My dear old man,
I have wanted to write to you for many days (…). Especially in this month of the Virgin Mary, I have entrusted you to the holiest Virgin: I hope that she will hear me and that she will always protect you. I ask her to dry your tears, to soothe your troubled life full of turns, and to be your companion in your solitude. However, above all, I pray that the holy Virgin will be your intercessor, a gentle and loving Mother whom you loved so much, your protector in the dreadful hour of death. Always call upon her, father, and even more when your soul struggles with despondency; tell her, "Mary, show that you are my Mother" (1)…
(1) verse from the hymn Ave maris stella
(Teresa of Los Andes, letter to her father, November 26, 1919)
