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Title: Thoughts of the servant of God, Thérèse of the Child Jesus : The little flower of Jesus, Carmelite of the monastery of Lisieux, 1873-1897
Author: Lisieux, Thérèse of
Language: English
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THOUGHTS
OF THE SERVANT OF GOD
THÉRÈSE
OF THE CHILD JESUS
=Nihil Obstat=
REMIGIUS LAFORT, S. T. D.
_Censor_
=Imprimatur=
✠JOHN CARDINAL FARLEY
_Archbishop of New York_
NEW YORK, _October 22, 1915_
[Illustration:
THE SERVANT OF GOD
THÉRÈSE OF THE CHILD JESUS
_The Little Flower of Jesus_
]
THOUGHTS
OF THE SERVANT OF GOD
THÉRÈSE OF THE CHILD JESUS
THE LITTLE FLOWER OF JESUS
CARMELITE OF THE MONASTERY
OF LISIEUX, 1873-1897
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH
“PENSÉES” BY AN IRISH CARMELITE
[Illustration]
NEW YORK · PUBLISHED BY
P. J. KENEDY & SONS · 1915
COPYRIGHT, 1915
BY P. J. KENEDY & SONS
THE · PLIMPTON · PRESS
NORWOOD · MASS · U·S·A
TO
“PETITE THÉRÈSE”
AND
MÈRE AGNÈS DE JÉSUS
A LITTLE TRIBUTE OF
REVERENT AND LOVING GRATITUDE
FROM CARMEL OF KILMACUD
_June 9, 1914_
CONTENTS
PAGE
LOVE OF GOD 3
LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOUR 30
FAITH 40
HOPE 44
HUMILITY 50
DETACHMENT 71
MORTIFICATION 82
OBEDIENCE 95
POVERTY 97
CONFIDENCE 100
SELF-ABANDONMENT 115
GRATITUDE 124
ZEAL 130
SIMPLICITY 136
PRAYER 147
HOLY COMMUNION 157
SUFFERING 162
THE DIRECTION OF SOULS 180
THE BLESSED VIRGIN 188
VARIOUS SUBJECTS 190
PRAYER FOR THE BEATIFICATION OF THE SERVANT OF GOD 211
THOUGHTS
OF THE SERVANT OF GOD
THÉRÈSE
OF THE CHILD JESUS
[Illustration]
LOVE OF GOD
Jesus!... I would so love Him! Love Him as never yet He has been
loved....
IV LETTER TO MÈRE AGNÈS DE JÉSUS
(_Her sister Pauline._)
The science of love! Sweet is the echo of that word to the ear of my
soul. I desire no other science. _Having given all my substance for
it_, like the spouse in the Canticles, _I think that I have given
nothing_.[1]
HISTOIRE D’UNE AME, CH. VIII
Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VIII
One evening, at a loss for words to tell Jesus how I loved Him and
how much I wished that He might be everywhere served and glorified, I
reflected with pain that not one act of love would ever mount upwards
from out of the depths of hell. Then I cried out that willingly would I
consent to see myself plunged into that place of torment and blasphemy,
in order that He might be loved there eternally. That could not really
glorify Him since He desires only our happiness, but love makes one
want to say a thousand foolish things. If I spoke thus, it was not that
I did not long for heaven; but then, my heaven was none other than
_Love_, and in my fervour I felt that nothing could separate me from
the Divine object of my love....
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. V
Seeing the eternal recompense so disproportionate to the trifling
sacrifices of this life, I longed to love Jesus, to love Him ardently,
to give Him a thousand proofs of tenderness while yet I could do so....
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. V
The love of God reveals itself in the very simplest soul who resists
His grace in nothing, as well as in the most sublime. Indeed, the
characteristic of love being to humble itself, if all souls resembled
those of the holy Doctors who have enlightened the Church, the good
God would not seem to descend low enough in coming to them. But He has
created the infant who knows nothing and can only wail; He has created
the poor savage who has but the natural law for guidance, and it is
even unto their hearts that He deigns to stoop.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. I
In order that Love may be fully satisfied it must needs stoop to very
nothingness and transform that nothing into fire.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XI
In times of aridity when I am incapable of praying, of practising
virtue, I seek little opportunities, mere trifles, to give pleasure to
Jesus; for instance a smile, a pleasant word when inclined to be silent
and to show weariness. If I find no opportunities, I at least tell Him
again and again that I love Him; that is not difficult and it keeps
alive the fire in my heart. Even though this fire of love might seem to
me extinct I would still throw little straws upon the embers and I am
certain it would rekindle.
XVI LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
On _the day of my conversion_ Charity entered into my heart and with it
a yearning to forget self always; thenceforward I was happy.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. V
I do not will that creatures should possess a single atom of my love; I
wish to give all to Jesus, since He makes me understand that He alone
is perfect happiness. All shall be for Him, all! And even when I have
nothing to offer Him I will give Him that nothing.
II LETTER TO MÈRE AGNÈS DE JÉSUS
Our Lord is more tender than a mother, and well do I know more than one
maternal heart! I know a mother is ever ready to forgive the little
involuntary failings of her child.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VIII
I know of one means only by which to attain to perfection: LOVE. Let
us love, since our heart is made for nothing else. Sometimes I seek
another word to express Love, but in this land of exile _the word which
begins and ends_[2] is quite incapable of rendering the vibrations of
the soul; we must then adhere to this simple and only word: TO LOVE.
But on whom shall our poor heart lavish its love? Who shall be found
that is great enough to be the recipient of its treasures? Will a
human being know how to comprehend them, and above all will he be able
to repay? There exists but one Being capable of comprehending love; it
is Jesus; He alone can give us back infinitely more than we shall ever
give to Him.
LETTER TO HER COUSIN MARIE GUÉRIN
There is one ONLY THING to do here below: to love Jesus, to win souls
for Him so that He may be loved. Let us seize with jealous care every
least opportunity of self-sacrifice. Let us refuse Him nothing--He does
so want our love!
VI LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
When we really love, we rejoice in the happiness of the loved one and
make every sacrifice to procure it for him.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
True love is nourished by sacrifice, and the more the soul denies
itself natural satisfactions, the stronger and the more disinterested
becomes its tenderness.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
The good God does not need years to accomplish His work of love in a
soul; one ray from His Heart can, in an instant, make His flower bloom
for eternity....
VI LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
Love can supply for length of years. Jesus, because He is Eternal,
regards not the time but only the love.
V LETTER TO MÈRE AGNÈS DE JÉSUS
I desire no sensible consolation in loving; provided Jesus feel my love
that is enough for me. Oh! to love Him and to make Him loved ... how
sweet it is....
V LETTER TO MÈRE AGNÈS DE JÉSUS
O Jesus, I ask of Thee only Peace!... Peace, and above all LOVE--love
without bound or limit. Jesus, let me for Thy sake die a martyr; give
me martyrdom of soul or body. Ah! rather give me both the one and the
other!
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VIII
I have no longer any desire unless it be to love Jesus even to folly!
Yes, LOVE it is that draws me. I can say these words of the canticle of
our Father, St. John of the Cross:
In the inmost cellar
Of my Beloved have I drunk; and when I went forth
Over all the plain
I knew nothing,
And lost the flock I followed before.
My soul is occupied
And all my substance in His service;
Now I guard no flock,
Nor have I any other employment:
My sole occupation is love.
(_Spiritual Canticle, Trans. D. Lewis._)
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VIII
Oh! if souls weak and imperfect as mine, felt what I feel, not one
would despair of reaching the summit of the mountain of Love, since
Jesus does not demand from us great deeds, but only self-surrender and
gratitude.
_I have no need_, saith He, _of the goats of thy flocks.... If I were
hungry I would not tell thee.... Offer unto God the sacrifice of praise
and thanksgiving._[3]
See then, all that Jesus asks of us! He has not need of our works but
only of our _love_. This very God who declares that He needs not to
tell us if He were hungry, did not hesitate to _beg_ of the Samaritan
woman a little water.... He thirsted!!! But in saying: “_Give me to
drink_,”[4] it was the love of His poor creature that the Creator of
the universe besought. He thirsted for Love!
And now, more than ever is Jesus athirst. He meets with none but the
ungrateful and the indifferent among the disciples of the world; and
amongst _His own_ disciples He finds, alas! very few hearts that
surrender themselves without any reserve to the tenderness of His
infinite Love.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XI
Since ever I have known Love’s mighty power
Thus hath it wrought its work within my soul--
Whate’er it findeth there, or good or ill,
It turneth all to gain; its living flame
Transforms my soul into its very self.[5]
How sweet is the way of Love! True, one may fall, one may not be always
faithful, but Love, knowing how to draw profit from all, very quickly
consumes whatsoever may displease Jesus, leaving naught but humble and
profound peace in the innermost soul.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VIII
Thinking one day of those who offer themselves as victims to the
Justice of God in order to turn aside the punishment reserved for
sinners by taking it upon themselves, I felt this offering to be noble
and generous, but I was far from feeling moved to make it.
“O my Divine Master,” I cried in the depths of my heart, “shall Thy
Justice alone receive victims of holocaust? Has not Thy Merciful Love
also need of them? On all sides it is ignored, rejected ... the hearts
on which Thou wouldst lavish it turn to creatures, seeking happiness in
miserable and fleeting affections instead of casting themselves into
Thine arms, into the ineffable furnace of Thine Infinite Love.
“O my God, must Thy Love--disdained--remain within Thy Heart? Methinks
that if Thou shouldst find souls offering themselves as victims of
holocaust to Thy Love, Thou wouldst consume them rapidly; that Thou
wouldst be glad not to restrict the flames of infinite tenderness pent
up within Thee.
“If Thy Justice--the Justice which Thou dost exercise on earth--be
pleased to find voluntary victims on which to discharge its weight, how
much the more must Thy Merciful Love also desire _its_ victims, since
_Thy Mercy reacheth even to heaven_.[6]
“O Jesus, that happily I may be that holocaust consume Thy little
victim in the fire of Divine Love.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VIII
Ah! since that day love penetrates me and surrounds me; this _Merciful
Love_ each moment renews and purifies me, leaving in my heart no trace
of sin. No, I cannot fear Purgatory; I know that I do not merit even to
enter with the Holy Souls into that place of expiation, but I know too
that the fire of Love is more sanctifying than the fire of Purgatory,
I know that Jesus cannot will needless suffering for us, and that He
would not inspire me with the desires I feel if He were unwilling to
fulfil them.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VIII
To offer oneself as a Victim to Divine Love is not to offer oneself
to sweetness--to consolation; but to every anguish, every bitterness,
for Love lives only by sacrifice; and the more a soul wills to be
surrendered to Love, the more must she be surrendered to suffering.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
In order to love Jesus, to be His victim of love, the more weak and
miserable we are, the more fitting are we for the operations of this
consuming and transforming Love.... The sole desire to be victim
suffices; but we must consent to remain always poor and without
strength, and there lies the difficulty, for _where shall be found
the truly poor in spirit_? _He must be sought afar off_,[7] saith the
author of the _Imitation_.... He did not say that we must seek him
amongst great souls, but afar off, that is to say in lowliness, in
nothingness.... Oh! let us keep _afar off_ from all that glitters, let
us love our littleness, and be satisfied to feel nothing, then shall we
be truly poor in spirit, and Jesus will come to seek us how far soever
we may be; He will transform us into flames of Love!...
VI LETTER TO SŒUR MARIE DU SACRÉ-CŒUR
(_Her sister Marie._)
To be truly a Victim of Love requires absolute self-surrender. _The
soul is consumed by Love only in so far as she surrenders herself to
Love._
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
It appears to me that for Victims of Love there will be no judgment,
but rather, that the good God will hasten to recompense with eternal
delights His own Love, which He will see burning in their hearts.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
At any cost I will cull the palm of Saint Agnes; if not by shedding my
blood then it must be by Love....
IV LETTER TO MÈRE AGNÈS DE JÉSUS
O my God, Thou knowest I have never desired but to love Thee alone. I
seek no other glory. Thy Love has gone before me from my childhood, it
has grown with my growth, and now it is an abyss the depths of which I
cannot fathom.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XI
Love attracts love, mine rushes forth unto Thee, it would fain fill up
the abyss which attracts it; but alas! it is not even as one drop of
dew lost in the Ocean. To love Thee as Thou lovest me I must borrow Thy
very love--then only, can I find rest.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XI
Just as a torrent sweeps along with it unto the depths of the sea
whatsoever it encounters on its course, even so, my Jesus, does the
soul which plunges into the boundless ocean of Thy Love draw after her
all her treasures. Lord, Thou knowest that for me these treasures are
the souls it has pleased Thee to unite to mine.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XI
Charity gave me the key to my vocation. I understood that the Church
being a body composed of different members, the most essential, the
most noble of all the organs would not be wanting to her; I understood
that the Church has _a heart_ and that this heart is burning with
love; that it is love alone which makes the members work, that if love
were to die away apostles would no longer preach the Gospel, martyrs
would refuse to shed their blood. I understood that love comprises all
vocations, that love is everything, that it embraces all times and all
places because it is eternal!
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XI
O my Well-Beloved! I understand to what combats Thou hast destined me;
it is not on the battle field that I shall fight.... I am prisoner
of Thy Love; freely have I riveted the chain which unites me to Thee
and separates me for ever from the world. My sword is LOVE; with it
_I shall chase the stranger from the kingdom, I shall make Thee to be
proclaimed King_ in the souls of men.
HIST. D’UNE AME, APPENDIX
_Love!_... that is what I ask.... I know but one thing now--_to love
Thee_, O Jesus! Glorious deeds are not for me, I cannot preach the
Gospel, shed my blood ... what does it matter? My brothers toil instead
of me, and I, _the little child_, I keep quite close to the royal
throne, _I love_ for those who fight.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XI
How shall I show my love since love is proved by deeds? Well,--_the
little child will strew flowers_ ... she will embalm the Divine Throne
with their fragrance, will sing with silvery voice the canticle of love.
Yes, my Beloved, it is thus that my life’s brief day shall be spent
before Thee. No other means have I of proving my love than to strew
flowers; that is, to let no little sacrifice escape me, not a look,
not a word, to avail of the very least actions and do them for Love.
I wish to suffer for Love’s sake and for Love’s sake even to rejoice;
thus shall I strew flowers. Not one shall I find without shedding its
petals for Thee ... and then I will sing, I will always sing, even if
I must gather my roses in the very midst of thorns--and the longer and
sharper the thorns the sweeter shall be my song.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XI
Sœur Thérèse de l’Enfant Jésus often spoke of a well-known toy with
which in childhood’s days she had amused herself: a kaleidoscope; in
form somewhat like a small telescope; on looking through, one sees an
endless succession of pretty and many-coloured designs, varying at each
turn of the kaleidoscope.
“This toy,” she said, “aroused my admiration and I used to wonder what
could produce so pleasing a phenomenon; when one day, after serious
examination, I saw there were simply a few tiny scraps of paper and
of wool cut no matter how, and thrown here and there. I pursued my
investigation and discovered three mirrors inside the tube: I had there
the key to the problem.
“This was for me the image of a great mystery. As long as our actions,
even the least of them, remain within the focus of Love, the Blessed
Trinity, which is figured by the three mirrors, reflects them, and
endows them with a wondrous beauty. Jesus, looking at us through the
little lens, that is to say, as it were through Himself, finds all our
actions pleasing to Him. But if we leave the ineffable centre of Love,
what will He see? Mere straws ... actions sullied and nothing worth.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
This little prayer which includes all my desires I ask you to say for
me each day:
“Merciful Father, in the name of Thy sweet Jesus, of the Blessed Virgin
and of the Saints, I pray Thee that my sister be fired with Thy spirit
of love, and that Thou wilt grant her the grace to make Thee greatly
loved.”
If God should take me soon to Himself, I ask you to continue each day
this same prayer, for in Heaven my desire will be the same as upon
earth; to love Jesus and to make Him loved.
III LETTER TO HER MISSIONARY “BROTHERS”
She was looking at the sky one day when some one remarked to her:
“Very soon you will dwell beyond the blue sky; with what love you
contemplate it!”
She merely smiled, but afterwards said to the Mother Prioress:
“Mother, our Sisters little know what I suffer! Looking at the blue sky
I was thinking only of the beauty of the material heavens; _the other
is more and more closed to me_.... I was at first distressed by that
remark, then an interior voice answered: ‘Yes, through love thou didst
look at the heavens. Since thy soul is wholly consecrated to Love, all
thy actions, even the most indifferent, bear the impress of this divine
seal.’ I was instantly consoled.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
Until two days before her death she wished to be alone at night,
however, notwithstanding her entreaties, the Infirmarian used to rise
several times to visit her. On one occasion she found our little
invalid with hands clasped and eyes raised to Heaven.
“But what are you doing?” she asked; “you should try to sleep.”
“I cannot, dear Sister, I suffer too much! then I pray....”
“And what do you say to Jesus?”
“I say nothing, _I love Him_!”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
A sister was speaking to her of the happiness of Heaven: Thérèse
interrupted, saying:
“It is not that which attracts me....”
“What is it then?”
“Oh! it is LOVE! To love, to be beloved, and _to come back to earth to
make_ LOVE _loved_.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
Love alone have I ever given to the good God, with love He will repay
me.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
All that I have written regarding my desire of suffering is most true;
oh! I do not repent of having surrendered myself to Love.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
Jesus! Jesus! if it be so sweet to desire Thy Love, what will it be to
possess and to enjoy it for ever!
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XI
O Jesus! could I but tell all _little souls_ of Thine ineffable
condescension!... I feel that if it were possible to find one more
weak than mine Thou wouldst take delight in showering upon her greater
favours still, provided that she abandoned herself with entire
confidence to Thine Infinite Mercy.
But why these desires, O my Beloved, to impart the secrets of Thy Love?
Is it not Thyself alone Who hast made them known to me and canst Thou
not reveal them to others? Yes, I know it and I implore Thee to _do_
so: _I beseech Thee to let Thy divine gaze rest upon an immense number
of little souls, I beseech Thee to choose in this world a Legion of
little victims worthy of Thy Love!_
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XI
Her last words--looking at her crucifix:
“OH!... I LOVE HIM!... MY GOD, I ... LOVE ... THEE!!!”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
O my God, Most Blessed Trinity, I desire to love Thee and to make Thee
loved, to labour for the glory of Holy Church by saving souls still
on earth and by delivering those who suffer in purgatory. I desire to
accomplish Thy Will perfectly, and to attain to the degree of glory
which Thou hast prepared for me in Thy Kingdom, in one word, I desire
to be a saint, but I know that I am powerless, and I implore Thee, O my
God, to be Thyself my sanctity.
Since Thou hast so loved me as to give me Thine only Son to be my
Saviour and my Spouse, the infinite treasures of His merits are mine,
to Thee I offer them with joy, beseeching Thee to see me only as in the
Face of Jesus and in His Heart burning with Love.
Again, I offer Thee all the merits of the Saints--in Heaven and on
earth--their acts of love and those of the holy Angels; and finally
I offer Thee, O Blessed Trinity, the love and the merits of the Holy
Virgin, my most dear Mother; it is to her I entrust my oblation,
begging her to present it to Thee.
Her Divine Son, my well-beloved Spouse, during His life on earth, told
us: “_If you ask the Father anything in My Name He will give it to
you._”[8] I am then certain that Thou wilt hearken to my desires....
My God, I know it, the more Thou willest to give the more dost Thou
make us desire. Immense are the desires that I feel within my heart,
and it is with confidence that I call upon Thee to come and take
possession of my soul. I cannot receive Thee in Holy Communion as often
as I would; but, Lord, art Thou not Almighty?... Remain in me as in the
Tabernacle--never leave Thy little Victim.
I long to console Thee for the ingratitude of the wicked and I pray
Thee take from me the liberty to displease Thee! If through frailty
I fall sometimes, may Thy Divine glance purify my soul immediately,
consuming every imperfection--like to fire which transforms all things
into itself.
I thank Thee, O my God, for all the graces Thou hast bestowed on me,
and particularly for making me pass through the crucible of suffering.
It is with joy I shall behold Thee on the Last Day bearing Thy
sceptre--the Cross; since Thou hast deigned to give me for my portion
this most precious Cross, I have hope of resembling Thee in Heaven and
seeing the sacred stigmata of Thy Passion shine in my glorified body.
After exile on earth I hope to enjoy the possession of Thee in our
eternal Fatherland, but I have no wish to amass merits for Heaven, I
will work for Thy Love alone, my sole aim being to give Thee pleasure,
to console Thy Sacred Heart, and to save souls who will love Thee for
ever.
At the close of life’s evening I shall appear before Thee with empty
hands, for I ask not, Lord, that Thou wouldst count my works.... All
our justice is tarnished in Thy sight. It is therefore my desire to be
clothed with Thine own Justice and to receive from Thy Love the eternal
possession of Thyself. I crave no other Throne nor other Crown but
Thee, O my Beloved!...
In Thy sight time is nothing, _one day is as a thousand years_.[9] Thou
canst in an instant prepare me to appear before Thee.
That I may live in one Act of perfect Love, I OFFER MYSELF AS A VICTIM
OF HOLOCAUST TO THY MERCIFUL LOVE, imploring Thee to consume me without
ceasing, and to let the tide of infinite tenderness pent up in Thee,
overflow into my soul, that so I may become a very martyr of Thy Love,
O my God!
May this martyrdom, having first prepared me to appear before Thee,
break life’s thread at last, and may my soul take its flight,
_unretarded_, into the eternal embrace of Thy Merciful Love.
I desire, O Well-Beloved, at every heart-beat to renew this Oblation an
infinite number of times, _till the shadows retire_[10] and I can tell
Thee my love eternally face to face!
[_Signed_] MARIE-FRANÇOISE-THÉRÈSE
DE L’ENFANT JÉSUS ET DE LA SAINTE FACE
_Rel. Carm. ind._
Feast of The Most Holy Trinity.
The 9th of June in the year of grace, 1895.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Cant., viii, 7.
[2] St. Augustine.
[3] _Cf._ Ps. xlix, 9, 12, 14.
[4] John, iv, 7.
[5] St. John of the Cross.
[6] _Cf._ Ps. xxxv, 6.
[7] _Cf. Imit._, II, xi, 4.
[8] John, xvi, 23.
[9] _Cf._ Ps. lxxxix, 4.
[10] Cant., iv, 6.
[Illustration]
LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOUR
There are moments when we are so wretched within, that we must needs
hurry away from ourselves. The good God does not oblige us to remain at
such times in our own company; indeed He often permits that it should
be displeasing to us just that we may leave it. And I see no other
means of going out of ourselves than by going to visit Jesus and Mary,
that is, hastening to deeds of charity.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
I applied myself above all to practise quite hidden little acts of
virtue; thus I liked to fold the mantles forgotten by the Sisters, and
sought a thousand opportunities of rendering them service.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VII
Had I been rich I never could have borne to see a poor person hungry
without giving him to eat. It is the same in my spiritual life: knowing
there are souls on the point of falling into Hell, I give them my
treasures according as I earn anything, and I have never yet found a
moment to say: “Now I am going to work for myself.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
I feel that when I am charitable it is Jesus alone who acts in me; the
more I am united to Him the more do I love all my Sisters. If, when I
desire to increase this love in my heart, the demon tries to set before
my eyes the faults of one or other of the Sisters, I hasten to call
to mind her virtues, her good desires; I say to myself that if I have
seen her fall once, she may well have gained many victories which she
conceals through humility; and that even what appears to me a fault may
in truth be an act of virtue by reason of the intention.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IX
True Charity consists in bearing with all the defects of our neighbour,
in not being surprised at his failings, and in being edified by his
least virtues; Charity must not remain shut up in the depths of the
heart, for _no man lighteth a candle and putteth it under a bushel,
but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the
house_.[11] It seems to me that this candle represents the Charity
which ought to enlighten and make joyful, not only those who are
dearest to me, but _all who are in the house_.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IX
There is no artist who does not like his work praised, and the Divine
Artist of souls is pleased when we do not stop at the exterior, but
penetrating even to the inmost sanctuary which He has chosen for His
dwelling, we admire its beauty.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IX
I ought to seek the company of those Sisters who according to nature
please me least. I ought to fulfil in their regard the office of the
Good Samaritan. A word, a kindly smile, will often suffice to gladden a
wounded and sorrowful heart.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. X
Oh! what peace inundates the soul when she rises above natural
sentiment. No joy can compare with that known to one who is truly poor
in spirit. If he ask with detachment for some necessary thing, and it
is not only refused him, but an attempt made besides to deprive him of
what he already has, he follows the counsel of our Lord: “_And if a man
will contend with thee in judgment and take away thy coat, let go thy
cloak also unto him._”[12]
To yield up our cloak means, I think, to renounce our last rights, to
consider oneself as the servant, the slave of others. When we have
abandoned our mantle it is easier to walk, to run; therefore Jesus
adds: “_And whosoever will force thee one mile, go with him other
two._”[13]
It is not enough that I should give to whosoever may ask of me, I must
forestall their desires, and show that I feel much gratified, much
honoured in rendering service; and if they take a thing that I use, I
must seem as though glad to be _relieved_ of it.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IX
If it is hard to give to whoever asks, it is still harder to let what
belongs to us be taken, without asking it back, or rather, I ought to
say it _seems_ hard; for _the yoke of the Lord is sweet and light_:[14]
when we accept it we feel its sweetness immediately.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IX
When Charity is deeply rooted in the soul it shows itself exteriorly:
there is so gracious a way of refusing what we cannot give, that the
refusal pleases as much as the gift.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IX
To want to persuade our Sisters that they are in the wrong, even
when it is perfectly true, is hardly fair, as we are not responsible
for their guidance. We must not be _Justices of the peace_, but only
_angels of peace_.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
Jesus wills that we give alms to Him as to one poor and needy. He puts
Himself as it were at our mercy; He will take nothing but what we give
Him from our heart, and the very least trifle is precious in His sight.
He stretches forth His Hand, this sweet Saviour, to receive of us a
little love, so that in the radiant day of Judgment He may be able to
address to us those ineffable words: “_Come, ye blessed of My Father;
for I was hungry, and you gave Me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave
Me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me in; sick and you visited
Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me._”[15]
XV LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
If I were still to live, the office of Infirmarian is the one which
would please me most. I would not ask for it, but if it came direct by
obedience I should think myself highly privileged. It seems to me that
I would discharge its duties with a tender love, thinking always of our
Saviour saying: “_I was sick and you visited me_.”[16] The Infirmary
bell should be for you as Heavenly music. You ought purposely to pass
along beneath the windows of the sick to give them facility in calling
you and asking your services. Ought you not to consider yourself like
a little slave whom everyone has a right to command? If you could but
see the Angels who from the heights of Heaven watch you battling in
the arena! They await the end of the combat to cover you with flowers
and wreaths. The good God does not disdain these combats, unknown
and therefore all the more meritorious. “_The patient man is better
than the valiant, and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh
cities_.”[17]
By our little acts of charity practised in the shade we convert souls
far away, we help missionaries, we win for them abundant alms; and
by that means build actual dwellings spiritual and material for our
Eucharistic Lord.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
A novice remarked to Sœur Thérèse: “I do not like to see others suffer,
especially saintly souls.” She replied instantly:
“Oh! I am not like you: to see saints suffer never moves me to pity! I
know they have the strength to endure, and they thus give great glory
to God: but those who are not holy, who know not how to profit by their
sufferings, oh! how I pity them; they do indeed arouse my compassion,
and I would do all I could to comfort and help them.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
Seeing her extreme weakness the doctor ordered some strengthening
remedies; Sœur Thérèse was distressed at first on account of their high
price: then she said to us: “I am no longer grieved about taking these
costly remedies, for I have been reading that St. Gertrude rejoiced at
the thought that all would be to the advantage of those who do us good,
since our Lord has said: ‘_As long as you did it unto one of these My
least brethren you did it unto Me._’”[18]
She added: “I am convinced of the uselessness of medicine for the
purpose of curing me, but I have made a compact with the good God, that
He is to allow some poor Missionaries to profit by it, who have neither
time nor means to take care of themselves.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
Remembering that _Charity covereth a multitude of sins_,[19] I draw
from this fruitful mine opened to us by our Lord in His sacred
Gospels. I search the depths of His adorable words and cry out with
David: “_I have run in the way of Thy commandments when Thou didst
enlarge my heart._”[20] And charity alone can enlarge my heart....
O Jesus! since this sweet flame consumes it I run with delight in
the way of Thy new Commandment, and therein will I run until the
blessed day when with Thy Virgin train I shall follow Thee through Thy
boundless Realm singing Thy _New Canticle_ which must surely be _the
Canticle of LOVE_.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IX
FOOTNOTES:
[11] _Cf._ Matt., v, 15.
[12] Matt., v, 40.
[13] Matt., v, 41.
[14] _Cf._ Matt., xi, 30.
[15] Matt., xxv, 34-36.
[16] Matt., xxv, 36.
[17] Prov., xvi, 32.
[18] Matt., xxv, 40.
[19] Prov., x, 12.
[20] Ps., cxviii, 32.
[Illustration]
FAITH
What helps me most when I picture to myself the interior of the Holy
Family is to think of a quite ordinary life.
The Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph knew well that Jesus was God, but
wondrous things were nevertheless hidden from them and like us they
lived by faith. Have you not noticed what is said in the sacred text:
“_And they understood not the word that He spoke unto them_,”[21] and
these other words no less mysterious: “_His father and mother were
wondering at those things which were spoken concerning Him?_”[22] Does
not this imply that they heard of something new to them, for this
wondering suggests a certain astonishment?
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
During her temptations against faith she wrote: “I strive to work by
faith though bereft of its consolations. I have made more acts of Faith
in this last year than during all the rest of my life.
“On each fresh occasion of combat, when the enemy desires to challenge
me, I conduct myself valiantly: knowing that to fight a duel is an
unworthy act, I turn my back upon the adversary without ever looking
him in the face; then I run to my Jesus and tell Him I am ready to shed
every drop of blood in testimony of my belief that there is a Heaven,
I tell Him I am glad to be unable to contemplate, while on earth, with
the eyes of the soul, the beautiful Heaven that awaits me so He will
deign to open it for eternity to poor unbelievers.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IX
He whose Heart ever watcheth, taught me, that while for a soul whose
faith equals but a tiny grain of mustard seed, he works miracles, in
order that this faith which is so weak may be fortified; yet for His
intimate friends, for His Mother, He did not work miracles until He
had put their faith to the test. Did He not let Lazarus die though
Martha and Mary had sent to tell Him that he was sick? At the marriage
at Cana, the Blessed Virgin having asked Him to come to the assistance
of the Master of the house, did He not reply that His hour was not yet
come? But after the trial, what a recompense! Water changed to wine,
Lazarus restored to life....
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VI
A sister said to her that beautiful Angels clothed in white robes, and
of joyous and resplendent countenance, would bear away her soul to
Heaven. She replied: “These imaginations do not help me: I can draw no
sustenance except from the Truth. God and the Angels are pure Spirits,
no one can see them as they really are, with corporal eyes. That is why
I have never desired extraordinary favours. I would rather await the
Eternal Vision.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
“I have asked God to send me a beautiful dream to console me when you
are gone,” said a novice.
“Ah! that is a thing I should never do--ask for consolation!... Since
you wish to be like me you well know that I say:
Oh! fear not, Lord, that I shall waken Thee:
I await in peace th’ eternal shore....
“It is so sweet to serve the good God in the dark night of trial; we
have this life only in which to live by faith.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
FOOTNOTES:
[21] Luke, ii, 50.
[22] Luke, ii, 33.
[Illustration]
HOPE
Time is but a shadow, a dream; already God sees us in glory and takes
joy in our eternal beatitude. How this thought helps my soul! I
understand then why He lets us suffer....
VIII LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
A day ... an hour ... and we shall have reached the port! My God, what
shall we see then? What is that life which will never have an end?...
Jesus will be the soul of our soul. Unfathomable mystery! “_Eye hath
not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man
what great things God hath prepared for them that love Him._”[23] And
this will all come soon--yes, very soon, if we ardently love Jesus.
VI LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
Life is passing, Eternity draws nigh; soon shall we live the very life
of God. After having drunk deep at the fount of bitterness, our thirst
will be quenched at the very source of all sweetness.
Yes, _the figure of this world passeth away_,[24] soon shall we see new
heavens; a more radiant sun will brighten with its splendours ethereal
seas and infinite horizons.... We shall no longer be prisoners in a
land of exile, all will be at an end and with our Heavenly Spouse we
shall sail o’er boundless waters: now our _harps are hung upon the
willows that border the rivers of Babylon_,[25] but in the day of our
deliverance what harmonies will then be heard! With what joy shall we
not make every chord of our instruments to vibrate! Today, _we weep
remembering Sion ... how shall we sing the songs of the Lord in a
strange land?_[26]
V LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
How I thirst for Heaven--that blessed habitation where our love for
Jesus will have no limit! But to get there we must suffer ... we must
weep.... Well, I _wish_ to suffer all that shall please my Beloved, I
wish to let Him do just as He wills with His “_little ball_.”
V LETTER TO SR. MARIE DU SACRÉ-CŒUR
Oh! What mysteries will be revealed to us later.... How often have
I thought that I perhaps owe all the graces showered upon me to the
earnest prayer of a little soul whom I shall know only in Heaven. It
is God’s will that in this world by means of prayer Heavenly treasures
should be imparted by souls one to another, so that when they reach the
Fatherland they may love one another with a love born of gratitude,
with an affection far, far exceeding the most ideal family affection
upon earth.
There, we shall meet with no indifferent looks, because all the Saints
will be indebted to each other.
No envious glances will be seen; the happiness of every one of the
elect will be the happiness of all. With the Martyrs we shall be like
to the Martyrs; with the Doctors we shall be as the Doctors; with the
Virgins, as the Virgins; and just as the members of a family are proud
of one another, so shall we be of our brethren, without the least
jealousy.
Who knows even if the joy we shall experience in beholding the glory
of the great Saints, and knowing that by a secret dispensation of
Providence we have contributed thereunto, who knows if this joy will
not be as intense and sweeter perhaps, than the happiness they will
themselves possess.
And do you not think that on their side the great Saints, seeing what
they owe to quite little souls, will love them with an incomparable
love? Delightful and surprising will be the friendships found there--I
am sure of it. The favoured companion of an Apostle or a great Doctor
of the Church, will perhaps be a young shepherd lad; and a simple
little child may be the intimate friend of a Patriarch. Oh! how I long
to dwell in that Kingdom of Love....
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
A sister showed her a photograph representing Joan of Arc consoled in
the prison by her Voices. Sœur Thérèse said: “I too am consoled by an
interior voice. The Saints encourage me from above, they say to me:
‘So long as thou art in fetters thou canst not fulfil thy mission; but
later, after thy death--_then_ will be the time of thy conquests.’”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
In Heaven the good God will do all I wish, because I have never done my
own will upon earth.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
Even now I know it; yes, all my hopes will be fulfilled ... yes ...
the Lord will work wonders for me which will surpass infinitely my
immeasurable desires.
VIII LETTER TO MÈRE AGNÈS DE JÉSUS
FOOTNOTES:
[23] I Cor., ii, 9. _Cf._ Is., lxiv, 4.
[24] I Cor., vii, 31.
[25] _Cf._ Ps. cxxxvi, 2.
[26] _Cf._ Ps., cxxxvi, 1, 4.
[Illustration]
HUMILITY
It appears to me that humility is the truth. I know not whether I am
humble, but I know that I see the truth in all things.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
I have understood what true glory is. He whose _Kingdom is not of this
world_[27] showed me that the only enviable royalty consists in loving
_to be unknown and esteemed as nothing_,[28] and finding our joy in
contempt of self. I wished that like the Face of Jesus, mine might
be _as it were hidden and despised_.[29] _That none upon earth might
esteem me._ I thirsted to suffer and to be forgotten.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VII
Jesus made me understand that the true, the only glory is that which
will last for ever; that to attain to it we need not perform wonderful
deeds, but rather, those hidden from the eyes of others and from self,
so that _the left hand knoweth not what the right hand doth_.[30]
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IV
Thérèse is weak, very weak; of this she has new and salutary experience
every day. But Jesus takes pleasure in teaching her how to _glory in
her infirmities_.[31] It is a great grace this, for herein is found
peace and tranquillity. When we see ourselves so miserable, we wish no
longer to look at self but only on the Well-Beloved.
II LETTER TO HER COUSIN MARIE GUÉRIN
I am a _very little_ soul who can offer only _very little_ things to
the good God; yet, it often happens that these little sacrifices which
give such peace to the heart, escape me; but that does not discourage
me, I bear with having a little less peace and I try to be more
watchful another time.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. X
Veiled in the white Host, O my Well-Beloved, how meek and humble of
heart dost Thou show Thyself to me! Thou couldst not stoop lower to
teach me humility, and I, to respond to Thy Love, desire to put myself
in the lowest place and share Thy humiliations, that I may _have part
with Thee_[32] in the Kingdom of Heaven.
I beseech Thee, my Jesus, to send me some humiliation every time that I
shall attempt to put myself above others.
HIST. D’UNE AME, APPENDIX
What pleases the good God in my little soul is to see me love my
littleness and my poverty, it is seeing the blind trust that I have in
His Mercy.
VI LETTER TO SR. MARIE DU SACRÉ-CŒUR
To draw near to Jesus we must be so little.... Oh! how few souls aspire
to be little and unknown....
XIV LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
I am no longer surprised at anything, nor do I grieve at seeing that
I am frailty itself; on the contrary I glory in it, and expect to
discover new imperfections in myself each day. These lights concerning
my nothingness do me more good, I affirm, than lights regarding faith.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IX
When we commit a fault we must not think it due to a physical cause,
such as illness or the weather, we must attribute this fall to our
imperfection, but without ever growing discouraged.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
Since Jesus has gone back to Heaven I can follow Him only by the path
He has traced. Oh how luminous are His footprints--diffusing a divine
sweetness.... I have but to glance at the holy Gospels and immediately
I inhale the fragrance of the life of Jesus, and I know which side
to take. Not to the first place do I run but to the last. I let the
Pharisee go up, and full of confidence I repeat the humble prayer of
the publican. Above all I copy the example of Magdalene; her amazing,
or rather, her loving audacity, which so touched the Heart of Jesus,
charms my own.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XI
With a simplicity that delights me my little Sisters, the novices, tell
me of the interior combats I arouse in them, in what way they find me
trying; they are no more embarrassed than if it were question of some
one else, knowing that by acting thus, they greatly please me.
Ah! truly it is more than a pleasure, it is a delicious feast which
replenishes my soul with joy. How can a thing so disagreeable to
nature give such happiness? Had I not experienced it I could not have
believed it.
One day when I had an ardent desire for humiliation, it happened that
a young postulant so fully satisfied it, that the thought of Semei
cursing David came to my mind and I repeated interiorly with the holy
King: _Yes, it is indeed the Lord who has commanded him to say all
these things to me_.[33]
Thus the good God takes care of me. He cannot always offer me the
strength-giving bread of exterior humiliation, but from time to time He
permits me to feast upon _the crumbs that fall from the table of the
children_.[34] How great is His Mercy!
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. X
All creatures might incline towards _the little flower_, admiring it
and overwhelming it with their praise, but never would that add a
shadow of vain satisfaction to the true joy of knowing itself to be a
mere nothing in the sight of God.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IX
Because I was little and weak, Jesus stooped down to me and tenderly
instructed me in the secrets of His Love.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. V
I am too little to have any vanity, I am also too little to know how to
turn beautiful phrases so as to make it appear that I have a great deal
of humility. I prefer to acknowledge simply that _He that is mighty
hath done great things to me_;[35] and the greatest is His having shown
me my littleness, my powerlessness for all good.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IX
The only thing not subject to be envied is the lowest place, it
is therefore this lowest place alone which is without vanity and
affliction of spirit. Still, _the way of a man is not always in his
power_[36] and sometimes we are surprised by a desire for that which
glitters. Then, let us take our place humbly amongst the imperfect,
deeming ourselves little souls whom the good God must sustain at each
moment. As soon as He sees us truly convinced of our nothingness and
we say to Him: _My foot hath slipped: Thy mercy, O Lord, hath held me
up_,[37] He stretches out His Hand to us; but if we _will_ attempt
to do something grand, even under pretext of zeal, He leaves us
alone. It is enough therefore that we humble ourselves, and bear our
imperfections with sweetness: there, for us, lies true sanctity.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
The most eloquent discourses would be incapable of inspiring one act of
love without the grace that moves the heart.
See a beautiful, rose-tinted peach, of so sweet a savour that no craft
of confectioner could produce nectar like it. Is it for the peach
itself that God has created this lovely colour and delicate velvety
surface? Is it for the sake of the peach that He has given it so
delicious a flavour? No, it is for us; what alone belongs to it and
forms the essence of its existence is its stone; it possesses nothing
more.
Thus is Jesus pleased to lavish His gifts on some of His creatures,
that through them He may draw to Himself other souls; but in His mercy
He humiliates them interiorly, and gently constrains them to recognize
their nothingness and His Omnipotence. These sentiments form in them,
as it were, a kernel of grace, which Jesus hastens to develop for that
blessed day when clothed with a beauty, immortal, imperishable, they
shall without danger have place at the Celestial banquet.
XVI LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
The Apostles, without Jesus, laboured long--a whole night--without
taking any fish; their toil was pleasing to Him but He wished to show
that He alone can give anything. He asked only an act of humility:
“_Children, have you any meat?_”[38] and St. Peter confesses his
helplessness: “_Lord we have laboured all night and have taken
nothing._”[39] It is enough! The Heart of Jesus is touched.... Perhaps
if the Apostle had taken a few little fishes the Divine Master would
not have worked a miracle; but he had _nothing_, and so through God’s
power and goodness his nets were soon filled with great fishes.
That is just our Lord’s way. He gives as God, but He _will_ have
humility of heart.
XVII LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
To think ourselves imperfect, and others perfect--that is happiness.
That creatures should recognize we are without virtue takes nothing
from us, makes us no poorer; it is they who by this lose interior joy;
for there is nothing sweeter than to think well of our neighbour.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
It is a great joy to me, not only when others find me imperfect, but
above all when I feel that so I am: compliments, on the contrary,
cause me nothing but displeasure.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
A novice confided to her that she made no progress and felt quite
discouraged.
“Till the age of fourteen,” said Thérèse, “I practised virtue without
feeling its sweetness. I wished for suffering but had no thought of
finding my joy therein; that is a grace which has been granted me
later. My soul was like a beautiful tree whose blossoms no sooner
opened than they fell.
“Offer to the good God the sacrifice of never gathering the fruits of
your labours. If He so will that during your whole life you feel a
repugnance to suffer and to be humiliated, if He permit that all the
flowers of your desires and of your good-will fall to earth without
fruit, be not troubled. At the moment of your death He will know well
how to bring to perfection, in the twinkling of an eye, beautiful
fruits on the tree of your soul.
“We read in the Book of Ecclesiasticus: ‘_There is an inactive man that
wanteth help, is very weak in ability, and full of poverty: yet the eye
of God hath looked upon him for good, and hath lifted him up from his
low estate, and hath exalted his head: and many have wondered at him
and have glorified God._
‘_Trust in God, and stay in thy place. For it is easy in the eyes of
God, on a sudden to make the poor man rich. The blessing of God maketh
haste to reward the just, and in a swift hour His blessing beareth
fruit!_’”[40]
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
“You have always been faithful to divine grace, have you not?”
“Yes, since the age of three I have refused nothing to the good God.
Yet not mine the glory. See how the setting sun this evening gilds the
topmost branches of the trees; even so does my soul appear to you--all
bright and gilded, because it is exposed to Love’s rays. If the Divine
Sun withheld from me His rays, my soul would immediately become
obscured and enveloped in darkness.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
“You really are a saint!” some one said to her.
“No, I am not a saint; I have never done the works of the Saints. I
am a very, very little soul on whom the good God has outpoured the
abundance of His grace. You will see in Heaven that I am telling you
the truth.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
She said to the Prioress: “Mother, I feel that if I were unfaithful, if
I committed but the very slightest infidelity, fearful troubles would
follow, and I could no longer accept death with resignation.”
And as the Mother Prioress showed surprise at hearing her speak thus,
she continued:
“I mean an infidelity springing from pride. For instance, if I said: ‘I
have acquired such or such a virtue, I am able to practise it,’ or, ‘O
my God, I love Thee too well--Thou knowest it--to dwell on one single
thought against faith,’ I feel that I should forthwith be assailed by
the most dangerous temptations and should certainly be overcome by them.
“To avoid this calamity I have but to say humbly from the depths of my
heart: ‘O my God, I implore of Thee, suffer me not to be unfaithful!’
“I very well understand how St. Peter fell. He depended too confidently
on the fervour of his feelings, instead of relying solely upon Divine
strength. Had he said to Jesus: ‘Lord, give me the strength to follow
Thee even unto death,’ that strength, I am quite sure would not have
been refused him.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
“Oh! when I think of all I have to acquire!” exclaimed a novice.
“Say, rather, _to lose_. Jesus, it is, who charges Himself with
the care of filling your soul according as you free it from its
imperfections. I plainly see that you are taking the wrong road, you
will never arrive at the end of your journey. You wish to scale a
mountain and the good God wants to make you descend: He is waiting for
you low down in the fertile valley of humility.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
“When I receive a reproof,” said another, “I would rather have deserved
it than be wrongfully accused.”
“As for me,” replied Thérèse, “I prefer being blamed unjustly, then I
have no cause for self-reproach and I offer this unmerited blame to the
good God with joy, then I humble myself at the thought that I should be
quite capable of doing that of which I was accused.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
When we are not understood, and are unfavourably judged, what good is
there in defending ourselves? Let us leave it so and say nothing, it
is so sweet to let ourselves be judged no matter how! It is not told
in the Gospels that Saint Magdalen gave any explanation when blamed by
her sister for sitting inactive at the feet of Jesus. She did not say:
“Martha, if thou didst but know my happiness, if thou didst but hear
the words I hear, thou too wouldst lay all else aside, to share my joy
and my repose.” No, she chose rather to be silent.... O blessed silence
which gives to the soul such peace!
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
In a moment of temptation and combat a novice received this note:
“_The just man shall correct me in mercy and reprove me; but let not
the oil of the sinner anoint my head._[41] I cannot be corrected or
tried except by the just, inasmuch as all my Sisters are pleasing to
God. It is less bitter to be reproved by a sinner than by the just; but
_through compassion for sinners_, to obtain their conversion, I pray
Thee, O my God, that I may be bruised by the just souls who are round
about me. Again, I beg that the oil of praise, so sweet to nature,
_anoint not my head_, that is to say, enervate not my mind, by making
me believe that I possess virtues which I have only with difficulty
practised several times.
“O my Jesus! _Thy Name is as oil poured out_;[42] it is in this divine
perfume that I wish to be wholly bathed, far away from the notice of
creatures.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
At the close of her life she was able to say: “I used so to rise above
all things, that I drew strength from humiliations.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
“God has a special love for you,” remarked a young Sister, “since to
you He entrusts other souls.”
“That does not add anything to me, and I am only really just what I am
in God’s sight.... It does not follow that He loves me more, because
He wills that I should be His interpreter to you; rather, He makes me
your little servant. It is for you and not for me that He has given me
the charms and virtues apparent to you.
“Often I compare myself to a little bowl which God fills with good
things of every kind. All _the kittens_ come to it to take their share,
and sometimes there is a contest as to which shall have most. But the
Child Jesus is there, keeping watch: ‘I am very willing that you drink
from my little bowl’ saith He, ‘but take care lest you overturn it and
break it.’
“Truth to tell, the danger is not great, because I am placed on the
ground. It is otherwise with Prioresses: they, being set on tables run
many more risks. Honours are always dangerous.
“Oh! how poisonous the praises served up day by day to those who hold
high places. What baneful incense! And how necessary it is that the
soul be detached from self, that so she may escape unharmed.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
To help a novice to accept a humiliation she said to her in confidence:
“If I had not been received into Carmel I would have entered a Refuge,
to live there unknown and despised in the midst of the poor penitents.
To pass for such in the eyes of all would have been my happiness. I
should have been the apostle of my companions telling them what I think
of the Mercy of the good God.”
“But how would you have been able to hide your innocence from your
Confessor?”
“I would have told him that while in the world I had made a general
confession and had been forbidden to do so again.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
One day they brought her some ears of corn. She took one so laden with
grain that it leaned down upon its stalk, and having looked at it for a
long time she said to the Mother Prioress:
“Mother, this ear of corn is an image of my soul: the good God has
laden me with graces for myself and for many others!... Oh! I wish ever
to bow down beneath the abundance of Heaven’s gifts, recognizing that
all comes from above.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
What do you think of all the graces which have been poured down upon
you?
“I think that _the Spirit of God breatheth where He will_.”[43]
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
A sister said that in Heaven she would be a beautiful flower,
resplendent with light.
“Oh no,” she replied, “you know how in pretty bouquets they conceal
some moss to make the flowers stand out; well, I shall be a little bit
of moss to set off the beauty of the elect.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
During her last agony the Mother Prioress encouraged her with these
words:
“My child, you are quite ready to appear before God because you have
always understood the virtue of humility.”
Then of herself she gave this beautiful testimony:
“Yes, I feel it, my soul has never sought but the truth ... yes, I have
understood humility of heart!”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
FOOTNOTES:
[27] John, xviii, 36.
[28] _Imit._, I, ii, 3.
[29] Is., liii, 3.
[30] Matt., vi, 3.
[31] II Cor., xi, 5.
[32] John, xiii, 8.
[33] Kings, xvi, 10.
[34] Mark, vii, 28.
[35] Luke, i, 49.
[36] _Cf._ Jer., x, 23.
[37] _Cf._ Ps., xciii, 18.
[38] John, xxi, 5
[39] Luke, v, 5.
[40] Ecclus., xi, 12, 13, 22, 23, 24.
[41] Ps., cxl, 5.
[42] Cant., 1, 2.
[43] John, iii, 8.
[Illustration]
DETACHMENT
If the impossible were possible and that God Himself did not see my
good actions, I would not grieve about it. I love Him so much that I
should like to be able to give Him pleasure without His knowing that it
was I.... Knowing and seeing it, He is, in a way, bound to repay me....
I would not give Him the trouble.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
The glory of Jesus ... that is my whole ambition; my own I abandon to
Him; and if He seem to forget me, well, He is at liberty to do so since
I am mine no more, but His. He will more quickly tire of making me
wait, than I, of waiting!
VII LETTER TO MÈRE AGNÈS DE JÉSUS
There is no stay, no support to seek out of Jesus. He alone changeth
not. What happiness to think that He can never change!
V LETTER TO MÈRE AGNÈS DE JÉSUS
The sole happiness upon earth consists in hiding oneself and remaining
in total ignorance of created things.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VIII
Far from dazzling me all the titles of nobility appear to me but empty
vanity. I have understood those words of the _Imitation_: “_Be not
solicitous for the shadow of a great name_.”[44] I have understood that
true greatness is found not in the name but in the soul.
The Prophet tells us that _the Lord God shall call His servants by_
ANOTHER NAME;[45] and we read in St. John: “_To him that overcometh, I
will give ... a white counter, and in the counter a new name written,
which no man knoweth but he that receiveth._”[46] It is in Heaven,
therefore, that we shall know our titles of nobility. Then _shall each
one receive from God the praise that he merits_,[47] and he who upon
earth will have made choice of being the poorest and the most unknown
for love of our Lord, he will be the first, the noblest and the richest.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VI
I thank my Jesus for making me walk in darkness; in it I am wrapped in
profound peace. Willingly I consent to stay, during the whole of my
religious life, in this sombre tunnel into which He has made me enter;
I desire only that my darkness may win light for sinners.
IV LETTER TO MÈRE AGNÈS DE JÉSUS
In this world we must not become attached to anything--not even things
the most innocent, for they fail us at the moment when we are least
expecting it. The eternal alone can satisfy us.
I LETTER TO SR. MARIE DU SACRÉ-CŒUR
This prayer she bore upon her heart on the day of her Profession:
“O Jesus, my Divine Spouse, grant that the robe of my baptism be never
sullied! Take me, rather than suffer me here below to stain my soul by
committing the slightest wilful fault. May I never seek nor ever find
but Thee alone! May all creatures be nothing to me, and I nothing to
them! May no earthly thing disturb my peace!
* * * * *
“Grant that I fulfil my engagements in all their perfection; that
none concern themselves about me; that I may be trodden underfoot,
forgotten, as a little grain of sand. I offer myself to Thee, O
Well-Beloved, that Thou mayst ever perfectly accomplish Thy holy will
in me, without let or hindrance from creatures.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VIII
With jealous care all must be kept for Jesus; it is so good to work for
Him, and for Him alone! How joyous then the heart and how buoyant the
spirit!...
VI LETTER TO MÈRE AGNÈS DE JÉSUS
I have never wished for human glory, contempt it was, that had
attraction for my heart; but having recognized that this again was too
glorious for me, I ardently desire to be forgotten.
VII LETTER TO MÈRE AGNÈS DE JÉSUS
If you only knew to what a degree I wish to be indifferent to the
things of the earth! What matters to me all created beauty? I should be
truly unfortunate were I to possess it. Oh! how great, how noble, seems
my heart when I look at it in relation to this world’s goods, since all
of them put together could never satisfy it; but when I consider it
with reference to Jesus, how _small_ it then appears to me.
II LETTER TO MÈRE AGNÈS DE JÉSUS
Yes, I now am able to say I have received the grace of being no more
attached to the goods of mind and heart than to those of earth. If it
happens that I repeat to my Sisters some thought of mine which pleases
them, I think it quite natural that they should look on it as their
own; this thought belongs to the Holy Ghost not to me, seeing that St.
Paul tells us _that without the Spirit of Love we cannot give to God
the name of Father_.[48] The Holy Spirit assuredly is free to use me as
the means of conveying a good thought to a soul and I may not consider
this thought as my property.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. X
“There is one only means of constraining the good God not to judge us
at all, it is to appear before Him with our hands empty.”
“But how?” they asked her.
“It is quite simple: keep nothing whatever in reserve, give away your
gains according as you earn. As for me, if I live to be eighty I shall
be always poor; I know not how to save up, all that I have goes
immediately to ransom souls.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
The further you advance the fewer combats will you have, or rather,
the easier will your conquests be, because you will look at the good
side of things. Your soul will then rise above creatures. Anything that
may be said to me now, leaves me absolutely indifferent, for I have
realized how little stability there is in human judgments.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
To write books of devotion, to compose the most sublime poetry, is of
less worth than the least act of self-renunciation.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
“One Sunday,” Thérèse tells us, “I went right joyously on my way
towards the alley of chestnut trees; it was the spring-time, and I
meant to enjoy the beauties of nature. O cruel disappointment! My dear
chestnut trees had been pruned, and the branches, already loaded with
verdant buds, lay strewn upon the ground! It was heartrending to view
this destruction, and to think that three years must pass ere I could
see it repaired.... My distress however did not last. ‘If I were in
another monastery,’ thought I, ‘what difference would it make to me if
the chestnut trees in the Carmel of Lisieux were cut down altogether? I
will fret no more about transitory things; my Well-Beloved shall take
the place of all else for me.... I will wander ever in the groves of
His love, which none may touch!’”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
She said to her novices: “You are too much taken up about what you are
doing, you torment yourselves concerning the future as if you had the
care of it.... Are you at this moment preoccupied with what is passing
in other Carmels, as to whether the nuns are pressed or not? Do their
labours hinder your prayer or meditation? Very well, so, too, ought
you to be detached from your personal work, employing conscientiously
therein the time directed, but with disengagement of heart.
“I have read that the Israelites, when building the walls of Jerusalem,
worked with one hand and with the other held a sword.[49] That is truly
a figure of what we ought to do: never give ourselves completely up to
the work.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
A novice asked some of the Sisters to help to shake blankets, which
being rather worn, she cautioned them somewhat sharply to be careful
not to tear. Sœur Thérèse remarked:
“What would you do if it were not your office to mend these
blankets?... With what detachment you would then act! And if you did
point out that they are easily torn, how free from self-interest it
would be. Thus, never let the least shadow of self-interest glide into
your actions.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
In the infirmary the novices used scarcely to wait till her
thanksgivings were ended before speaking to her and seeking her
counsels. This, at first, grieved her and she gently reproached them.
Then very soon she let them have their way, saying:
“The thought has struck me that I am not to desire more of repose than
our Lord. When He retired into the desert after His discourses, the
people came immediately to break in upon His solitude. Come to me as
much as you will. I must die arms in hand, _having on my lips the sword
of the Spirit which is the Word of God_.”[50]
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
“How do you manage so to practise virtue,” asked a novice, “as to be
always the same, invariably joyous and composed?”
“It has not been always so,” she replied, “but ever since I have
shunned all self-seeking I lead the happiest life that can be.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
Now, that I am about to appear before the good God, more than ever do
I understand that there is but one thing necessary: to work solely for
Him, and to do nothing for self or for creatures.
X LETTER TO HER MISSIONARY “BROTHERS”
FOOTNOTES:
[44] _Imit._, III, xxiv, 2.
[45] Is., lxv, 15.
[46] Apoc., ii, 17.
[47] _Cf._ I Cor., iv, 5.
[48] _Cf._ Rom., viii, 15.
[49] II Esdras, iv, 17.
[50] Ephes., vi, 17.
[Illustration]
MORTIFICATION
Far from being like to those great souls who from their childhood
practise all sorts of macerations, I made my mortification consist
solely in the breaking of my will, restraining a hasty word, rendering
little services to those around me without making anything of it, and a
thousand other things of this kind.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VI
As I had no taste for games, I should have liked to spend my life
reading, but I was only to take a very limited time for this chosen
recreation, and this was the ground of many a sacrifice, for I made it
a point of duty to break off promptly at the end of the time allotted,
even in the middle of the most interesting passage.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IV
I had accustomed myself never to complain when anything of mine was
taken away; and when unjustly blamed I chose rather to remain silent
than to defend myself.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. I
I was ten years old the day that my Father told Céline he was going to
let her have lessons in painting; I was by, and envied her. Then Papa
said to me: “And you, my little queen, would it give you pleasure too
to learn drawing?” I was just going to respond with a very gladsome
_yes_, when Marie made the remark that I had not the same taste for it
as Céline. At once she gained the day; and I, thinking that here was
a good opportunity of offering a grand sacrifice to Jesus, said not a
word. So eager was my desire to learn drawing that now I still wonder
how I had the fortitude to remain silent.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VIII
In the world, on awakening in the morning I used to think over what
would probably occur either pleasing or vexatious during the day; and
if I foresaw only trying events I arose dispirited. Now it is quite the
other way: I think of the difficulties and the sufferings that await
me, and I rise the more joyous and full of courage the more I foresee
opportunities of proving my love for Jesus, and _earning the living of
my children_--seeing that I am _the mother_ of souls. Then I kiss my
crucifix and lay it tenderly on the pillow while I dress, and I say
to Him: “My Jesus, Thou hast worked enough and wept enough during the
three-and-thirty years of Thy life on this poor earth. Take now Thy
rest.... My turn it is to suffer and to fight.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
The attraction to penance was given me, but I was permitted nothing
to satisfy it. The only mortifications I was allowed consisted in
mortifying self-love, which did me more good than corporal penance.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VII
At prayer I was for a long time near a Sister who used to handle
incessantly either her Rosary-beads or some other thing; perhaps none
heard it but myself, for my hearing is extremely acute, but I cannot
say how it tormented me! I should have liked to turn my head and look
at the culprit so as to make her stop that noise: however in my heart
I knew it was better to bear it patiently, for the love of God in the
first place, and also to avoid giving pain.
I kept quiet therefore, but was sometimes worked up to fever-heat and
obliged to make simply a prayer of endurance. Finally I sought out the
means of suffering with peace and joy, at least in my innermost soul;
I tried to like the teasing little noise. Instead of endeavouring not
to hear it--a thing impossible--I listened with fixed attention as if
it had been a delightful concert; and my prayer, _which was not the
prayer of quiet_, passed in offering this concert to Jesus.
Another time I was in the laundry opposite a Sister who while washing
handkerchiefs splashed me every minute with dirty water. My first
impulse was to draw back and wipe my face, so as to show her who
besprinkled me in that fashion, that she would oblige me by working
more quietly; but I reflected immediately that it was very foolish to
refuse treasures so generously offered me, and I took good care not
to show my annoyance. On the contrary, I made such successful efforts
to _wish_ for a plentiful splashing of dirty water, that at the end
of half an hour I had really acquired a taste for this new sort of
aspersion, and I determined to come again as often as possible to a
place where happily such riches could be had gratuitously.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. X
I remember that sometimes, when a postulant, I was so violently
tempted to indulge myself by seeking some little consolations, that
I was obliged to go quickly past our Mother’s cell, and cling to the
banisters of the staircase so that I should not turn back. There would
come to mind a number of permissions to ask, a hundred pretexts for
deciding in favour of my natural inclinations and gratifying them.
How glad I am now of having denied myself from the outset of my life
in religion! Already I enjoy the reward promised to those who fight
courageously. No longer do I feel the necessity of refusing myself
consolations of the heart; for my heart is firmly fixed in God....
Because it has loved Him above all, it has gradually enlarged, even so
as to love those who are dear to it with a love incomparably deeper
than if it were centred in a selfish and fruitless affection.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. X
In everything I must find self-denial and sacrifice; thus I feel
that a letter will not bear fruit unless I write it with a certain
reluctance, and solely through obedience. When conversing with a novice
I am careful to mortify myself and to avoid asking her questions which
would gratify my curiosity. If she commence to speak of something
interesting, then, leaving it unfinished, pass to a subject wearisome
to me, I take care not to remind her of the interruption, for it seems
to me that one can do no good by self-seeking.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. X
God did not permit that our Mother should tell me to write down my
poems according as I composed them, and I would not have liked to ask
her, fearing lest that might be a fault against poverty. So I used
to wait until the hour of free time, and it was not without extreme
difficulty that I recalled to mind, at eight o’clock in the evening,
what I had composed in the morning.
These little nothings are a martyrdom it is true, but we must be well
on our guard not to lessen it by allowing ourselves, or seeking to
be allowed, a thousand things which would render the religious life
pleasant and comfortable.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
When some one rings for us, or knocks at our door, we must mortify
ourselves so as not even to do one stitch more before answering. I have
practised that; and it is, I assure you, a source of peace.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
Do you know my Sundays and festivals? They are the days when the good
God tries me the most.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
Sœur Thérèse de l’Enfant Jésus says that she has not done any great
penances: that is because her fervour counted as nothing those which
were allowed her. It nevertheless happened that she became ill from
wearing for too long a time a small iron cross, of which the sharp
points were sunk into her flesh.
“That would not have befallen me from so slight a penance,” she said
afterwards, “if the good God had not wanted to make me understand that
the macerations of the Saints are not intended for me, nor for the
little souls who will tread the same path of spiritual childhood.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
To a novice whom she saw practise a little act of self-denial she said:
“You will be very glad to find that before you at the moment of death.
What you have just done is more glorious than if, by some skilful
measures, you had gained for the religious communities the good-will of
the Government, and that all France applauded you as a Judith.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
To another who was bewailing her want of courage:
“You complain of what should cause you the greatest happiness. Where
would be your merit if you must fight only when you felt the courage?
What matters it if you have none, provided that you act as if you
had! If you feel too slothful to pick up a bit of thread, and that
nevertheless you do it for the love of Jesus, you have more merit than
if in a moment of fervour you were to accomplish something of far
greater importance. So instead of being sorrowful, rejoice to see that
in letting you feel your weakness the good Master provides you with an
opportunity of gaining for Him a greater number of souls.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
Being questioned as to her mode of sanctifying the repasts, Thérèse
made answer:
“In the refectory we have but one only thing to do: to accomplish this
so lowly act with thoughts uplifted. I declare to you that often it is
in the refectory the sweetest aspirations of love come to me. Sometimes
I am impelled to dwell on the thought that if our Divine Lord were
in my place, with the fare set before Him as served to me, He would
certainly partake of it.... It is very probable that during His life on
earth He tasted of the like food: _He ate bread, fruits, etc._...
“Here are my simple little rubrics:
“I picture myself at Nazareth in the house of Holy Family. If I am
served with, for instance, salad, cold fish, wine or anything of
strong flavour, I offer it to St. Joseph. To the Blessed Virgin I give
the hot portions, well-ripened fruits, etc.; and the feast-day fare,
particularly corn-flour, rice, preserves, these I offer to the Child
Jesus. Lastly, when a bad dinner is brought me I say gaily to myself:
‘Today, my dear little child, all that is for you.’”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
One fast-day when the Mother Prioress had ordered some special little
thing by way of alleviation for Sœur Thérèse, a Sister relates that
she surprised her in the act of seasoning this too palatable fare with
wormwood.
Another time she saw her slowly drinking some particularly disagreeable
physic, and exclaimed: “But be quick, drink that off at one draught!”
“Oh no!” was the reply, “must I not take advantage of the trifling
opportunities I meet with, to mortify myself a little, since it is
forbidden me to look for greater?”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
An extremely interesting letter had been read one day at the recreation
in the absence of Thérèse who later showed a desire to read it. Some
time afterwards when returning the letter, she was begged to say what
she thought regarding something which should especially have delighted
her. She appeared embarrassed and then replied:
“The good God has asked of me this sacrifice because of the eagerness
that I manifested the other day; I have not read it....”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
She told the novices: “At recreation more than elsewhere will you find
occasions for the exercise of virtue. If you would reap great benefit,
never go to it with any thought of your own recreation, but thinking
of the recreation of others; practise therein total detachment from
yourself. If, for instance, you are relating to one of the Sisters
a story which seems to you interesting, and that she interrupts it
to tell you something else, even though this may not at all interest
you, listen to her as if it did, and do not try to return to your
first subject. By so acting, you will go from the recreation room with
great interior peace, and endued with fresh vigour in the practice of
virtue, all because you have not sought to gratify yourself but to give
pleasure to others. If one only knew what is gained by renouncing self
in all things!...”
“You know it well; you have always acted thus?”
“Yes, I have forgotten self, I have tried not to seek myself in
anything.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
[Illustration]
OBEDIENCE
As I had self-love as well as the love of what is right it was
sufficient but once to tell me: “Such a thing should not be done,” and
I would have no desire to do it again.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. I
From what anxieties do we not free ourselves by making the vow of
obedience! How happy are single-minded religious. Their sole guide
being the will of Superiors, they are ever secure of going the right
way without fear of error, should it even appear to them certain that
the Superiors are mistaken. But when one ceases to consult the sure
compass, the soul forthwith loses her way in arid paths where the
waters of grace soon fail her.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IX
During her illness the Infirmarian had recommended Sœur Thérèse to take
a little walk in the garden every day for a quarter of an hour. For
her, this advice was a command. One afternoon, a Sister seeing her walk
with much difficulty said to her: “You would do far better to rest; in
such circumstances walking can do you no good, you exhaust yourself,
that is all.”
“It is true,” replied this child of Obedience, “but do you know what
gives me strength?... Well! _I walk for a Missionary._ I think how some
one of them far away, yonder, is perhaps exhausted in his apostolic
journeyings, and to lessen his fatigue I offer mine to the good God.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
[Illustration]
POVERTY
After I was clothed with the holy Habit abundant lights on religious
perfection were granted me, chiefly regarding the vow of poverty.
During my postulate I was pleased to have for my use, anything that was
nice, and to find at my hand whatever was necessary. Jesus bore with
this patiently, for He does not like to disclose all to the soul at
once. He ordinarily gives His light little by little.
After Compline one evening I looked in vain for our lantern on the
shelves appointed for them; it was the time of great silence, not
possible therefore to ask for it back. I rightly supposed that a Sister
believing she took her own had carried away ours; but must I spend a
whole hour in the dark in consequence of this mistake? And just that
evening I had intended doing much work. Without the interior light of
grace I should assuredly have bewailed my loss, but with that light,
instead of experiencing vexation I was happy in thinking that poverty
consists in being deprived not only of things desirable, but of those
also that are indispensable. And in the exterior darkness I found my
soul illumined with divine light.
I was seized at this time with a genuine love for what was ugliest and
least convenient, thus I was delighted when I saw the pretty little jug
carried off from our cell, and received in its stead a large one, all
chipped.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VII
A novice expressed regret for having lent a pin which was very
serviceable to her:
“Oh! how rich you are,” replied Thérèse, “you cannot be happy.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
“_Make haste and come down: for this day I must abide in thy
house._”[51] Jesus tells us to come down; where, then, must we go?...
At an earlier time the Jews asked Him: “_Master, where dwellest
Thou?_”[52] And He said: “_The foxes have holes, and the birds of the
air nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head._”[53]
Behold whereunto we must descend if we would serve as dwellings for
Jesus: we must be so poor that we have not where to lay our head.
XIII LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
FOOTNOTES:
[51] Luke, xix, 5.
[52] John, i, 38.
[53] Luke, ix, 58.
[Illustration]
CONFIDENCE
What offends Jesus, what wounds Him to the Heart, is want of confidence.
I LETTER TO HER COUSIN MARIE GUÉRIN
Believing that I was born for glory, and seeking the means to attain
to it, it was revealed to me interiorly that my glory would never be
visible to mortal eyes but would consist in becoming a saint. This
desire might well seem presumptuously bold, considering how imperfect
I was, and how imperfect I am still after so many years in religion;
and yet I feel ever the same audacious confidence of becoming a great
saint. I count not on my merits, having none; but I trust in Him who
is Virtue and Holiness itself. He alone it is who satisfied with my
feeble efforts will raise me up even unto Himself, will clothe me with
His merits and make me a saint.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IV
Ours is an age of inventions: nowadays, with the rich a lift saves the
trouble of climbing the stairs. And I, fain would I too find a _lift_
to bear me up unto God, for I am too little to climb the rugged steps
of perfection.
Then I turned to the Holy Scriptures, seeking from them an indication
of this _lift_, the object of my desires; and I read these words which
have issued from the very mouth of the Eternal Wisdom: “_Whosoever is
a_ VERY LITTLE ONE, _let him come to me_.”[54] Then I drew nigh unto
God divining truly that I had discovered what I sought: wishing however
to know what He would do with the _very little one_, I continued my
research and here is what I found: “_You shall be carried at the breast
and upon the knees; as one whom the mother caresseth so will I comfort
you_.”[55]
Ah, never came words more sweet, more tender, to gladden my soul.
Thine arms then, O Jesus, are the _lift_ which must raise me up even
unto Heaven! For this I need not grow, on the contrary I must remain
little, I must ever tend to become yet more little. O my God, Thou hast
gone beyond my expectations, and I--I will sing Thy mercies! _Thou
hast taught me, O God from my youth: and till now I have declared Thy
wondrous works. And unto old age and grey hairs_[56] will I proclaim
them.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IX
Since it has been given to me too, to understand the love of the Heart
of Jesus, I own that it has chased all fear from mine! The remembrance
of my faults humiliates me, and urges me never to depend upon my
own strength which is nothing but weakness: still more does this
remembrance speak to me of mercy and of love. When, with all filial
confidence we cast our faults into the devouring furnace of love, how
should they not be totally consumed?
V LETTER TO HER MISSIONARY “BROTHERS”
Though we must needs be pure indeed to appear in the presence of the
God of all Holiness, yet I know too that He is infinitely just; and
this justice which affrights so many souls is the ground of my joy
and my confidence. Justice not merely exercises severity towards the
offender; it moreover recognizes a right intention, and awards to
virtue its recompense. I hope as much from the Justice of the good God
as from His Mercy; it is because He is just, that “_He is compassionate
and merciful, long-suffering and plenteous in mercy. For He knoweth our
frame. He remembereth that we are but dust. As a father hath compassion
on His children, so hath the Lord compassion on us!_”[57]...
Listening to these beautiful and consoling words of the Royal Prophet,
how can we doubt but that the good God will open the portals of His
Kingdom to His children who have loved Him even unto sacrificing all
for Him, who have not only left their kindred and their country, for
the sake of making Him known and loved, but, still further, desire to
give their life for Him?... Most truly has Jesus said that there is no
greater love than this! How then could He suffer Himself to be outdone
in generosity? How could He purify in the flames of Purgatory souls
consumed by the fire of Divine Love?...
That is what I think of the justice of the good God; my way is all
confidence and love, I do not understand those souls who fear so tender
a Friend.
VI LETTER TO HER MISSIONARY “BROTHERS”
That joy to think that God is just, that is to say, that He takes our
weakness into consideration, that He thoroughly knows the frailty of
our nature. Of what then, should I be afraid? Must not the good and
infinitely just God, who with such tender mercy deigns to pardon the
Prodigal Son, must He not be just towards me too--_who am always with
Him_?[58]
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VIII
I want to make you understand by a very simple comparison how much
Jesus loves souls, even the imperfect, who trust in Him. Suppose the
father of two wayward and disobedient children, coming to punish them,
sees one tremble and draw away from him in terror; while the other,
on the contrary, throwing himself into his arms, says he is sorry,
promises to be good henceforward and begs for a kiss as punishment. Do
you think the delighted father will withstand the filial confidence of
this child? He knows nevertheless that his son will fall again many a
time into the same faults, but he is disposed to pardon him always, if
always there be an appeal to his heart.
I say nothing of the other child: you must understand that his father
cannot love him as much or treat him with the same indulgence.
VIII LETTER TO HER MISSIONARY “BROTHERS”
Truly the Heart of Jesus is more grieved by the thousand little
imperfections of His friends than by even grave faults of His enemies.
But it seems to me that it is only when His own chosen ones make a
habit of these infidelities, and do not ask His pardon, that He can
say: “_These wounds which you see in the midst of My Hands: with these
was I wounded in the house of them that loved Me._”[59]
For those who love Him and who come after each little fault and throw
themselves into His arms, begging His forgiveness, the Heart of Jesus
thrills with joy. He says to His Angels what the father of the prodigal
son said to His servants: “_Put a ring on his finger and let us
rejoice._”[60] Oh! the goodness and the merciful love of the Heart
of Jesus, how little is it known! True it is, that to share in these
treasures we must humble ourselves, must acknowledge our nothingness,
and that is what many souls are unwilling to do.
VII LETTER TO HER MISSIONARY “BROTHERS”
Our dreams, our desires of perfection are not vain imaginations,
since Jesus Himself has given us this commandment, He said: “_Be you,
therefore, perfect, as also your Heavenly Father is perfect._”[61]
II LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
Truly I am far from being a saint. I ought not to rejoice at the
aridity of my soul, but attribute it to the scantiness of my fervour
and fidelity. I ought to grieve because I fall asleep very often during
my prayer and my thanksgiving. Well, I do not grieve! I reflect that
little children when they sleep are as pleasing to their parents as
when they are awake; that in order to perform operations, doctors put
their patients to sleep; in fine, that _the Lord knoweth our frame, He
remembereth that we are but dust_.[62]
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VIII
I have no fear of the last combats, nor of the physical suffering how
great soever it may be. The good God has always come to my assistance,
He has helped me and led me by the hand from my earliest years.... I
count on Him ... my sufferings may reach their furthest limits, but I
am sure that He will never abandon me.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
It is confidence, and confidence alone, that must lead us to Love....
Does not fear lead us rather to think of the rigid justice by which
sinners are warned? But that is not the justice that Jesus will show to
those who love Him.
VI LETTER TO SŒUR MARIE DU SACRÉ-CŒUR
O Jesus, suffer me to tell Thee that Thy Love reacheth even unto
folly.... What wilt Thou, in face of this folly, but that my heart dart
upwards to Thee--how can my confidence have any bounds?
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XI
It is not because I have been shielded from mortal sin that I lift up
my heart to God in trust and love. I feel that even if there lay upon
my conscience all the crimes one could commit I should lose nothing
of my confidence. Broken-hearted with compunction I would go and
throw myself into the arms of my Saviour. I know that He cherished
the Prodigal Son, I have heard His words to Mary Magdalene, to the
adultress, to the Samaritan woman. No one could frighten me, for I know
what to believe concerning His Mercy and His Love. I know that in one
moment all that multitude of sins would disappear--as a drop of water
cast into a red-hot furnace.
It is related in the Lives of the Fathers of the Desert that one of
them converted a public sinner whose misdeeds scandalized the whole
country. Touched by grace this sinful woman was following the saint
into the desert, there to do rigorous penance, when, on the first
night of her journey, before she had even reached the place of her
retreat, the bonds of life were broken by the impetuosity of her loving
contrition. The holy hermit at the same moment saw her soul borne by
Angels into the Bosom of God.
That is truly a striking instance of what I want to express, but one
cannot put these things into words....
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XI
Happy indeed am I to die and go to Heaven, but when I think on those
words of our Lord: “_Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me,
to render to every man according to his works_,”[63] I reflect that He
will be very much embarrassed as regards me: I have no works....
Well, He will render to me ACCORDING TO HIS OWN WORKS!
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
[Illustration: THE SERVANT OF GOD
THÉRÈSE OF THE CHILD JESUS
(_The Little Flower of Jesus_)]
One evening as they were telling her something which had been said at
recreation, touching the responsibility of those who have the charge
of souls, Sœur Thérèse de l’Enfant Jésus spoke these beautiful words:
“‘_To him that is little, mercy is granted._’[64] It is possible to
remain _little_, even in the most important offices; and is it not
written that at the end _the Lord will arise to save the meek and
humble of the earth_?[65] It says not to _judge_ but to _save_.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
A novice questioning as to whether our Lord were not dissatisfied with
her on account of her many miseries, Sœur Thérèse made answer:
“Set your mind at rest: He whom you have chosen as your Spouse
possesses certainly every perfection that can be desired; but, if
I may dare to say it, He has at the same time one great infirmity:
_He is blind!_ And there is a science which He knows not, that of
_calculation_. These two points which would be most lamentable
deficiencies in an earthly spouse, render ours infinitely lovable. Were
He to consider our sins and reckon with them, do you not think that in
the face of all these sins He would cast us back into nothingness? But
no, His love for us makes Him absolutely blind!
“See for yourself: if the greatest sinner on earth, at the hour of
death repent of his transgressions and expire in an act of love,
immediately, without calculating on the one hand the numerous graces
abused by this unhappy man, nor on the other, all his crimes, Jesus
sees nothing, counts nothing, but the penitent’s last prayer, and
delays not to receive him into the arms of His Mercy.
“But to render Him thus blind, to hinder Him from doing the least
little bit of reckoning, we must know how to lay siege to His Heart;
at that point He is defenceless....”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
To another, who bitterly repented of a fault just committed, Sœur
Thérèse said:
“Take your Crucifix and kiss it.”
The novice kissed the feet.
“Is that how a child embraces her Father? Put your arms round His Neck
immediately and kiss His Face.”
She obeyed.
“That is not all, He must return your caresses.”
And she had to hold the Crucifix to each cheek; then Thérèse said:
“That is well, now all is forgiven!”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
Having caused her pain, a novice went to ask pardon of Sœur Thérèse,
who replied with emotion: “If you only knew what I feel! Never have I
so well understood with what love Jesus receives us, when, after a
fault we beg Him to forgive us. If I, His poor little creature, feel
such tenderness for you the moment you return to me, what must pass in
the Heart of the good God when we return to Him?... Yes, surely, more
swiftly yet than I have just done, will He forget all our iniquities,
never again to remember them.... He will do even more--He will love us
still better than before our fault!...”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
FOOTNOTES:
[54] Prov., ix, 4.
[55] Is., lxvi, 12, 13.
[56] _Cf._ Ps., lxx, 17, 18.
[57] Ps., cii, 8, 13, 14.
[58] Luke, xv, 31.
[59] _Cf._ Zach., xiii, 6.
[60] _Cf._ Luke, xv, 22.
[61] Matt., v, 48.
[62] Ps., cii, 14.
[63] Apoc., xxii, 12.
[64] Wisdom, vi, 7.
[65] _Cf._ Ps., lxxv, 10.
[Illustration]
SELF-ABANDONMENT
I cannot think without rapture of the dear little Saint Cæcilia: what
a model! In the midst of a pagan world, in the heart of danger, at the
moment when about to be united to a mortal who sought none but earthly
love, it seems to me that she ought to have trembled and wept. But no,
_while her bridal was celebrated with joyful melody Cæcilia was singing
in her heart_.[66] What abandonment to God! Without doubt she listened
to other melodies than those of earth; her Divine Spouse, He too, was
singing, and Angel choirs sang again the refrain of one most blessed
night: “_Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men of good
will._”[67]
The glory of God!--Oh! Cæcilia understood it; most earnestly did she
long for it. She divined that her Jesus was athirst for souls ... that
is why her whole desire was that she might lead speedily to Him the
soul of the young Roman, who dreamed of naught but human glory: this
wise Virgin will make of him a martyr, and multitudes will follow in
his footprints. She fears nothing: the Angels have promised and have
sung of peace. She knows that the Prince of Peace is bound to protect
her, to shield her virginity and to give to her its recompense. “_O how
beautiful is the chaste generation!_”[68]
XVII LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
I had offered myself to the Child Jesus to be _His little plaything_. I
had told Him not to use me like a costly toy which children are pleased
to look at without daring to touch; but as He would a little ball of no
value, that He might throw to the ground, toss about, pierce, leave in
a corner, or else press to His Heart if so it pleased Him. In a word
_I wanted to amuse the little Jesus, and to give myself up to all His
childlike fancies_.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VI
My heart is entirely filled with the will of Jesus; therefore when
anything over and above falls to its share, this does not penetrate to
its depths; it is a mere nothing which easily glides by, as oil on the
surface of limpid water. Ah! if my heart were not filled up beforehand,
had it to be filled by the sentiments of joy or of sadness which so
quickly succeed each other, bitter indeed would be this flood-tide of
pain; but these rapid alternations do no more than ruffle the surface
of my soul, and I remain ever in a profound peace that nothing can
disturb.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
I am not always faithful, but I am never discouraged; I leave myself
wholly in the arms of our Divine Lord; He teaches me to _draw profit
from all--both good and ill that He finds in me_.[69] He teaches me
to speculate in the Bank of Love, or rather it is He who acts for me
without telling me how He goes to work, that is His affair and not
mine; my part is complete surrender, reserving nothing to myself, not
even the gratification of knowing how my credit stands with the Bank.
XVI LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
A sister told Sœur Thérèse of the strange phenomena produced by
magnetism on persons who really wish to yield up their will to the
mesmerizer. These details appeared to interest her keenly and on the
morrow she said to the Sister:
“Your conversation yesterday did me so much good. Oh! how I wish to be
magnetized by our Lord. It was my first thought on awakening. With what
delight have I delivered my will up to Him. Yes, I want Him to make
Himself master of my faculties in such sort that my actions shall no
longer be human or personal, but wholly divine, inspired and directed
by the Spirit of Love.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
You are quite wrong to think of sorrows that the future may bring;
it is, as it were, intermeddling with Divine Providence. We who run
in the way of Love must never torment ourselves about anything. If I
did not suffer minute by minute, it would be impossible for me to be
patient; but I see only the present moment, I forget the past and I
take good care not to anticipate the future. If we grow disheartened,
if sometimes we despair, it is because we have been dwelling on the
past or the future.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
I no longer thirst for either suffering or death, yet both I dearly
prize. Long did I call upon them as the harbingers of joy....
Suffering has in very truth been mine, and I have thought I wellnigh
touched the eternal shore! I have believed from my earliest youth that
_the little flower_ would be gathered in its spring-time; now, it is
the spirit of self-abandonment alone that guides me, no other compass
have I. I know not now, how to ask anything eagerly, save the perfect
accomplishment of God’s designs upon my soul.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VIII
“Pray for me,” she would often say, “when I implore Heaven to come to
my aid, then it is that I feel most forsaken.”
“And in this desolation how do you avoid discouragement?” they asked
her.
“I turn to the good God, to all the Saints, and I thank them just the
same. I think they wish to see to what point I shall carry my trust....
But not in vain have these words of Job sunk into my heart: ‘_Though
He should kill me yet will I trust in Him_.’[70] I acknowledge it was
long before I reached this degree of abandonment; our Lord has taken me
and placed me there!”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
It seems to me that nothing now hinders me from taking flight, for I no
longer have any great desires, save to love, even unto dying of love.
I am free, I have no fear, not even of what I most dreaded; I mean
the fear of being a long time ill and consequently a burthen to the
Community. If it gives pleasure to the good God I willingly consent to
see my life of suffering, both of soul and body, prolonged for years.
Oh! no, I do not fear a long life. I do not shun the combat. “_The Lord
is the rock upon which I am founded. Who teacheth my hands to fight and
my fingers to war; He is my protector in whom I have hoped._”[71] Never
have I asked God to let me die young; it is true I have ever believed
that it would be so, but without seeking to obtain it.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IX
Whatever the good God has given me has always pleased me, even the
gifts which have appeared to me less good and less beautiful than those
received by others.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
I have no greater desire to die than to live; if our Lord gave me the
choice I would choose nothing; I only will what He wills; it is what He
does that I love.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
“Some think you are afraid of death,” they said to her.--“That may
indeed yet happen; I never depend on my own thoughts, knowing how weak
I am; but at present I will rejoice in the sentiments that the good God
now gives me, there will be time enough to suffer from the contrary.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
A sister said to her:
“If anyone goes straight to Heaven, you surely will not spend one
moment in Purgatory!”
“Oh! I feel little anxiety about that; I shall always be content with
the sentence of the good God. If I go to Purgatory, well--I shall walk
in the midst of the flames, like the three Hebrews in the furnace,
singing the Canticle of Love.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
FOOTNOTES:
[66] Office of St. Cæcilia.
[67] Luke, ii, 14.
[68] Wisdom, iv, 1.
[69] St. John of the Cross.
[70] Job, xiii, 15.
[71] _Cf._ Ps., cxliii, 1, 2, 3.
[Illustration]
GRATITUDE
Oh, how happy God makes me! How easy and how sweet it is to serve Him
upon earth.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. X
Seeing several of my companions form special attachments to some one
or other of our mistresses, I wished to follow their example but could
not succeed therein. O happy inability! from how great evils has it
saved me.... How I thank God for having made me find only bitterness in
the friendships of earth. With a heart such as mine I should have been
captured and had my wings clipped; then how should I have been able to
_fly away and be at rest_.[72]
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IV
I understand well that our Lord knew I was too weak to be exposed to
temptation; without doubt I should have been wholly destroyed had I
been dazzled by the deceitful glamour of the love of creatures; but
never has it shone before my eyes. There, where strong souls find joy,
and through fidelity detach themselves from it, I have found only
affliction. Where then is my merit in not being given up to these
fragile attachments, since it is only by a gracious effect of God’s
mercy that I was preserved from it? Without Him, I recognize that
I might have fallen as low as St. Magdalene; and that word of deep
meaning spoken by the Divine Master to Simon the Pharisee, re-echoes
with great sweetness in my soul. Yes, I know it: “_To whom less is
forgiven, he loveth less._”[73] But I also know that Jesus has forgiven
more to me than to St. Magdalene. Ah, how I wish I could express what I
feel. Here at least is an example which will in some measure convey my
thought.
Suppose the son of a skilful doctor is tripped by a stone in his path,
which causes him to fall and fracture a limb. His father comes in
haste, lifts him up lovingly and attends to his injuries, employing
therein all the resources of his art; and the boy, very soon completely
cured, testifies his gratitude. This child has certainly good reason to
love so kind a father; but here is another supposition.
The father having learnt that there lies in his son’s way a dangerous
stone, sets out beforehand and removes it unseen by anyone. His son,
the object of this tender forethought, unaware of the misfortune from
which he has been preserved by the father’s hand, will of course show
no gratitude, and will love him less than if he had cured him of a
grievous wound. But should he come to know all, will he not love him
still more? Well--I am this child, the object of the preventing love of
a Father _Who sent His Son not to redeem the just but sinners_.[74] He
wills that I should love Him because He has forgiven me, not _much_,
but _everything_. Without waiting for me to love Him much, like St.
Mary Magdalene, He has made me to know how He had loved me with a
preventing and ineffable love, in order that I may now love Him even
unto folly!
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IV
Walking one day in the garden, leaning on one of her sisters, Thérèse
paused to enjoy the fascinating sight of a little white hen sheltering
its chickens beneath its wings. Very soon her eyes filled with tears,
and turning to her dear companion she said: “I can stay no longer,
let us go in again quickly....” And in her cell, her tears continued
falling and she could not utter a word. At last, looking at her sister
with an expression that was quite heavenly, she said:
“I was thinking of our Lord, and of the touching comparison He chose in
order to make us believe in His tenderness. That is just what He has
done for me all my life: _He has wholly hidden me beneath His wings!_
I cannot express what passed within my heart. Ah! the good God does
well to veil Himself from my sight, to show me the effects of His Mercy
rarely, and as it were, ‘_through the lattices_;’[75] such consolations
would, I feel, be more than I could bear.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
“Oh! how _good_ is the good God!” ... she would sometimes exclaim.
“Yes, He must indeed be good to give me the strength to endure all that
I suffer.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
One day she said to the Mother Prioress:
“I would like to speak to you, Mother, of the state of my soul; but I
cannot, I am too deeply moved just now.”
And in the evening she sent these lines pencilled with a trembling hand:
“O my God, how good Thou art to the little victim of Thy Merciful Love!
Now even though Thou dost join physical suffering to the trials of my
soul, I cannot say: ‘_The sorrows of death have encompassed me._’[76]
But I cry out in my gratitude: ‘_I have gone down into the valley of
the shadow of death, yet I fear no evil, because Thou, O Lord, art with
me._’”[77]
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
FOOTNOTES:
[72] Ps., liv, 7.
[73] Luke, vii, 47.
[74] Luke, v, 32.
[75] Cant., ii, 9.
[76] Ps., xvii, 5.
[77] _Cf._ Ps., xxii, 4.
[Illustration]
ZEAL
The cry of Jesus agonizing, “I thirst!” re-echoed continually in my
heart, firing it with an ardent zeal till then unknown to me. I longed
to give to my Beloved to drink: I too felt myself consumed with the
thirst for souls, and at all cost I would wrest sinners from the
eternal flames.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. V
The Precious Blood of Jesus I poured on souls, to Him I offered these
same souls renewed by the Dew of Calvary; thus I thought to quench His
Thirst; but the more I gave Him to drink, the more ardently my poor
little soul thirsted--and this I received as a most precious recompense.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. V
Like the Prophets and the Doctors I would fain enlighten souls.
Fain would I travel the earth, O my Well-Beloved, to preach Thy Name
and to set up Thy glorious Cross in Pagan lands. But one mission only
would not suffice for me; would that I could at one and the same time
proclaim the Gospel all the world over, even to the remotest of its
islands. I would desire to be a Missionary not only for a few years,
but to have been one from the creation of the world, and so to continue
to the end of time.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XI
I long to accomplish the most heroic deeds. I feel within me the
courage of a Crusader. I would die on the battlefield in defence of the
Church.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XI
Open, my Jesus, thy Book of Life wherein are recorded the actions of
all the Saints; those actions--would that I too, had accomplished such
for Thee!
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XI
Souls--dear Lord, we must have souls! Above all, souls of apostles and
of martyrs, that through them we may inflame the multitude of poor
sinners with love of Thee.
HIST. D’UNE AME, APPENDIX
After recreation one day when the Mother Prioress had spoken of the
persecution already raging against Religious Communities, Sœur Thérèse
said to a novice: “Ah! Sister, we live in an era of martyrs! Blood will
be shed.--What happiness if it should be ours!”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
A novice on her way to the laundry one day, went at a slow pace through
the garden, looking at the flowers as she passed. Sœur Thérèse who
followed walking quickly, soon overtook her and said: “Is that how one
hastens who has children (_souls_) to support, for whose sustenance she
is obliged to work?...”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
During her illness she wrote:
“The will of the good God is my sole desire; and I declare that if
in Heaven I could no longer work for His glory, I would choose exile
rather than the Fatherland.”
IV LETTER TO HER MISSIONARY “BROTHERS”
What draws me towards the Heavenly Country is the call of our Lord,
the hope of at last loving Him as I have so ardently desired, and the
thought that I shall be able to make Him loved by _a multitude of
souls_ who will bless Him eternally.
VIII LETTER TO HER MISSIONARY “BROTHERS”
Confidently I count upon not remaining inactive in Heaven, my desire
is to work still for the Church and for souls: this I ask of God, and
I am certain that He will hear me. If I quit already the battlefield,
it is not with the selfish desire of taking my rest. Suffering has long
since become my heaven here below, and it is difficult to imagine how
it will be possible for me to become acclimatized to a country where
joy reigns, unmingled with sorrow. Jesus must needs transform my soul
completely, else I could not support eternal bliss.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
Just now a few notes of distant music fell upon my ear, and set me
thinking that very soon I shall hear melodies beyond compare; yet this
thought can give me but a moment’s gladness; one only expectation makes
my heart throb: _it is the love that I shall receive and the love that
I shall be able to give!_
_I feel that my mission is now to begin, my mission to make others love
the good God as I love Him ... to give to souls my little way._ I WILL
SPEND MY HEAVEN IN DOING GOOD UPON EARTH. This is not impossible, since
the Angels in the full enjoyment of the Beatific Vision keep watch over
us. No, I shall never rest till the end of the world! But when the
Angel shall have said: “Time is no more!”[78] then I shall rest--shall
be able to rejoice, because the number of the elect will be complete.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
FOOTNOTES:
[78] Apoc., x, 6.
[Illustration]
SIMPLICITY
When I read certain treatises where perfection is set forth as
encompassed by a thousand obstacles, my poor little head grows weary
very quickly. I close the learned book which puzzles my brains and
dries up my heart, and in its stead I open the Holy Scriptures. Then
all appears clear, luminous ... one single word discloses to my soul
infinite horizons, perfection seems easy. I see that it is sufficient
to recognize our nothingness, and to leave oneself like a child, in the
arms of the good God. Let great souls and sublime intellects enjoy the
beautiful books which I cannot understand, still less put in practice;
I rejoice in being little, since “_children only and those who
resemble them will be admitted to the Heavenly banquet_.”[79]
It is well that the Kingdom of Heaven contains many mansions, for if
there were none other than those of which the description and the way
seem incomprehensible to me, I should never be able to enter therein.
VI LETTER TO HER MISSIONARY “BROTHERS”
My patrons in Heaven and my chosen favourites are those who have stolen
it--like the Holy Innocents and the Good Thief. The great Saints have
earned it by their works; as for me, I will imitate the thieves, I will
have it by ruse, a ruse of Love which will open its gates to me and
to poor sinners. The Holy Ghost encourages me, saying in the Book of
Proverbs: “_O little one, come, learn subtlety of me._”[80]
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
Our Lord replied to the mother of the sons of Zebedee: “_To sit on My
right and on My left hand is for them for whom it is prepared by My
Father._”[81] I imagine that those places of choice, refused to great
Saints, to Martyrs, will be the portion of little children.
Did not David predict it when he said that _the little Benjamin will
preside amidst the assemblies_ (of the saints)?[82]
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
“If you could begin your religious life over again” asked a novice,
“what would you do?”
“It seems to me that I would do as I have done.”
“You do not then feel like the hermit who used to say: ‘Even though I
had lived long years in penance yet I should fear damnation while there
still remained to me one quarter of an hour, one breath of life.’”
“No, I cannot share that fear, I am too little to be damned, little
children are not damned.”
“You always seek to be like the little ones--but tell us what we must
do to possess the spirit of childhood? What does it exactly mean--to
remain little?”
“To remain little--it is to recognize our nothingness, to expect
everything from the good God, not to be too much afflicted about our
faults, for little children fall often but are too small to hurt
themselves much: in fine, it is _not_ to make one’s fortune, nor to be
disquieted about anything. Even in the homes of the poor, as long as a
child is quite little they give him what is needful; but when grown up,
the father is no longer willing to support him and says: ‘Now work! you
can provide for yourself.’ Well, it was to escape hearing that, that I
have never wished to grow up, for I know myself incapable of earning my
livelihood--Eternal Life!
“Again, to remain little is not to attribute to self the virtues we
practise; but to acknowledge that the good God places this treasure in
the hand of His little child to be made use of when required.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
Be not afraid to tell Jesus that you love Him; even though it be
without feeling, this is the way to oblige Him to help you, and carry
you like a little child too feeble to walk.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
It is a great trial to see only the black side of things, but that does
not depend completely upon you. Do your best to detach your heart from
the cares of this world, and above all from creatures; then you may be
sure that Jesus will do the rest. He could not suffer you to fall into
the abyss. Be comforted, little one, in Heaven you will no longer see
_all black_ but _all white_; yes, all will be clothed with the divine
whiteness of our Spouse, the Lily of the Valley. Together we shall
follow Him whithersoever He goeth.... Oh! let us profit by the brief
moments of this life to give pleasure to Jesus, let us win souls for
Him by our sacrifices. Above all let us be little, so little that all
the world may trample us under foot without even our appearing to feel
it or to suffer from it.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
You are wrong to find fault with one thing and another, and to seek
that all should yield to your way of viewing things. We want to be like
little children, and little children know not what is best, to them all
seems well; let us imitate them. Besides there would be no merit [in
obedience] were we only to do what would appear reasonable to us.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
A novice under a temptation which seemed to her insurmountable said:
“This time I cannot rise above it--it is impossible.” Thérèse replied:
“Why do you try to rise above it? Pass beneath it quite simply. It
is very well for great souls to soar high above the clouds when the
storm is raging, but for us, we have merely to bear the showers with
patience. If we do get rather wet--no matter! We shall dry ourselves
afterwards in the sunshine of Love.”
That brings to mind this little trait of my childhood; a horse one
day standing at the garden gate barred our entrance; those with me
endeavoured by force of talking, etc., to get him to move back, but
while they talked I very quietly slipped in, through the horse’s
legs.... See how one may gain by remaining little!
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
To a young Sister discouraged at seeing her imperfections, Sœur Thérèse
said: “You make me think of a very little child who is just able to
stand upright but does not yet know how to walk. Intent upon reaching
the top of the stairs so as to get back to his mother he lifts his foot
to climb the first step. Fruitless endeavour! At each attempt he falls
without advancing in the least. Well, be like that little child; by
the practice of every virtue keep on ever lifting your little foot to
climb the steps of sanctity, and do not imagine that you will be able
to mount even the first! No; but good will is all God requires of you.
From the top of those steps He is watching you with love; and won by
your unavailing efforts He will Himself soon come down, and taking you
in His arms will bear you away to His Kingdom, never more to quit Him.
But if you cease to lift your little foot He will leave you a long time
on earth.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
The only means of making rapid progress in the path of Love is to
remain always very _little_; that is what I have done; so now I can
sing with our Father St. John of the Cross:
And stooping so low, so low,
I rose still higher and higher
And thus I attained my end.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
Someone was speaking to her of the mortifications of the Saints, she
replied:
“It is well our Lord has let us know that _there are many mansions
in His Father’s House, that if not He would have told us_.[83] Yes,
if all souls called to perfection had been obliged to practise these
macerations in order to enter Heaven, He would have said so, and gladly
would we have undertaken them. But He tells us that _in His House there
are many mansions_. If there are those for great souls, for the Fathers
of the Desert and for martyrs of penance, there must be one also for
little children. Our place is reserved there, if our love be great--for
Him and for our Heavenly Father and the Spirit of Love.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
“I feel that my mission is now to begin,” she said a few days before
her death, “my mission to make others love the good God _as I love
Him_, to give my _little way_ to souls....”
“What is this ‘little way’ that you want to teach to souls?”
“_It is the path of spiritual childhood, it is the way of trust and of
entire self-surrender._ I want to make known to them the simple means
that have so perfectly succeeded for me, to tell them that there is but
one only thing to do here below: _to cast down before Jesus the flowers
of little sacrifices, to win Him by caresses!_ That is how I have won
Him, and that is why I shall be so well received.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
If I am misguiding you by my _little way_ of Love, she said to a
novice, do not fear that I shall let you follow it very long. I shall
appear to you, and tell you to take another path; but if I do not
return, believe in the truth of my words: _never can we have too much
confidence in the good God, so mighty and so merciful! As much as we
hope for shall we obtain from Him!_...
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
A novice said to her on the eve of the Feast of Our Lady of Mount
Carmel: “If you were to die to-morrow after Holy Communion, it seems to
me that so beautiful a death would console me in the midst of my grief.”
And Thérèse replied with animation:
“Die after Holy Communion! On a grand Feast day! No, it will not be so:
little souls could not copy that. In my little way there are only quite
ordinary things; all that I do, little souls must be able to do also.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
FOOTNOTES:
[79] _Cf._ Matt., xix, 14.
[80] _Cf._ Prov., 1, 4.
[81] _Cf._ Matt., xx, 23.
[82] _Cf._ Ps., lxvii, 29.
[83] _Cf._ John, xiv, 2.
[Illustration]
PRAYER
As I grew older I loved the good God more and more, and very frequently
did I offer Him my heart, using the words my mother had taught me. I
strove in all my actions to please Jesus and was most watchful never to
offend Him.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. II
My whole strength lies in prayer and sacrifice, these are my invincible
arms; they can move hearts far better than words, I know it by
experience.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. X
Great is the power of prayer--a queen, as one might say, having free
access always to the King, and able to obtain whatever she asks. In
order to be heard, it is not necessary to read from a book a beautiful
form of prayer adapted to the circumstances; if it were so, how greatly
to be pitied should I be!
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. X
I have not the courage to force myself to seek beautiful prayers in
books; not knowing which to choose I act as children do who cannot
read; I say quite simply to the good God what I want to tell Him, and
He always understands me.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. X
Prayer is, for me, an outburst from the heart; it is a simple glance
darted upwards to Heaven; it is a cry of gratitude and of love in the
midst of trial as in the midst of joy! In a word, it is something
exalted, supernatural, which dilates the soul and unites it to God.
Sometimes when I find myself, spiritually, in dryness so great that I
cannot produce a single good thought, I recite very slowly a _Pater_
or an _Ave Maria_; these prayers alone console me, they suffice, they
nourish my soul.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. X
The principal plenary indulgence and one which all may gain without the
ordinary conditions, is that of _charity which covereth a multitude of
sins_.[84]
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
Formerly if any of my family were in trouble, and that I had been
unable to succeed in comforting them during their visit, I would go
from the parlour heart-broken; but soon Jesus made me understand that
I was incapable of giving consolation to a soul. From that day forth I
grieved no more when anyone went away sad; I confided to the good God
the sorrows of those who were dear to me, feeling certain that He heard
me, and at their next visit I used to find that it had indeed been
so. Since I have experienced this, I no longer torment myself when
involuntarily I give pain; I simply beg of Jesus to make up for what I
have done.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
One day after Holy Communion the good God made me understand those
words of the Canticles: “_Draw me: we will run after Thee to the odour
of Thy ointments._”[85] O Jesus, it is not then necessary to say: In
drawing me, draw the souls whom I love. These simple words: “_Draw me_”
suffice! Yes, when a soul has allowed herself to be captivated by the
inebriating fragrance of Thy perfumes, she could not run alone, all the
souls whom she loves are drawn after her; this is a natural consequence
of her attraction towards Thee.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XI
“_Draw me, we will run...._”
To ask to be drawn is to will intimate union with the object which
holds the heart captive. If fire and iron were gifted with reason,
and that the latter said to the fire: “Draw me,” would not this prove
that it desired to become identified with the fire even so far as to
share its substance? Well, that is exactly my prayer. I beg of Jesus to
draw me into the flames of His Love, to unite me so closely to Himself
that He may live and act in me. I feel that the more the fire of love
inflames my heart, the more I shall say: “Draw me,” the more also will
the souls who draw near to mine run swiftly in the fragrant odours of
the Well-Beloved.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XI
Souls thus on fire cannot rest inactive. They may sit at the feet of
Jesus, like Saint Mary Magdalene, listening to His sweet and ardent
words; but, while seeming to give nothing, they do give far more than
Martha who troubles herself with _many things_.[86] It is not however
of Martha’s labours that Jesus disapproves, but only her too great
anxiety; to this very same work His Blessed Mother humbly submitted
herself, when she had to prepare the repasts for the Holy Family.
All the Saints have understood this, and more especially perhaps those
who have enlightened the world with the luminous teaching of the
Gospel. Was it not from prayer that Saint Paul, Saint Augustine, Saint
Thomas of Aquin, Saint John of the Cross, Saint Teresa and so many
other friends of God drew that wondrous science which enraptures the
greatest intellects?
Archimedes said: “Give me a lever and a fulcrum, and I will raise the
world.” What he was unable to obtain because his request had but a
material end and was not addressed to God, the Saints have obtained in
full measure. For fulcrum, the Almighty has given them Himself, Himself
alone! for lever, prayer, which enkindles the fire of love; and thus
it is that they have uplifted the world, thus it is that saints still
militant, uplift it, and will uplift it till the end of time.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XI
The Creator of the universe awaits the prayer of one poor little soul
to save a multitude of others, redeemed like her at the price of His
Blood.
Our vocation is not to go and reap in the Father’s fields; Jesus does
not say to us: “Cast down your eyes and reap the harvest”; our mission
is still more sublime. Here are the words of the Divine Master: “_Lift
up your eyes and see_ ...” see that in Heaven there are empty places;
yours it is to fill them ... you are as Moses praying on the mountain;
ask of Me labourers and I will send them, I await but a prayer, a sigh
from out your heart!
Is not the apostolate of prayer higher as one might say, than that of
preaching? It is for us to form labourers who by preaching the Gospel,
will save thousands of souls of whom we thus become the mothers; what
then have we to envy the Priests of the Lord?
XII LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
How beautiful is our vocation! It is for us, it is for Carmel to
preserve “_the salt of the earth_.”[87] We offer our prayers and
sacrifices for the apostles of the Lord; we ought ourselves to be
their apostles while by word and example they preach the Gospel to our
brethren.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VI
A novice was grieving about her numerous distractions during prayer: “I
too, have many,” replied Sœur Thérèse de l’Enfant Jésus, “but I accept
all for love of the good God, even the most extravagant thoughts that
come into my head.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
Her prayer was continual though she was habitually plunged in aridity.
One day a novice entering her cell, paused, struck by the celestial
expression of her countenance. She was sewing with alacrity yet seemed
lost in profound contemplation.
“Of what are you thinking?” asked the young Sister. “I am meditating
on the _Pater_,” she replied. “It is so sweet to call the good God our
Father.” And tears shone in her eyes.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
I do not well see what more I shall have in Heaven than now, she once
said. I shall see the good God, it is true; but as to being with Him, I
am wholly with Him already upon earth.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
A living flame of Divine Love consumed her.
“A few days after my oblation to _God’s Merciful Love_,” she relates,
“I had commenced in the Choir the Way of the Cross, when I felt myself
suddenly wounded by a dart of fire so ardent that I thought I must die.
I know not how to describe this transport; there is no comparison
which would make one understand the intensity of that flame. An
invisible power seemed to plunge me wholly into fire ... but oh! what
fire! what sweetness!”
The Mother Prioress asked her whether this transport was the first in
her life, she answered simply:
“Mother, I have several times had transports of love; once especially
during my novitiate when I remained one entire week far indeed from
this world; for me, there was as it were, a veil thrown over all
things of the earth. But I was not consumed by a real flame, I was
able to sustain those delights without expecting that their intensity
would cause my earthly fetters to snap asunder, whilst on the day of
which I speak, one minute, one second more and my soul must have left
its prison.... Alas!--and I found myself again on earth, and aridity
immediately returned to my heart!”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
FOOTNOTES:
[84] Prov., x, 12.
[85] Cant., 1, 3.
[86] Luke, x, 41
[87] Matt., v, 13.
[Illustration]
HOLY COMMUNION
How sweet it was, the first kiss of Jesus to my soul! Yes, it was a
kiss of Love. I felt I was loved, and I too said: “I love Thee, I
give myself to Thee for ever!” Jesus asked nothing of me, demanded no
sacrifice. Already for a long time past, He and the little Thérèse had
watched and understood one another.... That day our meeting was no
longer a simple look but a _fusion_. No longer were we two: Thérèse had
disappeared as the drop of water which loses itself in the depths of
the ocean, Jesus alone remained; the Master, the King! Had not Thérèse
begged Him to take away from her, her liberty? That liberty made her
afraid; so weak, so fragile did she feel herself that she longed to be
united for ever to Divine Strength.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IV
I had taken as my rule of conduct, to receive most faithfully Holy
Communion as often as my confessor permitted, without ever asking that
it might be more frequent. I would act differently now; for I am quite
sure that a soul ought to make known to her director the attraction
that she feels to receive her God. It is not to remain in a golden
ciborium that He comes down each day from Heaven, but to find another
Heaven, the Heaven of our soul in which He takes His delight.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. V
What shall I say of my thanksgivings after Holy Communion? There are no
moments in which I feel less consolation. And is not this very natural,
seeing that my desire is to receive our Lord’s visit, not for my own
satisfaction, but solely for His pleasure?
I imagine my soul to be as a plot of waste ground and beg the Blessed
Virgin to remove from it all the rubbish--meaning its imperfections;
then I beseech her to erect thereon, a vast canopy worthy of Heaven
and to decorate it with her own treasures, and I invite all the Angels
and Saints to come and sing canticles of love. It seems to me then
that Jesus is pleased to see Himself so magnificently received; and
I, I share His joy. All this does not hinder distractions and sleep
from molesting me; therefore it not rarely happens that I resolve to
continue my thanksgiving all the day long, since I have made it so
badly in the Choir.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VIII
At the time of Holy Communion I sometimes picture my soul under the
figure of a little child of three or four years, who at play has
got its hair tossed and its clothes soiled.--These misfortunes have
befallen me in battling with souls.--But very soon the Blessed Virgin
hastens to my aid: quickly she takes off my little dirty pinafore,
smooths my hair and adorns it with a pretty ribbon or simply with a
little flower ... and this suffices to render me pleasing and enables
me to sit at the Banquet of Angels without blushing.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
The demon, traitor that he is, knows well, that he cannot make a soul
who wills to belong wholly to the good God, commit sin; therefore he
endeavours only to persuade her that she sins. That is a great deal
gained, but it is not yet enough to satisfy his rage ... he aims at
something further, he wants to deprive Jesus of a loved tabernacle. Not
being able himself to enter into this sanctuary he wishes that it may
at least remain empty and without its Lord. Alas! what will become of
this poor heart?... When the devil has succeeded in driving away a soul
from Holy Communion he has gained his ends, and Jesus weeps....
I LETTER TO HER COUSIN MARIE GUÉRIN
A novice relates that she wanted to deprive herself of Holy Communion
because of some lack of fidelity. She wrote her determination to Sister
Thérèse of the Child Jesus who thus replied:
“Little flower cherished by Jesus, it is amply sufficient that by the
humiliation of your soul your roots _eat of the earth_.... You must
open a little, or rather raise on high your corolla so that the Bread
of Angels may come as a divine dew to strengthen you, and to give you
all that is wanting to you.
“Good-night, poor little floweret; ask of Jesus that all the prayers
offered for my recovery may serve to augment the fire which must
consume me.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
[Illustration]
SUFFERING[88]
The cross has accompanied me from the cradle; but then, Jesus has made
me love it passionately.
IX LETTER TO HER MISSIONARY “BROTHERS”
One day my sister Marie, speaking of suffering, said that instead of
making me walk by that way, the good God would no doubt carry me
always like a little child. These words recurred to me after Holy
Communion on the following day, and my heart was fired with an ardent
desire of suffering. I felt too an inward assurance, that crosses in
great number were in reserve for me. Then my soul was inundated with
consolations such as I have never had again in all my life. Suffering
became my attraction, in it I found charms that entranced me.
Another great desire that I felt, was to love but God alone and to
find no joy save only in Him. Often during my thanksgiving after Holy
Communion I used to repeat this passage from the _Imitation:_ “_O
Jesus, who art ineffable sweetness, turn for me into bitterness all
the consolations of earth._”[89] These words came from my lips without
effort; I uttered them like a child who repeats without too well
understanding, words prompted by a friend.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IV
Suffering has held out its arms to me from my very entrance into
Carmel and lovingly have I embraced it. My intention in coming here,
I declared in the solemn examination which preceded my profession: _I
am come in order to save souls, and especially to pray for Priests_.
When we want to attain an end we must employ the means, and Jesus
having made me understand that He would give me souls by means of the
cross, the more crosses I met with the more my attraction to suffering
increased. During five years this way was mine; but I alone knew it.
Here was just the hidden flower that I wanted to offer to Jesus, this
flower which exhaled its fragrance for Heaven alone.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VII
For one pain endured with joy, we shall love the good God more for ever.
I LETTER TO MÈRE AGNÈS DE JÉSUS
In my soul’s intercourse with Jesus--nothing ... dryness! sleep! Since
my Beloved wills to sleep I shall not hinder Him; I am too happy
in seeing that He does not treat me like a stranger, that He is not
constrained with me. He pierces His little ball through and through
with pin-pricks sore indeed.... When it is this tender Friend who
Himself pierces His ball, the pain is naught but sweetness--so gentle
is His Hand. How different when creatures pierce it!
Yet I am happy, yes, truly happy to suffer. If Jesus does not Himself
directly pierce His little ball, it is certainly He who guides the hand
that wounds!
II LETTER TO MÈRE AGNÈS DE JÉSUS
Yes, I desire them, those heart-thrusts, those pin-pricks that give
so much pain.... Sacrifice I prefer to all ecstacies: therein lies
happiness for me, I find it nowhere else. _The little reed_ has no fear
of breaking, for it is planted on the shore of the waters of Love; and
so, when it bends, that beneficent wave invigorates it, and makes it
long for another storm to come and bow down its head anew. My weakness
it is, that makes my whole strength. Whatever happens I cannot get
broken; I see only the gentle hand of Jesus.
To win the palm no suffering is too great.
III LETTER TO MÈRE AGNÈS DE JÉSUS
The drop of gall must be mingled in every cup, but I find that trials
greatly help to detach us from earth; they make us look higher than
this world. Nothing here below can satisfy us; we can enjoy a little
repose only by being ready to do God’s Will.
I LETTER TO MÈRE AGNÈS DE JÉSUS
My soul has known many kinds of trials, greatly have I suffered here on
earth. In my childhood I suffered with sadness; now, it is with peace
and joy that I taste of all the bitter fruits.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IX
Suffering united to love is the only thing that appears to me desirable
in this vale of tears.
IX LETTER TO HER MISSIONARY “BROTHERS”
When we are expecting only suffering the least joy surprises us:
suffering itself becomes the greatest of joys when we seek it as a
precious treasure.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IX
There are people who take everything in the way that gives them the
most pain; with me it is the reverse; I see always the good side of
things. If I have naught but pure suffering, without any break, well! I
make of it my joy.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
Joy is not in the things that surround us, it resides in the interior
of the soul. One may possess it in the depths of a gloomy prison as
well as in a royal palace. Thus am I happier in Carmel, even in the
midst of interior and exterior trials, than in the world, where nothing
was wanting to me.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VI
If now, amid trials, and in the thick of the fight, we can already find
such delight in the thought that God has drawn us away from the world,
what will it be, when in Heaven’s eternal glory and never-ending rest,
we shall understand the incomparable favour He has shown us in choosing
us here, to dwell in His own House--the very threshold of Heaven.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. X
Let us not expect to find Love without Suffering. Our nature is there,
and it is not there for nothing; but what treasures it enables us
to acquire! It is our means of gain; so precious is it that Jesus
came down upon earth expressly to possess it.... We want to suffer
generously, grandly; we wish never to fall; what illusion! And what
does it matter to me if I fall every minute? I find great profit in it,
for thereby I see my weakness. My God, You know what I am capable of
unless You carry me in Your arms; and if You leave me alone, well; it
is that it pleases you to see me _on the ground_, so why should I be
disquieted?
V LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
Life is often irksome and bitter; it is hard to begin a laborious day,
above all when Jesus hides Himself from us. What is this tender Friend
doing? Does He not then see our anguish, the load that oppresses us;
where is He? Why does He not come to console us?
Ah, fear not.... He is there, quite near! He is watching us; He, it is,
who begs for these our labours and our tears.... He has need of them
for souls, for our soul; He wants to give us so glorious a recompense.
Ah! truly, it costs Him to make us drink of this bitter cup, but He
knows that it is the one way by which to prepare us to know Him as He
knows Himself and to become ourselves God-like. What a destiny! How
great is the soul. Let us rise above all that passes away, let us hold
aloof from the earth, up on high the air is so pure; Jesus may hide
Himself but one is conscious of His presence.
I LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
When we speak of peace we do not mean joy--not at least sensible joy;
to suffer in peace it is enough that we truly will all that God wills.
V LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
Notwithstanding the trial which deprives me of every feeling of
enjoyment I can yet exclaim, “_Thou hast given me delight, O Lord, in
all Thou dost._”[90] For is there a greater joy than to suffer for
Thy Love? The more intense the suffering and the less apparent to
human eyes, the more lovingly dost Thou smile upon it, O my God. And
even--supposing an impossibility--if Thou wert unaware of it, I would
still be happy to suffer, in the hope that by my tears I might perhaps
prevent, or make reparation for one single sin against faith.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IX
Mine is not an unfeeling heart, and it is just because of its capacity
to suffer deeply that I desire to offer to Jesus every kind of
suffering it can endure.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IX
Life is full of sacrifices, it is true; but why look for happiness in
it? Is it not simply “a night to be passed in a bad Inn” as says our
Holy Mother Saint Teresa?
My heart has an ardent thirst for happiness, but well do I see that no
creature is capable of allaying this thirst. On the contrary, the more
I might drink of the waters of that enchanted spring the more burning
would be my thirst.
I know a fountain where _they that drink shall yet thirst_,[91] but
with a thirst most sweet, a thirst one can always satisfy; this
fountain is the suffering that is known to Jesus alone!...
II LETTER TO SR. MARIE DU SACRÉ-CŒUR
Our Lord never asks of us any sacrifice above our strength. Sometimes,
in truth, the Divine Master makes us taste the full bitterness of the
chalice which He presents to our soul. When He asks the sacrifice of
everything most dear to us in this world, it is impossible unless by
a very special grace, not to cry out as He did in the Garden of the
Agony: “_My Father, let this chalice pass from Me...._” But let us also
hasten to add: “_Nevertheless not as I will but as Thou wilt._”[92]
It is very consoling to think that Jesus--Divine Strength itself--has
experienced all our weakness, that He trembled at the sight of the
bitter chalice, the chalice He had longed for so ardently.
I LETTER TO HER MISSIONARY “BROTHERS”
Since our Well-Beloved has “_trodden the wine-press alone_”[93]--the
wine which He gives us to drink--in our turn let us not refuse to wear
garments dyed with blood, let us press out for Jesus a new wine which
may slake His thirst, and _looking around Him_ He will no longer be
able to say that _He is alone_; we shall be there _to help_.[94]
Neglect, forgetfulness ... this it is, it seems to me, which still
pains Him the most.
VIII LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
Here on earth, where all changes, one sole thing changes not, the
King of Heaven’s mode of acting as regards His friends. Ever since He
uplifted the standard of the Cross, it is in its shadow that all must
fight and gain the victory.
VI LETTER TO HER MISSIONARY “BROTHERS”
It is indeed more through suffering and persecution than through
eloquent preaching, that God wills to establish His Kingdom in souls.
VI LETTER TO HER MISSIONARY “BROTHERS”
I want to forget this world; here below, all things weary me, I find
no joy save one, that of suffering ... and this joy, though unfelt, is
above every other.
V LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
When I suffer much, when things that are painful and disagreeable
befall me, instead of assuming an air of sadness, I respond by a smile.
At first I was not always successful, but now it is a habit which I am
very happy to have acquired.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
A novice was complaining of being more tired than her Sisters, for
besides the common work, she had done another task, of which they knew
nothing. Thérèse answered: “I want to see you always like a valiant
soldier who does not complain of his pains; who thinks very seriously
of the wounds of his brothers and regards his own as mere scratches.
Why do you feel this fatigue to such a degree? It is because no one
knows about it....
[Illustration: THE SERVANT OF GOD
SR. THÉRÈSE OF THE CHILD JESUS
AND OF THE HOLY FACE
_Carmelite of the Monastery of Lisieux 1873-1897_]
“Blessed Margaret Mary having had two whitlows used to say she had only
really suffered from the first one, because it had not been possible
for her to hide the second from her Sisters, and thus it became the
object of their compassion.
“This feeling is natural to us; yet to wish that all should know when
we suffer is a very commonplace manner of acting.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
During the first months of her illness it was on her hard palliasse
that Sister Thérèse passed the time of rest, and her nights were very
bad: when asked whether she did not need some assistance during those
hours of pain, she replied: “Oh, no on the contrary, I think myself
very fortunate to be in a cell distant enough for my Sisters not to
hear me. I rejoice to suffer alone; but from the moment I am pitied and
surrounded with delicate attentions I can no longer feel this joy.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
The Sister infirmarian remarking, “It is said that you have never
suffered very much.” Thérèse smiled and pointing to a glass containing
a draught of medicine, bright red in colour, replied, “See this little
glass, one would imagine it full of some choice liqueur, but in reality
I take nothing that is more bitter. Well! it is an image of my life;
to the eyes of others it has ever appeared clothed in the most radiant
hues; to them it seemed as though I drank a delicious liqueur, while in
truth it was bitterness. I say bitterness, and yet my life has not been
bitter, for I have known how to make of all bitterness my sweetness and
my joy.”
“You are in great pain at this moment, are you not?” “Yes ... but I
have so much desired to suffer.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
“How it grieves us to see you suffer, and to think you may perhaps have
still more to endure,” the novices were saying to her.
“Oh! do not be troubled about me, I have arrived at the stage of being
no longer able to suffer, because all suffering is sweet to me.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
A sister, who doubted her patience, noticed, when visiting her one day,
an expression of heavenly joy on her countenance and wished to know the
reason. “It is because of the very acute pain I am feeling,” replied
Thérèse, “I have always striven to love suffering and to give it a
cordial welcome.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
“Why are you so gay this morning?” she was asked; “It is because I have
had two little trials, nothing gives me _little joys_ like _little
trials_.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
Another time: “You have had a great many trials today.”
“Yes, but ... seeing that I love them!... I love everything the good
God sends me.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
Again, when some one said to her: “It is dreadful--all you are
suffering.”
“No, it is not dreadful; could a little Victim of Love find anything
dreadful that her Spouse sends her? He gives me at each moment what I
can bear; not more; and the minute He increases my sufferings He also
augments my fortitude.
“Yet I could never ask for greater sufferings, for I am too little;
they would be my own--my own choosing, then I should have to bear them
by myself, and I have never been able to do anything all alone.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
During her long and painful agony she exclaimed: “The chalice is full
to the brim. Never could I have believed it possible to suffer so
much.... I can only find the explanation in my extreme longing to save
souls.... Oh! I would not suffer less.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
FOOTNOTES:
[88] No reader should be discouraged by this chapter on Suffering.
What Sœur Thérèse says is very consoling for those who are nailed to
the Cross; and others must remember that God had given to His humble
Servant a _sensible_ attraction for suffering, which is a rare grace
and reserved to very few souls, though many imagine they possess it,
and mistake their road choosing to follow this supposed attraction.
Without the sensible desire and even though experiencing an invincible
repugnance to suffer, souls can be sanctified. What pleases God is that
the suffering be borne with love.
[89] _Imit._, III, ch. xxvi, 3.
[90] Ps., xci, 5.
[91] _Cf._ Eccles., xxiv, 29.
[92] Matt., xxvi, 39.
[93] Isa., lxiii, 3.
[94] Isa., lxiii, 5.
[Illustration]
THE DIRECTION OF SOULS
Our Lord allowed me the consolation of closely studying the souls of
children.
Considering these innocent souls I used to compare them to soft wax,
upon which any impression may be stamped, the bad, alas! like the good;
and I understood those words of Jesus: “_But he that shall scandalize
one of these little ones ... it were better for him that a millstone
were hanged about his neck and that he were drowned in the depth of the
sea._”[95] Oh! how many souls might attain to a high degree of holiness
if wisely guided from the very first.
I well know that to accomplish His work of sanctification, God has
need of no one, but just as He enables a skilful gardener to rear
plants that are delicate and rare, granting him for this end all the
knowledge necessary, while reserving to Himself the care of giving the
increase, so, too, does He will to be aided in His divine culture of
souls.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. V
As soon as I penetrated into the sanctuary of souls I judged at the
first glance that the task exceeded my powers, and very quickly placing
myself in the arms of the good God I imitated the little child, who,
seized with sudden fear, tries to hide its golden head on its father’s
shoulder, and I said: “Lord, Thou knowest it, I am myself too little
to be capable of nurturing these Thy children; if Thou dost will to
give to them, through me, what is suited to each one, fill Thou my
little hand, and without leaving Thine arms, without even turning my
head aside, I will distribute Thy treasures to the souls who come to
me to seek sustenance. When they find it to their liking I shall know
that it is not to me they owe it but to Thee; on the other hand if they
complain, and find bitter what I offer them, my peace shall remain
undisturbed, I will try to convince them that this nutriment comes from
Thee, and I will carefully refrain from seeking any other for them.”
When I thus understood that it was impossible for me to do anything
by myself, the task appeared to me simplified. Interiorly, I occupied
myself solely in trying to become more and more united to God--knowing
that the rest would be added unto me.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. X
From afar it seems easy to do good to souls, to make them love God
more, to mould them after our own views and opinions. But coming
closer one feels, on the contrary, that to do good without the divine
assistance, is as impossible a thing as to bring the sun back after
it has set. One feels that it is absolutely necessary to forget our
own inclinations, our personal notions, and to guide souls, not by our
own way--the way we ourselves go--but by the particular way that Jesus
wishes to lead them.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. X
When very young, and staying with my aunt, a book was given to me to
read. In one of the stories I saw that the mistress of a school was
much praised because she knew how to get on cleverly in the world
without offending anyone. This phrase I remarked especially: “She
would say to the one, ‘You are not wrong,’ and to the other, ‘You are
right;’” and while I read I was thinking: “Oh!... I would not have
acted thus; we must always tell the truth.” And so I do, always. Far
more difficult it certainly is, for when told of some little vexatious
occurrence, it would be easy to lay blame on the absent, and she who
complains would at once be pacified. Yes, but ... I do quite the
reverse. If I am not liked, what matter! Let no one come to me who
does not want to hear the truth.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
That a reprimand may be fruitful it must cost in the giving; and it
must be given without a shade of passion in the heart.
One must not let kindness degenerate into weakness. When we have
blamed justly we ought to leave it so, and not yield to feelings of
distress at having given pain. To run after the aggrieved one in order
to console her, is to do more harm than good. To leave her to herself
is to force her to expect nothing from creatures, to have recourse to
the good God, to see her failings and to humble herself. Otherwise she
would grow accustomed to being consoled after a deserved rebuke and
would behave as does a spoilt child, who stamps and cries, well knowing
that this will make its mother return to wipe away the tears.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
_Let the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, abound in
your lips and hearts._[96] If we have to do with a difficult soul,
let us not be discouraged, nor ever abandon her. Let us have always
“_the sword of the Spirit_” to reprehend her for her faults, and not
allow things to pass for the sake of leaving ourselves in repose; let
us fight unceasingly, even without hope of gaining the victory. What
matter about success! Let us fight on, whatever be the weariness of the
struggle. Let us not say: “I can make nothing of this soul, she does
not understand; I must give it up.” Oh! what cowardice that would be.
We must do our duty unto the end.
[Sœur Thérèse in these passages refers to her charge as Mistress of
Novices.]
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
The novices expressed their surprise at finding that she guessed their
most hidden thoughts.
“Here is my secret,” she said to them: “I never give you any advice
without invoking the Blessed Virgin; I ask her to inspire me to say
what will do you the most good, and I myself am often astonished at the
things that I teach you. I simply feel in saying them to you, that I am
not deceived and that Jesus speaks to you by my mouth.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
“Give us some advice as to how we ought to act concerning our spiritual
direction,” they said to her.
“With great simplicity and without depending too much on assistance,
which may fail you at any moment. You would soon be forced to say with
the Spouse in the Canticles: ‘_The keepers ... took away my veil from
me and wounded me_,’ it was only ‘_when I had a little_ PASSED BY
_them I found Him whom my soul loveth_.’[97] If with detachment you
humbly inquire where is your Beloved, _the keepers_ will direct you.
Nevertheless, most frequently, you will find Jesus only after you have
_passed by_ all creatures. For my part, I have many a time repeated
this verse of the Spiritual Canticle of St. John of the Cross:
Send me no more
A messenger
Who cannot tell me what I seek.
All they who serve
Relate a thousand graces of Thee;
And all wound me more and more,
And they leave me dying,
WHILE THEY BABBLE I KNOW NOT WHAT.”
_Trans. D. Lewis, M. A._
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
FOOTNOTES:
[95] Matt., xviii, 6.
[96] Ephes., vi, 17.
[97] Cant., v, 7; iii, 4.
[Illustration]
THE BLESSED VIRGIN
How I love the Blessed Virgin! Had I been a Priest, oh! how I should
have spoken of her. She is represented as unapproachable, rather
ought she to be shown as imitable. She is more Mother than Queen. I
have heard it said that all the Saints are eclipsed by her radiant
brightness as the sun at rising makes the stars disappear. How strange
that seems--a mother eclipsing the glory of her children! I think quite
the contrary. I believe that she will immensely increase the splendour
of the elect.... The Virgin Mary! how simple does her life appear to
me....
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
Sometimes I find myself saying to the Holy Virgin: “Do you know, O
cherished Mother, that I think myself more fortunate than you? I
have you for Mother and you have not, like me, the Blessed Virgin to
love.... You are, it is true, the Mother of Jesus, but you have given
Him to me, and He, from the cross gave you to us as our Mother, so we
are richer than you. Of old it was your desire that you might be the
little handmaiden of the Mother of God; and I, poor little creature, I
am, not your servant, but _your child_: you are the Mother of Jesus and
you are _my Mother_.”
XIII LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
O Mary, if I were Queen of Heaven and thou wert Thérèse, I fain would
be Thérèse to see thee Queen of Heaven!
8 September, 1897.
Last words written by Sister Thérèse
of the Child Jesus.
[Illustration]
VARIOUS SUBJECTS
Léonie, no doubt finding that she was growing too old to play with
dolls, came one day to Céline and me, with a basket full of dolls’
clothes, odds and ends of pretty materials, trimmings, etc., on which
she had laid her doll, saying to us: “There, little sisters--choose!”
Céline looked, and took a knot of edging. After reflecting a moment
I, in turn, put out my hand saying: “I choose all!” and I carried off
basket and doll without further ceremony.
This trait of my childhood is, as it were, a summary of my entire life.
Later on when the meaning of perfection began to unfold itself to me,
I understood that to become a saint it is necessary to suffer much,
ever to seek after that which is most perfect, and to forget self. I
understood that in sanctity the degrees are many, that each soul is
free to respond to the advances of our Lord, to do little or much for
His sake, in a word, to _choose_ between the sacrifices that He asks.
Then, as in the days of my childhood, I exclaimed: “My God, I choose
all! I do not wish to be a saint by halves; the thought of suffering
for Thee does not frighten me, one thing only do I fear--my own will;
take Thou my will, for _I choose all_ that Thou willest.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. I
My Father took me for a pleasant tour during which I began to know a
little of the world. Around me all was gaiety and delight; I was made
welcome, petted, admired, in short, for fifteen days the pathway of my
life was strewn with naught but flowers. Holy Wisdom well says that
_the bewitching of trifles overturneth the innocent mind_.[98] At the
age of ten the heart easily allows itself to be dazzled, and I own that
this sort of life had some charms for me. Alas! how well the world
contrives to reconcile the delights of earth with the service of God.
How seldom does it think of death.
And death, nevertheless, has come to a great many of the people whom
I then knew, young, rich and prosperous. I like to go back in thought
to their beautiful dwellings, to ask myself where are they, and what
benefit do they now draw from the castles and parks where I saw them
enjoying all the comforts of life.... And I reflect that “_all is
vanity_”[99] “_but to love God and to serve Him alone._”[100]
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IV
What compassion I have for souls who are going astray. It is so easy
to lose one’s way in the flowery paths of the world. Undoubtedly for a
soul who has risen a little above the things of earth, the sweetness
offered is intermingled with bitterness, and the immense void of its
desires cannot be filled by the praises of a moment.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IV
We have but life’s brief day to save souls and thus to give to Jesus
proof of our love. The morrow of this day will be Eternity and then He
will render to you a hundredfold for the joys which you have sacrificed
for Him. He knows the extent of your sacrifice, He knows that the grief
of those dear to you increases your own still more; but to save our
souls He has Himself suffered this martyrdom. He too, left His Mother,
He saw the Immaculate Virgin stand at the foot of the Cross, her heart
transpierced by the sword of sorrow.
Ah! if the Divine Master would but grant to those whom you are going to
leave for His sake, a foresight of the glory He reserves for you, the
multitude of souls who in heaven will form your train, they would be
already recompensed for their great sacrifice in parting with you.
II LETTER TO HER MISSIONARY “BROTHERS”
The good God has promised a hundredfold to all who have left father
or mother or sister for love of Him. These words are, I know, usually
applied to those who have entered the religious state, but in my heart
I feel that they were also spoken for the generous parents who make to
God the sacrifice of children whom they cherish more than self.
LETTER TO HER COUSIN JEANNE GUÉRIN
How can a heart given up to human affection be united intimately to
God? That, I feel is not possible. I have seen so many souls deluded
by this treacherous light, dart into it like the poor moth and burn
their wings, then return wounded to Jesus, the Divine Fire which burns
without consuming.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IV
In giving oneself to God the heart does not lose its natural
tenderness; on the contrary, its love grows deeper by becoming more
pure and more Christlike.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IX
There are souls for whom God’s mercy wearies not of waiting, and to
whom He gives His light only by degrees.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. X
When in the morning we feel no courage, no energy for the practice of
virtue, this is a grace, this is the moment to “_lay the axe to the
root of the tree_”[101] depending solely on Jesus. If we fall all is
retrieved by an act of love, and Jesus smiles. He helps us without
appearing to do so, and the tears which the wicked cause Him to shed
are dried by our poor feeble love.
II LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
We must practice the little virtues. This is difficult sometimes, but
the good God never refuses the first grace, which gives courage to
conquer self: if the soul corresponds to it she will find that she
immediately receives light. I have ever been struck with those words
of praise to Judith: “_Thou hast done manfully, and thy heart has been
strengthened._”[102] We must first act with courage, then the heart is
strengthened and we go from victory to victory.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
My God, how varied are the ways by which Thou dost lead souls. In
reading the Lives of the Saints we find a great number of whom nothing
has remained to us after their death: not the smallest souvenir, not a
written line. Others there are, on the contrary, like our Holy Mother
Saint Teresa, who have enriched the Church with their sublime doctrine,
not fearing _to reveal the secrets of the King_,[103] in the hope that
souls might know Him better and love Him more. Which of these two ways
pleases our Lord best? It seems to me that they are equally pleasing
to Him.
All the well-beloved of God have followed the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit by whom the Prophet wrote: “_Say to the just that all is
well._”[104] Yes, all is well when we seek only the Divine Will.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IX
How narrow are the thoughts of creatures! When they see that a soul has
lights which surpass their own, they conclude that the Divine Master
loves them less. Since when, then, has He lost the right to make use
of one of His creatures, in order to dispense to His children the
sustenance needful for them?
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. X
When we are grieved at our powerlessness to do good, our only resource
is to offer to God the works of others. In this you see the benefit of
the communion of Saints.
COUNSEL AND REMINISCENCES
Though I do not undervalue beautiful thoughts that seem to unite us
to God, I have long understood that we must carefully guard against
leaning too much upon them. The most sublime inspirations are nothing
without deeds.
Other souls, it is true, may draw therefrom much profit if they testify
humble gratitude to God for being permitted to share the feast of one
of His privileged children. But if the privileged one were to grow
vain of her spiritual riches, if her prayer resembled that of the
Pharisee, she herself would become like to a person starving to death
before a well-served table while all her guests take from it abundant
nourishment, and cast perhaps a look of envy on the possessor of so
much wealth.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. X
The Well-Beloved has no need of our glorious deeds nor of our fine
thoughts. If He desire sublime conceptions has He not His Angels, whose
knowledge surpasses infinitely that of the world’s greatest geniuses?
It is not then either intellect or talent that He looks for here
below.... He has called Himself _the Flower of the Field_[105] to show
us how much He cherishes simplicity.
XIV LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
To keep the word of Jesus, this is the sole condition of our happiness,
the proof of our love for Him; and this _word_--it seems to me that it
is Himself, since He is called the Uncreated _Word_ of the Father.
XVIII LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
Jesus needs neither books nor Doctors of Divinity in order to instruct
souls; He, the Doctor of Doctors, He teaches without noise of words.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VIII
As Text there is a verse which I utter unwillingly each day. It is
this: _“Inclinavi cor meum ad faciendas justificationes tuas in
æternum, propter retributionem_.” (I have inclined my heart to do Thy
justifications for ever, because of the reward.)[106] Interiorly, I
hasten to say: “O my Jesus, Thou knowest well that it is not for the
reward I serve Thee, but solely because I love Thee, and for the sake
of saving souls.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
In Heaven only shall we see the absolute truth concerning all things.
On earth, even in the Holy Scripture, there is a certain obscurity: it
grieves me to see differences in the translations; had I been a Priest
I would have learned Hebrew, so that I might be able to read the Word
of God in that human language in which He deigned to express it.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
We are not yet in our Fatherland, and temptation must purify us as gold
is purified by the action of fire.
XVIII LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
It is best not to expose oneself to the combat when defeat is certain.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IX
God is often satisfied with our desire of labouring for His glory.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. IX
A soul in the state of grace has nothing to fear from the demons, who
are cowards, capable of flight before the gaze of a child.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. I
_To the pure all is pure_,[107] the simple and upright soul sees not
evil in anything, since evil exists in impure hearts only and not in
material objects.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. VI
The good God has told us that in the Last Day He “_will wipe away all
tears from our eyes_,”[108] and without doubt, the more tears to be
dried, the greater will be the consolation.
III LETTER TO SR. MARIE DU SACRÉ-CŒUR
The Spouse in the Canticles, not having been able in repose to find her
Beloved, arose, she says and went about the city to seek Him, but in
vain ... she could not find Him save beyond the ramparts. It is not the
will of Jesus that we should find His adorable Presence without effort.
He hides Himself, He envelopes Himself with darkness.... It was not
thus He acted in regard to the multitudes, for we read in the Gospels
that the people were in admiration when He spoke.
Weak souls Jesus charmed by His divine utterances. He was trying to
render them strong for the day of temptation and of trial; but small,
truly, was the number of His faithful friends when _He was silent_[109]
before His judges. Oh, what melody for my heart is that silence of the
Divine Master.
XV LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
I have read in the Holy Gospel that the Divine Shepherd leaves in the
desert all His faithful flock, to go in haste after the sheep that
is lost. How touching is this confidence. He is sure of them, they
are captives of love--how could they break away? Even so does the
well-beloved Shepherd of our souls rob us of the sense of His presence
in order to give to sinners His consolations; or else, if He leads us
to Mount Thabor it is for one moment ... the valleys are nearly always
the place of pasture, _it is there He takes His repose at mid-day_.[110]
XVI LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
The sole crime with which Herod reproached our Lord was _folly_ ... and
frankly, that charge was true. Yes, it was folly to come seeking the
poor shallow hearts of mortals, therein to make His throne. He, the
King of Glory Who sitteth above the Cherubim! Was not His happiness
complete in the company of His Father and the Spirit of Love? Why come
to earth to seek out sinners and to make of them His friends, His
chosen companions?
XX LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
_Mary, breaking the fragile vase poured out upon the Head of her
Saviour a perfume of great price[111] and the whole house was filled
with the fragrance thereof._[112]
The Apostles murmured against Magdalene; and this it is which still
happens with regard to us: some, even of the most fervent Christians
think we (Carmelites) are exaggerated, that like Martha we ought to
serve Jesus, instead of consecrating to Him the vases of our lives with
the perfumes which are hidden within. And yet what matters it--the
breaking of these vases--since our Lord is consoled, and the world in
spite of itself is made sensible of the fragrance they exhale. And oh!
how necessary are these perfumes to purify the unhealthy atmosphere
that it breathes.
XX LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
“One day when I was in tears,” relates a novice, “Sister Thérèse of the
Child Jesus told me to acquire a habit of hiding my little troubles,
adding that nothing renders community life more difficult than
inequality of temperament.
“You are quite right,” I answered, “I have thought so myself, and in
future I shall never cry but when alone with the good God; to Him only
shall I confide my trials, He will always understand and console me.”
“Shed tears before the good God!” she replied with vivacity, “take
care you do no such thing. Still less, by far, before Him than before
creatures ought you to exhibit signs of sadness. He has but our
monasteries, this dear Master, to rejoice His Heart; He comes amongst
us to find a little repose, to forget the continual lamentations of His
friends in the world who for the most part, instead of recognizing the
value of the Cross, meet it with repining and with tears; and would
you behave like the generality of people?... Frankly that is not
disinterested love--disinterested love is _for us to console Jesus, not
for Him to console us_.
“He is, I know, so kind of heart that if you weep He will dry your
tears; but afterwards He will go away quite sorrowful, not being able
to find in you the repose He sought. Jesus loves the joyous heart,
He loves the ever smiling soul. When will you learn to _hide_ your
troubles from Him, or to tell Him in gladsome tones that you are happy
to suffer for His sake?”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
The soul is reflected in the countenance: like to a little child always
content, your countenance should be invariably calm and serene. When
you are alone be still the same, because you are ever in the Angels’
sight.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
Our Divine Lord wishes to have His court here below as on High, He
desires angel-martyrs, angel-apostles.
XI LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
A sister, greatly grieved at seeing her so ill often exclaimed: “Oh,
how sad is life!” But Sœur Thérèse would at once correct her, saying:
“Life is not sad, but on the contrary most joyful. If you said ‘How sad
is our exile,’ I should understand you. It is erroneous to give the
name, ‘_life_,’ to that which must end. Only to the things of Heaven,
to that which shall never know death, should the true name of ‘_life_’
be given; and in this signification life is not sad but joyful--joyous
exceedingly!...”
Her own gaiety was delightful to witness.
For several days she had been much better and the novices said to her:
“We do not yet know of what malady you will die....”
“But I shall die _of death_! Did not God tell Adam of what he would
die, saying to him: Thou shalt die of death?” (In the French: “_Tu
mourras de mort._”)[113]
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
It is not Death that will come to fetch me, it is the good God. Death
is no phantom, no horrible spectre, as represented in pictures. In the
Catechism it is stated that _death is the separation of soul and body_,
that is all! Well, I am not afraid of a separation which will unite me
to the good God for ever.
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
One day she said to the Mother Prioress:
“Mother, I beseech you, give me permission to die.... Let me offer my
life for ...” mentioning the intention.
And this permission being refused:
“Very well,” she resumed, “I know that at this moment the good God so
much desires _a little bunch of grapes_ which no one wishes to present
to Him, that He will certainly be forced to come and steal it.... I
ask nothing, for that would be to depart from my way of abandonment, I
merely beg the Blessed Virgin Mary to recall to her Jesus the title of
_Thief_ which He gives Himself in the holy Gospel, so that He may not
forget to come to _steal_ me away.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
“Will the Divine Thief be coming very soon to steal His little bunch of
grapes?” some one asked.
I see Him afar off, and I take good care not to cry out “Stop Thief!!!”
On the contrary I call Him saying: “This way! this way!”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
The Chaplain asked me: “Are you resigned to die?” I said: “Ah! Father,
I find it would be for living that I should need resignation, but as
regards dying, I feel only joy.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
“You will be placed amid the Seraphim in Heaven,” a novice said.
“If that should happen, I shall not imitate them; they cover
themselves with their wings at the sight of God. I shall take good
care not to cover myself with my wings!”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
“Under what name should we pray to you when you are in Heaven?” they
asked her. She answered humbly: “You will call me ‘little Thérèse.’
(‘_petite Thérèse._’)”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
“You will look upon us from the heights of heaven, will you not?”
“No, I shall come down.”
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
“After my death I shall let fall a shower of roses.”
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
FOOTNOTES:
[98] _Cf._ Wisdom, iv, 12.
[99] Eccles., i, 2.
[100] _Imit._, I, 1, 3.
[101] Matt., iii, 10.
[102] Judith, xv, 11.
[103] Tobias, xii.
[104] _Cf._ Isaias, iii, 10.
[105] Cant., ii, I.
[106] Ps., cxviii, 112.
[107] Titus, i, 15.
[108] Apoc., xxi, 4.
[109] Matt., xxvi, 65.
[110] Cant., i, 6.
[111] _Cf._ Marc., xiii, 3.
[112] _Cf._ John, xii, 3.
[113] _Cf._ Gen., ii, 17.
_PRAYER FOR THE BEATIFICATION OF THE SERVANT OF GOD_
∵
O Jesus, who, to put our pride to confusion didst will to become a
little child, and who later pronounced that solemn decree: “_Unless ye
become as little children ye shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven_,”
deign to listen to our humble prayer in regard to her who lived
perfectly that life of _spiritual childhood_, and who has so well
recalled to us the way.
O little Babe of Bethlehem, by the ineffable charms of Thy Divine
Infancy, O adorable Face of Jesus, by the humiliations of Thy
Passion, we implore, that if it be for the glory of God and for the
sanctification of souls, the halo of the Blessed may soon irradiate the
pure brow of Thy childlike spouse, Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of
the Holy Face.
O God, who didst inflame with Thy Spirit of Love the soul of Thy
Servant, Thérèse of the Child Jesus, grant that we also may love Thee
and may make Thee greatly loved.
[_Adapted from a prayer of Sœur Thérèse._]
100 days’ indulgence.
✠ CARD. BOURNE, _Arch. of Westminster_.
August 1, 1912.
* * * * *
Transcriber’s note
Minor punctuation errors have been changed without notice. Spelling has
been retained as published.
The following printer errors have been changed.
=CHANGED FROM TO=
Table of
Contents: “DETATCHMENT 71” “DETACHMENT 71”
Page 29: “MARIE-FRANÇOISE-THÉRÉSE” “MARIE-FRANÇOISE-THÉRÈSE”
Footnote 29: “Is., Iiii, 3.” “Is., liii, 3.”
Page 144: “Some one was speaking to” “Someone was speaking to”
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