspondence (incoming): McNally, Father J. B., 1894-1895

St Patrick's Church West Oakland June 19, 94

My Dear Kind Mrs Stanford

Only a token to tell you that the coming 21st day of June, the Feast of St Aloysius, is a recurring vision in the light of my memory, that while life remains I will never allow to fade. It calls up the memory of past friendship the friendship I so dearly prized. The cessation of that friendship in life was made to happen upon a special day above many others, when, I would wish dear Governor Stanford to die, the day of St. Aloysius, a day ever dear to & deeply cherished by you. We cannot easily forget it, for many reasons. Whence the call that summoned him on this occasion -------You and I devoutly hope. Dearest Mrs Stanford pray to St. Aloysius through the pure radiance of his Saintly halo a light will come to lift you above all earthly consideration & human praise or critisism on the wings of the true faith to Jesus and may Aloysius {be?} your own dearest & sweetest Child. I believe that boy died in the Faith of Aloysius, and I never cease to pray that his mother may bravely & nobly follow in the wake of this lustrous purest light. I always, for many years prayed for my dear friend the Gov & for you. Now, every day, I remember you in the adorable sacrifice, & again at my Thanksgiving exercise after Mass

accompanied in prayer & supplication by an average of twenty most holy & truly pious old ladies, I offer prayers for you at the Altar of Our Lady of Lourdes, as well as before The Sacred Heart of Jesus in the tabernacle of his love. I pity you to be getting trouble & confusion from those who never knew the kindly heart of Gov Stanford, and who if they could have seen it, are incapable of interpreting the pure intentions rooted therein; intentions founded on pure philanthopy, of which this University & other outerward things are but a partial expression. Well, never mind My Dear Kind Lady! God's ways are not ours. Yield your soul to His light, of love, and Jesus in the Most Adorable Sacrament seen by the rays of the lamp of Faith in the temple of your sincere breast, will fill you with consolation, comfort, peace and a sweet calm resignation to His Holy Will. Adapt yourself to receive this happiness, by true humility & devotion, embracing that Faith which opens up the avenues of these institutions of Comfort, peace, grace & sanctity of souls, which Jesus Son of God gave to us for these ends. I shall continue to implore God to inspire you & give the grace you stand in need of, that your yearnings may be accomplished, and that, you may in union with your Child & Saint Aloysius, & with your dear Husband, I devoutly hope, enjoy the peace & glory of the family circle of the Saints for ever in Heaven.

Very sincerely yours J. B. McNally Rector

St Patrick's Church West Oakland Dec 27, 94

My Dear Good Mrs Stanford

I enclose the usual little picture cards, for many years this was my custom at Xmas, New Years, & Easter time; I bethink myself of a few friends, in whose welfare, spiritual welfare especially I take a deep, particularly deep interest. I felt that the late Governor Stanford appreciated my friendship, & therefore the performance of this little friendly festival office was very pleasing to me. I am equally convinced that you take much consolation from happy, kindly Christian remembrances, altho only trivial tokens from a real friend of your dear departed husband & of your own good kind self. As such friend I send this note & these little holy pictures. Keep for yourself these you wish, the others you may give away, just as you please.

Sometime, I'll do myself the honor of having a little conversation with you, sometime in the spring, I hope. I never cease to pray for you, every day, at Holy Mass I beg God to grant you the Graces you stand in need of. You have many trials and difficulties. I can well imagine your utter denial of any likes or dislikes of your own will, in order to carry out the will that was bequeathed to you. God will surely take this into account

and therefore, I think you can easily obtain from Him the requisites for your salvation. Dont you know, that every consolation in life which solves itself into a kind of habitual happiness is a radiance from Heaven, & gleam out of the glow of the bright lens of Eternal day. You find great consolation in knowing & believing that that Jesus who came & loved us didn't terminate his life & love on Calvary, to believe such wouldn't be worthy of His Love. So, twas a divine life & a divine love, & these must be continuous, & such that we must know & therefore believe this life & love is in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, & there in His Presence you get the solace of soul that lifts you to God, His Father; to believe in His continued Mercy & Love, that waits for the Purification or Purgation of the Soul in the world after Death, to shed around the halo of happiness that can never fade, the diadem of celestial glory. Keep along with Mary Mother of the Word Incarnate. Be led by her Humility, her yielding up her will to God, & by her you'll be led to your home of sweet peace in the love light of Mary, The Sacred Heart of her son Jesus. My Dear Good Mrs Stanford, the Old Roman Church cherishes Mary & follows her light as the Morning Star. She has in her Sanctuary a Home for Jesus and the Blessed Sacrament. The odour of the sweetness of Heaven & the calm of the solemn silent soul of peace, is found only in the Sanctuary finitly illumined by the lingering light of the little red lamp burning before Jesus in the blessed Sacrament, where He seems to sleep but when his heart is watching, watching, waiting in the midst of us, & for us, if we will, His beautiful glorified life of Love. Mary & Jesus Interior reflection & recollection, prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, in the wake of that little lamp, in the home of Jesus Mary and Joseph

Oh Dear Good Soul! This is religion, the religion that lifts & saves this is consolation for the Christian breast. What matter while thus wrapt in prayer & love in the presence of Jesus, about the sufferings of this world, they are nought compared to the glories of the world to come, some of which glories the prayerful soul of faith enjoys before the Sanctuary of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Whilst you love to live in Jesus here, & act up to the principles of every duty, your ardent hope is to be united to the dear ones who are gone before you, that you three linked in love for never ending days may glorify Jesus in the radiance of his beatific vision. You must know His Will in life here & do it. I am satisfied that your soul is disposed to love and serve God, but this is earth, there are many temptations. Human respect interferes a good deal with respect to God & His Child, The Soul of Man. Your soul is God's property, it is immortal, sensitive of pleasure or misery, & is altogether between yourself & God. Conscience must guide it, but you must take care to form that conscience on the lives of truth, Christian truth, taught by the Apostles to whom Jesus said, "He that hearth you hearth me." The Old Roman Apostlic Church has the Justitutions of the Mercy & Love of Jesus, has the wherewith to give calm sweetness and consolation. Oh the Angelic calm of the soul after a good humble confession. Oh, the elevation of the Soul after a Good Communion. "Come, says Jesus, & taste how sweet the Lord is." May God strengthen & console you. May Jesus grant you that light of Faith, that disposition of soul, & so inspire you that you may be with Him & His Mother in Heaven hereafter; that you may join your dear husband & darling child, that you may all be radiant in the family circle of bliss forever in Heaven. Such is my prayer & I shall continue it unceasingly. Wishing you all the blessings of the Season.

I am, yours in Jesus J. B. McNally