We only have copies of this letter and none of them carries an address. However, one copy has this annotation by Father Angelo Cortenovis (1727-1801): Letter of the Vy. Rev. Father Anthony M. Zaccaria to his spiritual guide, Mother Mistress Angelic Paola Antonia [Negri] about an initiative of St. Barnabas. The accuracy of this address finds confirmation in a letter of Father Giovan Pietro Besozzi to Giovan Battista Fontana dei Conti, the author of a highly hagiographic biography of Paola Antonia. After accusing her of several grave faults, Besozzi adds: "...and other similar ones mentioned in a letter of Father Anthony Mary."

The reader is already acquainted with this Angelic Sister. On March 4, 1538, at the age of thirty she was elected Mistress of novices. From then on she built an extraordinary reputation as a gifted Mistress of spirituality. She won the admiration of everyone she met, including cardinals, bishops, and other prominent persons. Among the Barnabites her ascendancy grew by leaps and bounds. As a member of the mission bands in Vicenza, Verona, and Venice, her preeminent contribution effected a stunning religious revival. Her sudden decline was brought about by two related events. In 1551 on mainly political pretexts and not excluding Paola Antonia's outrageous behavior, the Republic of Venice banished Barnabites and Angelics from its territory. A trial by the Roman Inquisition followed in 1552 resulting in several drastic injunctions. Contacts between Barnabites and Angelics were to be kept at a minimum; the Angelics were to be cloistered; Fra Battista's teaching was to be shunned. As for Paola Antonia she was stripped of all authority, ordered to leave the Angelics, and confined to St. Claire convent in Milan. Some time later she either escaped from the convent or left it for health reasons and died on April 4, 1555.

Manifestly, this letter is tantalizingly enigmatic. The reason is that it deals with a tantalizingly enigmatic person, Paola Antonia Negri.

This is the enigma: was she authentic or a fake? Was she a saint or a sinner? Did she undergo a radical change from saint to sinner? According to Fr. Giovan Battista Besozzi her spiritual decline began after the death of Anthony Mary, her remarkable spiritual mentor.

At the time of this letter, twenty-five days before his death, was Anthony Mary at least dimly aware that something was wrong with his beloved Angelic Paola Antonia? The traditional view of various scholars, dating back to the 16th century, is that Anthony Mary was fully aware of Paola Antonia's change for the worst and in this letter clearly targeted her for censure, foreseeing her final downfall, a sure sign of his God-given discernment and foreknowledge. Critics of this interpretation point out that it is not so much based on a dispassionate reading of the letter but is rather colored by the dramatic turn of events in her life subsequent to Anthony Mary's death.

If Anthony Mary was not fully aware of any wrongdoings on the part of Paola Antonia, this letter would at least suggest a partial awareness. In any case his principal concern appears to be to warn the novices to be on guard lest they be inclined to mimic someone's reproachable behavior. Who is this someone? Anthony Mary does not say. He is too discreet to embarrass anyone. He proceeds by hints and intimations. In order to bring home his subtle point he seizes on the fact that the next day, June 11, is the feast of St. Barnabas, "the Companion of our common patron, the chaste Paul." He then adopts an ingenious, even artful and at times contrived analogy. Barnabas introduced Paul, the former Saul, to a suspicious audience: Paul still looked like Saul but in reality was a different man. Similarly Anthony Mary suggests to the novices that perhaps their Mother Mistress seemed to be engaged in wrongdoing but actually she was above reproach. However, if she indeed was engaged in wrongdoing, she should be able to detect in this letter an admonition aimed at herself.

The text of this letter is taken from the copy made by Fr. Angelo Cortenovis for the St. Barnabas Archives, Milan, and collated with copies kept in the General Archives in Rome.

[Guastalla], June 10, 1539

My one and only beloved Mother and my obedient daughters in Christ, greetings.

Tomorrow we celebrate the Memorial of St. Barnabas, the Companion of our common patron, the chaste Paul. I can't help taking this occasion to use, in dealing with you, the same approach that Barnabas used in dealing with the great Paul who wanted to be a living example of the suffering Christ in reality as well as in everyone's estimation.

You must know, of course, how St. Paul, just after his conversion, went for the first time to Jerusalem. He tried every possible way to mingle with the other Christians in order to get acquainted with them and to be acknowledged by them as a Christian; but they were afraid and suspicious of him as though he were still the same persecutor, and so they dared not keep his company.

That was when Barnabas, leading Paul by the hand, presented him to the Apostles and told them: "Here he is, the one who was, etc.; and then Christ appeared to him, etc.; and he did this and that, etc." By presenting Paul in person this way, Barnabas made him known to all and showed him as a pillar of the Church and the one who had almost attained the first place in the apostolic mission. All the while Paul was keeping secret his own merits and at the same time he was drinking great draughts of self-satisfaction, unafraid of savoring his own exceedingly sweet praises.

Likewise, dear Mother, if it pleases you, I would like to show you how freely great saints behave. Yes, I would like to make you see that what in them, because of their lofty perfection, is an experience and a sure sign of a consummated holiness, can become in us, instead, an occasion of certain ruin or a sure sign of not having eliminated our first and inveterate bad habits, as is apparent in the story told by St. John Climacus about a certain saint who felt so sure of being totally free of gluttony that he tempted the devil with a bunch of grapes to see if the latter would in turn tempt him in the same way. The other case is that of someone who wants to know for certain to what extent a certain passion is suppressed in himself or in others. He first arouses that passion by words, gestures, and the like, then, observing the matter very closely, waits for the results, and from them he deduces both his own and other people's interior state.

I will not mention here certain things that only you can understand, but rather those which also our Angelics can grasp, leaving those other things for your spirit to ponder.

Barnabas says: "Behold Saul," that is, the very countenance of our sinful old Man-the mirror of our first evil inclinations or passions.

Look, I say, at the idle talk of this or that would-be saint: she chatters endlessly like a finch or a monkey; she is seldom seen at prayer, always involved, as she is, in external occupations; she enjoys sleeping a lot, even lying abed lazily. Is this not the face of Saul, that is, the picture of our sinful old Man?

But this is nothing yet. She wants to be served; she keeps her cell well equipped with comforts and elegance; she always speaks in a reproachful mood; she is never ready to say a comforting word to anybody; she shows that she holds nobody in esteem. Well, what do you think all these attitudes mean, but that the bad habits of the old self are still laying hold of her?

Moreover, she is never satisfied; she is always under the siege of temptation, and her spiritual knowledge is always cloudy and doubtful. In a word: she gives clear signs of being the same person as she was when living in plain clothes, or, at least, of being still imperfect or very little changed.

Her stomach relishes only the best of everything. What else does that prove, but that she is a first rate glutton? She can hardly wait without showing anger on her face; she cannot keep herself kneeling without leaning on the edge of the seat; she is so sensitive to everything around her that her blood pressure goes up easily. What else does all this reveal but a great moral feebleness?

And see for yourselves if this is not so: she gets easily tired; she suffers headaches when she has to sit at the grate; she cannot bear the troubles of her neighbor. [In this description] one can see everything except the portrait of a mature person.

All this is Saul - namely, the portrait of the imperfect person. "But keep quiet," says Barnabas, "don't forget that to a person like the one just described Christ appeared, etc..." If you pay attention, you will find hidden that this person is a saint interiorly and exteriorly. If you take the trouble to understand her every aspect, as I lay open this poor ceature, I am quite sure she will blush and lower her head to conceal her real self.

But see whether, when she speaks, she is not touching and inflaming you deeply; when she speaks seeming nonsense, she is actually fully aware of your situation and works on it accordingly; see whether in her constant restlessness she doesn't achieve something new for herself and for others; see whether, when she leaves you, she never omits an edifying word or unspoken sign or gesture; see whether in her seeming absent-mindedness she is actually fully aware of your every move and inspires you with good thoughts and stimulating suggestions.

Now, keep perfectly quiet, for I have something else to show you. When she misses the time for prayer, just then she manifests her rich interior life. When you see her upset and in pain, as if anxious to learn something from untutored people, she is only showing self-contempt and a willingness to appear unlearned. When you see her elegantly arranging her cell, she is actually trying to be an object of ridicule and wishes to hide the consolations received from Jesus Crucified as well as the instructions imparted by St. Paul. With one and the same word she brings both death and life; in one swoop she inflicts wounds and heals them.

Enough. Anyone willing to examine carefully her actions will indeed recognize in her Saul's portrait, but Barnabas will assure us that she is not what she appears to be now, and what she appeared to be in the past.

My dear Mother, I could go on and on, but I would not like to arouse bad feelings against me. Besides, you can tell them the rest.

The only thing I wish to add is this: tell the Angelics not to take such liberties. I can assure them that they would achieve results quite opposite to those obtained by that person, and, instead of making great strides in perfection, they would perhaps descend deep down into the hell of absolute imperfection.

Therefore, not idle talk, but a strict silence is expedient and necessary for them. Acting, talking, and thinking without interior and exterior control is unbecoming and unprofitable to them. Failure to renounce themselves while following their own whims could poison them to death since their wishes are worldly. Were they in a position of authority, they would grow presumptuous; were they knowledgeable, they would become proud; were their spirit dissipated, they would become slack; were they unwilling to renounce their will, even in good things, they would not only become coarse but would entirely disaffect themselves from Paul and his way of life.

Do reflect and see what a great harm is caused by seeking one's comfort, by drinking [and eating] with pleasure, if not so much wine and exquisite food, at least maudlin sentimentality and self-complacency. If they are not blind, what I have just said will show them how much spiritual harm will come about.

In conclusion, tell them that this Paul preaches to them a Christ Crucified under every aspect: crucified not only in His own body, but in theirs, too - and entreat them to chew well this one word. If, because of their obtuseness, they do not quite understand it, ask my teacher Paola to make it clear to them; for I am sure that that tongue so inflamed and so sharp will supply what I would tell them.

That's it, dear Mother
[Guastalla], June 10, 1539.

Your Father and son,
Anthony Mary, Priest