| Age | Sources and Pages | Code Number | Quotations | Relevant Key Words, Phrases and Their Code Numbers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | SS 62. |
12-10-1 |
…Alas! my trial was only commencing! The next day I had another
attack similar to the first,
and the sickness became so grave that, according to human calculations, I wasn't
to recover from it. I can't describe this strange sickness, but I'm
now convinced
it was the work of the devil. For a long time after my cure, however, I believed
I had become ill on purpose and this was
a real martyrdom for my soul. I told Marie this and with her usual kindness she reassured me. I told it too in confession and my confessor tried to calm me, saying it was not possible to pretend illness to the extent that I had been ill. God, willing no doubt to purify and especially to humble me, left me this interior martyrdom until my entrance into Carmel, where the Father of our souls, as with the wave of his hand, removed all my doubts. Since then I am perfectly calm. |
2-10-1 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 16-10-1 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
| 10 | SS 67. |
12-10-2 | …Without any doubt, if I had kept my secret I would also have kept my happiness, but the Blessed Virgin permitted this torment for my soul's good, as perhaps without it I would have had some thought of vanity, whereas humiliation becoming my lot, I was unable to look upon myself without a feeling of profound horror. Ah! what I suffered I shall not be able to say except in heaven! |
2-10-3 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials) |
| 15 | GCI 403, March 18- 19, 1888, from Sr. Agnes of Jesus |
12-15-1 |
…Don't you see at last the mountain of Carmel. It is there, for intimacy
with Jesus
you will live hidden in His Heart…. Oh! yes,
HIDDEN! I desire
that Jesus' little toy be not admired by anyone in this world. If Jesus
wills to play with a grain of sand, He is free, the whole earth is His.
Why does He not always take the most beautiful souls for His spouses? Why,
instead of a grain of sand, does He not play with a diamond?
But Jesus
loves humility. Jesus loves what does not appear before the eyes of men,
what they trample underfoot, what they despise. Oh! humility, how beautiful
it is! Jesus loves it so much that He seeks for it everywhere on
the earth in order to make His heaven out of it. But it is rare. All
the beautiful, the truly beautiful is almost not to be found here below. I am sure that the little grain of sand understands me and that it will not ever wish to become a mountain, but, on the contrary, always little, lighter, in order to be lifted more easily by the breeze of love. |
3-15-2 (Silence, Hidden), 7-15-3 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 10-15-1 (Littleness), 16-15-3 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 39-15-5 (Pauline) |
| 15 | SS 207. |
12-15-2 | … It is He who wants her to be a Saint! Oh, yes, a saint, a big saint and, at the same time, a little saint, so little and so humble that He can read always on her face and in her heart the words of the Blessed Virgin which she will have to say when entering: “I am the Handmaid of the Lord.” |
10-15-2 (Littleness), 21-15-1 (A Saint), 39-15-6 (Pauline) |
| 16 | GCI 537, Feb. 28, 1889, LT 82: to Celine. |
12-16-1 |
Oh! how it costs to give Jesus what He asks!…What joy that it
costs…
What an unspeakable
joy to carry our Crosses
FEEBLY… Has
the Lily-immortelle understood the poor grain of sand?….Your novitiate
is one of sorrow; what and inexplicable privilege…. Ah! dear little sister, far from complaining to Jesus about the Cross he is sending us, I cannot understand the infinite love that has drawn Him to treat us in this way…. Our dear Father must be much loved by Jesus to have to suffer this way, but don't you find that the misfortune that is striking him is really the complement of his beautiful life?… I feel, little Lily-Immortelle, that I am speaking real follies to you, but it does not matter. I still think very many others things about the love of Jesus which are perhaps much stronger than what I am saying to you….What a joy to be humbled; it is the only thing that makes saints!… Can we doubt now the will of Jesus concerning our souls?… Life is only a dream, and soon we shall wake up, and what joy… the greater our sufferings are the more infinite will be our glory…. Oh, let us not lose the trial that Jesus is sending us, it is a gold mine to be exploited. Are we going to miss the chance?… The grain of sand wants to get to work, without joy, without courage, without strength, and it is all these titles which will facilitate the enterprise for it; it wants to work through love. |
2-16-19 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 14-16-7 (The Little Way), 16-16-7 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-16-8 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 21-16-1 (A Saint), 23-16-7 (The Joy of Sufferings), 37-16-4 (Time), |
| 16 | GCI 579, Jul.? or Aug.?, 1889, LT 95: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
12-16-2 | …Dear lamb, how good it is to work for Jesus alone, for Him ALONE!… Oh, then, how full the heart is, how light one feels…. Little Belloni of Jesus, pray for the poor little grain of sand, that the grain of sand be always in its place, that is to say, under the feet of all, that no one may think of it, that its existence be, so to speak, unknown. The grain of sand does not desire to be humbled; this is still too glorious since one would be obliged to be occupied with it. It desires only one thing, to be FORGOTTEN, counted for nothing!… |
2-16-29 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 7-16-12 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 11-16-4 (Nothingness), 39-16-6 (Pauline) |
| 16 | GCI 595, Nov. 21, 1889, LC 119: from Sr. Marie of the Angels. |
12-16-3 | …Attached yourself to the Cross like
the ivy in order to die there if
Jesus so wills. May divine suffering be the center of your life; plunge
into this bottomless ocean, and may it engulf you as it did Jesus, for
there alone are life and happiness.
Always love to be little, so little
that the eyes of Jesus only may find you! Little grain of dust,
be unseen
by all in order to be seen by God alone. Be filled with confidence that good Jesus will do everything; rejoice at being poor, at feeling yourself so poor in order that, little beggar, you may have everything from the infinite charity and love of Jesus! Take flight to the All of your heart with wings of humility, simplicity, and love. Jesus loves you with a tender predilection, so pay Him in return, and be happy to love Jesus in suffering for Jesus! |
2-16-34 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 4-16-2 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 8-16-2 (Weakness, Frailty), 9-16-1 (Poor in Spirit), 10-16-2 (Humility, Humbleness), 14-16-14 (The Little Way), 16-16-14 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-16-16 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 23-16-12 (The Joy of Sufferings), 31-16-2 (Simplicity of the Soul), 44-16-2 (Reveals to the Little Ones) |
| 17 | GCI 630- 631, July 18, 1890, LT 109: to Celine. |
12-17-1 |
(Open to me, my sister, my beloved, for my
face is covered with dew, my
locks with the drops of night) (Cant. of Cant. 5:2.). That is what Jesus says
to our soul when He is abandoned and forgotten!…
Celine, forgetfulness,
it seems to me that it's this which causes Him the greatest
sorrow!… Papa!… Ah, Celine, I cannot tell you all I am thinking, it would take too long, and how say things that the mind itself can hardly express, deep things that are in the innermost recesses of the soul…. Jesus has sent us the best chosen Cross that He was able to find in His immense love…how can we complain when He Himself was looked upon as a man struck by God and humbled!… The divine charm delights my soul and consoles it in a marvelous way, at each moment of the day!… Ah, the tears of Jesus, what smiles!… |
2-17-10 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 17-17-5 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 29-17-5 (Consolation), 37-17-2 (Time), 50-17-1 (Jesus's Wounds, Pains and Tears) |
| 17 | GCI 677- 678, Sept. 8, 1890, LC 141: from Sr. Marie of the Angels. |
12-17-2 |
Little virginal Spouse of Jesus, the Lamb, if you wish to follow Him one day
with the virgins in the homeland, follow Him each day in the path which He
traces out for you and which was His own!
May the cross, suffering, humility,
sublime poverty be your whole ambition, your joy! Love little Jesus. The gentle little Child became today your Spouse, and for Him make yourself little, very little, too, so well hidden in His Heart that He alone, His Immaculate Mother, and the angels of heaven may find you. |
2-17-11 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 3-17-6 (Silence, Hidden), 10-17-1 (Littleness), 23-17-4 (The Joy of Sufferings) |
22 | SS 14. |
12-22-1 |
…
Perfection consists in doing His will,
in being what He wills us to be. I understood, too, that Our Lord's love is revealed as perfectly in the most simple soul that resists His grace in nothing as in the most excellent soul; in fact, since the nature of love is to humble oneself,… |
2-22-1 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 14-22-1 (The Little Way), 16-22-1 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-22-1 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 24-22-1 (Mercy of God, Graces) |
| 22 | SS 14 -15. |
12-22-2 | … Just as the sun shines simultaneously on the tall cedars and on each little flower as though it were alone on the earth, so Our Lord is occupied particularly with each soul as though there were no others like it. And just as in nature all the seasons are arranged in such a way as to make the humblest daisy bloom on a set day, in the same way, everything works out for the good of each soul. |
16-22-2 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 24-22-2 (Mercy of God, Graces) |
| 22 | SS 179. |
12-22-3 | How sweet is the way of love, dear Mother. True, one can fall or commit infidelities, but, knowing how to draw profit from everything, love quickly consumes everything that can be displeasing to Jesus; it leaves nothing but a humble and profound peace in the depths of the heart. |
17-22-4 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 28-22-1 (Peace) |
| 23 | GCII 1030, Dec. 4, 1896, LT 203: to Mother Agnes of Jesus. |
12-23-1 | Little Mother is altogether too darling! … If she does not know what she is, I myself know it well and I LOVE her! … Oh, yes! but how pure my affection is!… It is that of a child who admires the humility of its Mother. You do me more good than all the books in the world!… |
17-23-14 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 35-23-2 (Books), 39-23-1 (Pauline) |
| 24 | SS 206 |
2-24-1 | …From the bottom of my heart I want to thank you for not sparing me. Jesus knew very well that His little flower stood in need of the living waters of humiliation, for she was too weak to take root without this kind of help, and it was through you, dear Mother, that this blessing was given to me. |
2-24-1 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 8-24-1 (Weakness, Frailty), |
| 24 | SS 244. |
12-24-2 | …I cannot say that Jesus makes me walk the way of humiliations exteriorly. He is content to humble me in the depths of my soul; in the eyes of creatures I succeed in everything. I travel the road of honors insofar as this is possible in religion. I understand that it is not for my sake but for that of others that I must walk this road which appears so dangerous…. |
2-24-16 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials) |
| 24 | GCII 1085, Apr. 25, 1897, LT 226: to l'abbe Bell- iere. |
12-24-3 |
…Oh, Brother!
I beg you to believe me. God has not given you as a sister
a great soul but a very little and a very imperfect one. Do not think that it is humility that prevents me from acknowledging the gifts of God. I know He has done great things in me, and I sing of this each day with joy. I remember that the one must love more who has been forgiven more, so I take care to make my life an act of love, and I am no longer disturbed at being a little soul; on the contrary, I take delight in this. That is why I dare to hope “my exile will be short,” but it is not because I am prepared. I feel that I shall never be prepared if the Lord does not see fit to transform me Himself. He can do so in one instant; after all the graces He has granted me, I still await this one from His infinite mercy. |
8-24-8 (Weakness, Frailty), 10-24-7 (Littleness), 24-24-7 (Mercy of God, Grace), 42-24-4 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 24 | GCII 1121 -1122, Jun. 7, 1897, LT 243: to Sr. Gene- vieve. |
12-24-4 |
…Beloved little Sister, let us never speak what appears great in the eyes
of creatures. Solomon, the wisest king whoever was on earth, having
considered the different works that occupy men under the sun, painting,
sculpture, all the arts, understood that all these things were subject
to envy; he cried out that
they were only vanity and affliction of spirit!…
The only thing that is not envied is the last place; there is, then,
only this last place which is not vanity and affliction of spirit…. However, “the way of man is not within his power,” (Jeremias 10:23.) and we surprise ourselves at times by desiring what sparkles. So let us line up humbly among the imperfect, let us esteem ourselves as little souls whom God must sustain at each moment. When He sees we are very much convinced of our nothingness, he extends His hand to us. If we still wish to attempt doing something great even under the pretext of zeal, Good Jesus leaves us all alone. “But when I said: ‘My foot has stumbled,’ your mercy, Lord, strengthened me! … Ps. XCIII.” (Psalm 93:18.) Yes, it suffices to humble oneself, to bear with one's imperfections. That is real sanctity! Let us take each other by the hand, dear little sister, and let us run to the last place … no one will come to dispute with us over it … |
8-24-10 (Weakness, Frailty), 10-24-10 (Littleness), 11-24-4 (Nothingness), 14-24-9 (The Little Way), 16-24-11 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 42-24-5 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 24 | GCII 1133, June 21, 1897, LT 247: to l'abbe Bell- iere. |
12-24-5 |
…I love them too, I love their repentance, and especially…
their loving audacity! When I see Magdalene walking up before
the many guests, washing with her tears the feet of her adored
Master, whom she is touching for the first time, I feel that
her heart has understood the abysses
of love and mercy of the
Heart of Jesus, and, sinner though she is, this Heart of love
was not only disposed to pardon her but to lavish on her the
blessings of His divine intimacy, to lift her to the highest
summits of contemplation. Ah! dear little Brother, ever since I have been given the grace to understand also the love of the Heart of Jesus, I admit that it has expelled all fear from my heart. The remembrance of my faults humbles me, draws me never to depend on my strength which is only weakness, but this remembrance speaks to me of mercy and love even more. |
5-24-5 (Prayer, Meditation, Contemplation), 8-24-11 (Weakness, Frailty), 14-24-11 (The Little Way), 17-24-15 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 24-24-11 (Mercy of God, Graces), 27-24-4 (Sinners, Sins), 34-24-2 (Repentence, Contrition), 45-24-3 (Magdalene) |
| 24 | GCII 1164 -1165, Jul. 26, 1897, LT 261: to l'abbe Bell- iere. |
12-24-6 | …Regarding those who love Him and who come after each indelicacy to ask His pardon by throwing themselves into His arms, Jesus is thrilled with joy. He says to His angels what the father of the prodigal son said to his servants: “ Clothe him in his best robe, and place a ring on his finger, and let us rejoice.” (Luke 15:22.) Ah! how little known are the goodness, the merciful love of Jesus, Brother!… It is true, to enjoy these treasures one must humble oneself, recognize one's nothingness, and that is what many souls do not want to do; but, little Brother, this is not the way you act, so the way of simple and loving confidence is really made for you. |
4-24-7 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 11-24-3 (Nothingness), 17-24-19 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 24-24-12 (Mercy of God, Graces) |
| 24 | LC 37 -38, Apr. 18. |
12-24-7 |
1. She had just confided to me
some painful humiliations some Sisters
had given her: “
It is in this way that God gives me the means of
remaining very little; however, this is exactly what is needed.
I'm always happy, for I always manage in the midst of the tempest
to preserve interior peace. If one tells me about her fights with the Sisters, I am careful not to work myself up against this or that Sister. I must, for example, while listening to her, be able to look out the window and enjoy interiorly the sight of sky, the trees, etc. Understand? Just now, during my struggle with regard to Sister X, I was watching with pleasure two beautiful magpies playing in the field, and I was as much at peace as if I were at prayer. I really fought with Sister, and I am very tired, but I don't fear the struggle. It is God's will that I fight right up until death. Oh! little Mother, pray for me!” |
2-24-26 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 10-24-11 (Littleness), 14-24-14 (The Little Way), 16-24-15 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 28-24-6 (Peace) |
| 24 | LC 116, July 29. |
12-24-8 |
2 A Sister reported this reflection
made during recreation: “Why are
they talking of Sister Therese as though she were a saint? She
practiced virtue. true, but it wasn't a virtue acquired through
humiliations and especially sufferings.” She said to me
afterwards: “ And I who suffered so much from my most tender childhood! Ah, how much good it does me to see the opinion of creatures, especially at the moment of my death!” |
2-24-50 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 21-24-6 (A Saint), 47-24-2 (Consistency of Spirituality), |
| 24 | LC 252, Aug. 2, |
12-24-9 | “I don't find any natural pleasure in being loved, coddled, but I find great pleasure in being humiliated. When I make a bad blunder which humiliates me and makes me see what I am, oh! then, I experience a natural pleasure; I experience a real joy such as you experience at being loved.” | 23-24-15 (The Joy of Sufferings) |
| 24 | LC 129, Aug. 3. |
12-24-10 |
2. I was telling her that she must have had to struggle a lot in
order to become perfect: “Oh, it's not that!” Novissima Verba adds (The authenticity of this text is questionable): And a little later she said: “Sanctity does not consist in this or that practice; it consists in a disposition of heart which makes us humble and little in the arms of God, conscious of our weakness, and confident to the point of audacity in the goodness of our Father.” |
8-24-17 (Weakness, Frailty), 10-24-14 (Littleness), 16-24-29 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 38-24-2 (Disposition) |
| 24 | LC 130, Aug. 3. |
12-24-11 |
5. I was talking to her
about
mortifications under the form of
penitential instruments: “We must be very restrained on this point, for often nature is involved in this matter more than anything else.” (*) Novissima Verba (Note:See the explanation on this book on pp. 8-9 of the LC) adds: She had told me on another occasion: “A passage in the life of Blessed Henry Suso struck me with regard to corporal penances. He had performed frightful penances which had destroyed his health; an angel appeared to him, telling him to stop. Then he added: ‘You are no longer to fight as a simple soldier; from this moment I shall arm you as a knight.’ And he made the Saint understand the superiority of the spiritual combat over corporal mortifications. “Well, little Mother, God didn't want me to be a simple soldier; I was armed from the beginning as a knight, and I went out to war against self in the spiritual domain, through self-denial in hidden sacrifices. I discovered peace and humility in this obscure struggle in which nature finds nothing for self.” |
1-24-9 (Self-love, Nature), 3-24-7 (Silence, Hidden), 7-24-22 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 28-24-11 (Peace), 33-24-2 (Penance, Mortification) |
| 24 | LC 131, Aug. 4. |
12-24-12 |
5. Someone brought her a sheaf of corn; she
detached the most beautiful one and said to me: “Mother, this ear of corn is the image of my soul: God has entrusted me with graces for myself and for many others.” Then fearing she had entertained a proud thought, she said: “ Oh, how I want to be humiliated and mistreated in order to see if I have humility of heart! However, when I was humbled on former occasions, I was very happy. Yes, it seems to me I am humble. God shows me truth; I feel so much that everything comes from Him.” |
20-24-6 (Truth), 24-24-21 (Mercy of God, Graces) |
| 24 | LC 140, Aug. 7. |
12-24-13 |
4. “Oh! If I were unfaithful, if I committed only the slightest
infidelity, I feel that I would pay for it with frightful
troubles, and I would no longer be able to accept death. Thus
I never cease to say to God: ‘O my God, I beg You, preserve
me from the misfortune of being unfaithful.’” I asked: “What infidelity are you speaking about?” “A proud thought voluntarily entertained. For example, if I were to say to myself: I have acquired a certain virtue, and I am certain I can practice it. For then, this would be relying upon my own strength, and when we do this, we run the risk of falling into the abyss. However, I will have the right of doing stupid things up until my death, if I am humble and if I remain little. Look at little children: they never stop breaking things, tearing things, falling down, and they do this even while loving their parents very, very much. When I fall in this way, it makes me realize my nothingness more and I say to myself: What would I do, and what would I become, if I were to rely upon my own strength? |
10-24-16 (Littleness), 11-24-6 (Nothingness) |
| 24 | LC 147, Aug. 12. |
12-24-14 |
3. “Ever since the ear of corn, my sentiments regarding myself are even
lower. But how great the grace is that I received this morning when
the priest began the Confiteor before giving me Communion, and all
the Sisters continued. I saw Jesus very close to giving Himself to
me, and this confession appears to me as such a necessary humiliation.
‘I confess to Almighty God, to Blessed Virgin Mary, to all the saints,
that I have sinned exceedingly ….’ Oh! yes, I said to myself, they
do well to beg pardon from God and all the saints for me at this moment….
Like the publican, I felt I was a great sinner.
I found God to be so
merciful! I found it so touching to address oneself to the whole heavenly
court to obtain God's pardon through its intercession. Ah! I could hardly
keep from crying, and when the Sacred Host touched my lips, I was really
moved. “How extraordinary it is to have experienced this at the Confiteor! I believe it's because of my present disposition; I feel so miserable! My confidence is not lessened, on the contrary; and the word ‘miserable’ is not exact, because I am rich with all the divine treasures; but it's exactly because of this that I humble myself even more. When I think of all the graces God gave me, I restrain myself so as not to shed tears of gratitude continually. “I believe the tears I shed this morning were tears of perfect contrition. Ah! how impossible it is to give oneself such sentiments! It is the Holy Spirit, who gives them, He who ‘breathes where he wills.’” (John 3:8.) |
2-24-58 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 14-24-28 (The Little Way), 18-24-1 (Holy Communion), 24-24-25 (Mercy of God, Graces), 26-24-1 (Confession), 27-24-10 (Sinners, Sins), 34-24-3 (Repentence, Contrition), 38-24-3 (Disposition), |
| 24 | LC 166, Aug. 23. |
12-24-15 |
9. She was telling me that all she had heard preached on
the Blessed Virgin hadn't touched her: “Let the priests, then, show us practicable virtues! It's good to speak of her privileges, but it's necessary above all that we can imitate her. She prefers imitation to admiration, and her life was so simple! However good a sermon is on the Blessed Virgin, if we are obliged all the time to say: Ah! … Ah! … we grow tired. How I like singing to her: The narrow road to heaven you have made visible (She said: easy) When practicing always the most humble virtues.” |
20-24-11 (Truth) |
| 24 | LC 195, Sep. 22. |
12-24-16 |
1. After having recalled several circumstances of her religious
life in which she had been terribly humiliated, I added:
“Oh! how many times I felt sorry for you!” “It wasn't necessary, I assure you, to be so sorry for me. If you only knew how I floated above all those things! I was going along strengthened by humiliations; there was no one as brave as I in the line of fire.” |
|
| 24 | LC 205, Sept. 30. |
12-24-17 |
“O Mother, present me quickly to the Blessed Virgin! I'm a
baby who
can't stand anymore!… Prepare me for death.” Mother Prioress told her that since she had always understood humility, her preparation was already made. She reflected a moment and spoke these words humbly: “Yes, it seems to me I never sought anything but the truth; yes, I have understood humility of heart.... It seems to me I'm humble.” She repeated once more: “All I wrote about my desires for suffering. Oh! it's true just the same!”… “And I am not sorry for delivering myself up to Love.” With insistence: “Oh! no, I'm not sorry; on the contrary!” A little later: “Never would I have believed it was possible to suffer so much! never! never! I cannot explain this except by the ardent desires I have had to save souls.” |
2-24-78 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 20-24-14 (Truth), 22-24-10 (Salvation of Souls) |
| age ? |
LC 212 -213. from a note of Celine. |
12--18 |
When the promoter of the faith asked me at the canonical
process: “Why do you desire the beatification of Sister
Therese of the Child Jesus?” I answered that
it was solely
that her Little Way might become known to the world. I spoke
of it as a “Little Way” because the saint has consistently
used this expression when referring to that particular road
along which she was traveling to union with God. It was,
what we might call, the symbol of her school of spirituality. The promoter of the faith warned me, however: “Once you begin to speak of a special Way, the Cause is infallibly doomed; innumerable cases on record bear abundant witness to that.” “That is indeed too bad,” I replied, “but a fear of hindering the beatification of Sister Therese could never deter me from stressing the only important point that interests me – that her Little Way might be raised with her, so to speak, to the honors of the altar.” So I held out; nor did the cause suffer as a result. In fact, everything relating to the process began to move so rapidly that it was only a few years later that the decree on the heroicity of the virtues of Sister Therese was promulgated by the Sovereign Pontiff, Benedict XV. On that day, August 14, 1921, when His Holiness in his discourse officially raised The Way of Spiritual Childhood to its exalted rank in the life of the Church, my joy reached heights never again attained, not even on those other memorable days when my little sister Therese was first beatified and then canonized by Holy Mother Church. (note:an additional observation made by Celine, See pp.212-213 of the LC.) Through that hidden wisdom which is revealed to little ones, Therese possessed a special faculty for discovering again this door to eternal life and of pointing it out to others. Her Little Way was, in practice, the virtue of humility. But it also established her, unmistakably in the spirit of childhood. She used to delight in pointing out to me various passages of the Gospel where there is reference to this spirit of childhood. |
10--20 (Littleness), 14--32 (The Little Way) |