| Age | Sources and Pages | Code Number | Quotations | Relevant Key Words, Phrases and Their Code Numbers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | SS 25. |
2-3-1 | …Having nothing but good example around me, I naturally wanted to follow it. This is what she wrote in 1876: "Even Therese wants to do little acts of penance at times…. |
33-3-1 (Penance, Mortification), |
| 3? | SS 28 -29. |
2-3-2 | "The other day she was at the grocery store with Celine and Louise. She was talking about her practices. She was doing this rather loudly with Celine and the woman in the store said to Louise: ‘What does she mean by these little practices? When she's playing in the garden that's all she talks about.’ Mme. Gaucherin listens at the window trying to understand what this debate about practices means. |
33-3-2 (Penance, Mortification) |
| 4~ 14. |
SS 30 |
2-4-1 | …I had to pass through the crucible of trial and to suffer from my childhood in order to be offered earlier to Jesus. Just as the flowers of spring begin to grow under the snow and to expand in the first rays of the sun, so the little flower whose memories I am writing had to pass through the winter of trial (note:continue to 14 years old). | |
| 5 | SS 35. |
2-5-1 | And still I continued to be surrounded with the most delicate tenderness. Our Father's very affectionate heart seemed to be enriched now with a truly maternal love! You and Marie, Mother, were you not the most tender and selfless of mothers? Ah! if God had not showered His beneficent rays upon His little flower, she could never have accustomed herself to earth, for she was too weak to stand up against the rains and the storms. She needed warmth, a gentle dew, and the springtime breezes. Never were these lacking. Jesus had her find them beneath the snow of trial! |
8-5-1 (Weakness, Frailty), 39-5-1 (Pauline) |
| 5 | SS 42. |
2-5-2 | …The first I did understand and which touched me deeply was a sermon on the Passion … | |
| 6~ 7 |
SS 47. |
2-6-1 | It is from the midst of this ineffable glory where he reigns in heaven that our dear Father obtained for us the grace to understand the vision his little Queen had at an age when illusions are not to be feared. It is from the midst of glory he obtained this sweet consolation of understanding that God, ten years before our great trial, was already showing it to us. He was doing this as a Father who gives His children a glimpse of the glorious future He is preparing for them and is pleased to have them consider in advance the priceless riches which will be their heritage. |
24-6-1 (Mercy of God, Graces), 25-6-2 (Glory), 29-6-1 (Consolation) |
| 6~ 7 |
SS 47. |
2-6-2 | …How good God really is! How He parcels out trials only according to the strength He gives us…. | |
| 8 and a half |
SS 53. |
2-8-1 | …The five years I spent in school were the saddest in my life, and if I hadn't had Celine with me, I couldn't have remained there and would have become sick in a month…. | |
| 8 and a half |
SS53. | 2-8-2 | As I was timid and sensitive by nature, I didn't know how to defend myself and was content to cry without saying a word and without complaining even to you about what I was suffering. I didn't have enough virtue, however, to rise above these miseries of life, so my poor little heart suffered very much. | |
| 8~9 | SS 72. |
2-8-3 | When reading the accounts of the patriotic deeds of French heroines, especially the Venerable JOAN OF ARC, I had a great desire to imitate them; and it seemed I felt within me the same burning zeal with which they were animated, the same heavenly inspiration. Then I received a grace which I have always looked upon as one of the greatest in my life because at that age I wasn't receiving the lights I'm now receiving when I am flooded with them. I considered that I was born for glory and when I searched out the means of attaining it, God inspired in me the sentiments I have just described. He made me understand my own glory would not be evident to the eyes of mortals, that it would consist in becoming a great saint! This desire could certainly appear daring if one were to consider how weak and imperfect I was, and how, after seven years in the religious life, I still am weak and imperfect. I always feel, however, the bold confidence of becoming a great saint because I don't count on my merits since I have none, but I trust in Him who is Virtue and Holiness. God alone, content with my weak efforts, will raise me to Himself and make me a saint, clothing me in His infinite merits. I didn't think then that one had to suffer very much to reach sanctity, but God was not long in showing me this was so and in sending me the trials I have already mentioned. |
4-8-1 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 8-8-1 (Weakness, Frailty), 14-8-1 (The Little Way), 16-8-1 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 21-8-1 (A Saint), 24-8-1 (Mercy of God, Grace), 25-8-2 (Glory), |
| 9 | SS 57 -58. |
2-9-1 | …This was no doubt not said seriously, but little Therese had taken it seriously; and how she suffered when she heard her dear Pauline speaking one day to Marie about her coming entrance into Carmel. I didn't know what Carmel was, but I understood that Pauline was going to leave me to enter a convent. I understood, too, she would not wait for me and I was about to lose my second Mother! Ah! how can I express the anguish of my heart! In one instant, I understood what life was; until then, I had never seen it so sad; but it appeared to me in all its reality, and I saw it was nothing but a continual suffering and separation. I shed bitter tears because I did not yet understand the joy of sacrifice. I was weak, so weak that I consider it a great grace to have been able to support a trial which seemed to be far above my strength! |
8-9-1 (Weakness, Frailty), 23-9-1 (The Joy of Sufferings), 24-9-1 (Mercy of God, Grace), 39-9-1 (Pauline) |
| 9 | SS 59 -60. |
2-9-2 | …I readily admit that it should not have been as great, since I had the hope of finding you again in Carmel; but my soul was FAR from being mature, and I was to pass through many crucibles of suffering before attaining the end I so much desired. October 2[note:1882] was the day set for my return to the Abbey, and I had to go there in spite of my sadness. In the afternoon, Aunt came to get us to go to Carmel and I saw my Pauline behind the grille. Ah! how I suffered from this visit to Carmel! Since I am writing the story of my soul, I must tell my dear Mother everything, and I admit that the sufferings which preceded your entrance were nothing in comparison with those which followed it. Every Thursday we went as a family to Carmel and I, accustomed to talk heart to heart with Pauline, obtained with great trouble two or three minutes at the end of the visit. It is understood, of course, that I spent them in crying and left with a broken heart. I didn't understand that it was through consideration for Aunt that you were directing your words to Jeanne and Marie instead of speaking to your little girls. I didn't understand and I said in the depths of my heart:”Pauline is lost to me!” It is surprising to see how much my mind developed in the midst of suffering; it developed to such a degree that it wasn't long before I became sick. |
39-9-3 (Pauline) |
| 9? | GCI 150, Nov. 1882, (?) LC4: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-9-3 | …Yes, gather always these hidden little flowers about which we used to speak so much in the past!… |
3-9-1 (Silence, Hidden), 39-9-5 (Pauline), |
| 9? | GCI 152, Nov. -Dec. 1882, (?) LT9: to Mother Marie de Gon- zague. |
2-9-4 | …So I want to correct myself, and, into each little hole, put a pretty little flower which I'll offer to little Jesus to prepare myself for my First Communion…. |
7-9-1 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 18-9-1 (Holy Communion) |
| 9- 10 |
GCI 157, End of Dec., 1882, or Jan., 1883, LC7: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-9-5 | …you may merit these caresses by very many efforts and by love. |
7-9-2 (Renunciation, Forget Self), |
| 10 | SS 62. |
2-10-1 |
…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. |
12-10-1 (Humility, Humbleness), 16-10-1 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity |
| 10 | SS66. | 2-10-2 | …Alas! just as I had felt, my happiness was going to disappear and change into bitterness. The memory of the ineffable grace I had received was a real spiritual trial for me for the next four years, and I was not to find my happiness again until I was kneeling at the feet of Our Lady of Victories. At this time, my happiness was restored to me in all its fullness. | |
| 10 | SS 67. |
2-10-3 | …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! |
12-10-2 (Humility, Humbleness) |
| 10 | GCI 167, April 17, 1883, LD from Fr. P. Pichon to Marie. |
2-10-4 | …Teach her, above all, to kiss the adorable Hand that places her upon the Cross. (Fr. Pichon to Marie) | |
| 11~ 12? |
SS 27. |
2-11-1 | This little incident of my childhood is a summary of my whole life; later on when perfection was set before me, I understood that to become a saint one had to suffer much, seek out always the most perfect thing to do and forget self. I understood, too, there were many degree of perfection and each soul was free to respond to the advances of Our Lord, to do little or much for Him, in a word, to choose among the sacrifices He was asking. Then, as in the days of my childhood, I cried out: “My God ‘I choose all!’ I don't want to be a saint by halves, I'm not afraid to suffer for You, I fear only one thing: to keep my own will; so take it, for ‘I choose all’ that You will!” |
7-11-1 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 14-11-1 (The Little Way), 16-11-1 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 21-11-1 (A Saint) |
| 11 | SS 79 -80. |
2-11-2 | The day after my communion, the words of Marie came to my mind. I felt born within my heart a great desire to suffer, and at the same time the interior assurance that Jesus reserved a great number of crosses for me. I felt myself flooded with consolations so great that I look upon them as one of the greatest graces of my life. Suffering became my attraction; it had charms about it which ravished me without my understanding them very well. Up until this time, I had suffered without loving suffering, but since this day I felt a real love for it. I also felt the desire of loving only God, of finding my joy only in Him. Often during my Communions, I repeated these words of the Imitation:“ O Jesus, unspeakable sweetness, change all the consolations of this earth into bitterness for me.” This prayer fell from my lips without effort, without constraint; it seemed I repeated it not with my will but like a child who repeats the words a person he loves has inspired in him. |
5-11-1 (Prayer, Meditation, Contemplation), 14-11-3 (The Little Way), 17-11-2 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 18-11-2 (Holy Communion), 24-11-1 (Mercy of God, Grace), 29-11-1 (Consolation) |
| 11 | GCI 180, Jan. 1884, (?), LC 19: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-11-3 |
…Oh! how happy the Child Jesus must be when His little Therese places on
His crib the perfumed harvest of her efforts and her little acts of love!…
How beautiful must His smile be! And how His little arms must press
the dear
bouquet of virtues and the little flower girl also gently to His Heart. You see, dear Therese, there are so many bad people who make the Child Jesus' tears flow immediately… there are so many, so many! That you must console Him a little and dry our Jesus' little tears as much as possible! |
7-11-2 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 14-11-4 (The Little Way), 39-11-2 (Pauline), 50-11-1 (Jesus's Wounds, Pains and Tears), |
| 11 | GCI 186, Feb. 21(?), 1884, LC 22: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-11-4 |
I think you are always busily cultivating
the little garden of our heart….
You must, for in a few days the planting of the flowers will begin. Oh, Therese, just think! in hardly three months little Jesus will come to rest in your heart for the very first time! And who is this little Jesus? He is the same, yes, the same one whom the Blessed Virgin held in her arms, whom she wrapped in swaddling clothes, laid in the manger, and rocked on her knees! It is this little Child, so beautiful, so ravishing, who today makes up heaven's delights! It is He!… |
15-11-3 (Union with Jesus), 39-11-3 (Pauline) |
| 11 | GCI 189, Feb. 29, 1884, LC 24: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-11-5 | Sister Therese of St. Augustine gave me this little chaplet of practices for you, and Marie will explain how you are to use it. |
7-11-3 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 14-11-5 (The Little Way) |
| 11 | GCI 190, Mar. 1-6, 1884, LT 11: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-11-6 | Every day, I try to perform as many practices as I can, and I do all in my power not to let a single occasion pass by. I am saying at the bottom of my heart the little prayers which form the perfume of roses, as often as I can. |
5-11-2 (Prayer, Meditation, Contemplation), 7-11-4 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 14-11-6 (The Little Way), 39-11-5 (Pauline) |
| 11 | GCI 196, Apr. 5(?), 1884, LC 28: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-11-7 | …Ah! for me, too, undoubtedly, this day will be a heavenly day, but to me who am a grown-up Jesus will give Himself as a grown-up, that is, I will not see Him in His crib, as you will, my darling, but the Cross, and not with roses but with the love of His thorns, not with His smile but with His tears…. You must, then, beg from your little Jesus the grace for me to love Him as a grown-up, to live and die in the shadow of His Cross, refusing Him no sacrifices. |
24-11-3 (Mercy of God, Graces), 39-11-9 (Pauline) |
| 11 | SS80. | 2-11-8 | …On that day(Note:The Confirmation day), I received the strength to suffer, for soon afterwards the martyrdom of my soul was about to commence…. | |
| 12 | SS84. | 2-12-1 | …The year following my First Communion passed almost entirely without any interior trials for my soul. It was during my retreat for the second Communion that I was assailed by the terrible sickness of scruples. One would have to pass through this martyrdom to understand it well, and for me to express what I suffered for a year and a half would be impossible…. | |
| 12 | SS 88. |
2-12-2 | …It was Marie who guided, consoled, and aided me in the practice of virtue; she was my sole oracle, Pauline, no doubt, had remained well ahead in my heart, but Pauline was far, very far from me! I had suffered martyrdom getting accustomed to living without her, to seeing between me and her impassable walls. But finally I ended up by recognizing the sad reality: Pauline is lost to me, almost in the same manner as if she were dead. She always loved me, prayed for me, but in my eyes my dear Pauline had become a saint who was no longer able to understand the things of earth. And the miseries of her poor Therese, if she were aware of them, would only astonish her and prevent her from loving her Therese as much as she did. Besides, even when I would have desired to confide my thoughts to her as at Les Buissonnets, I could not have done so, for the visits at the Carmel were only for Marie. Celine and I had permission to come only at the end, just to have the time to break our heart. |
39-12-1 (Pauline) |
| 13 | SS90. | 2-13-1 | As soon as I learned of Marie's determination, I resolved to take no pleasure out of earth's attractions…. | |
| 13 | SS 97 -98. |
2-13-2 |
God would have to work a little miracle to make me grow up in an instant,
and this miracle He performed on that unforgettable Christmas day. On that
luminous night which sheds such light on the delights of
the Holy Trinity,
Jesus, the gentle, little Child of only one hour, changed the night of my
soul into rays of light.
On that night when He made Himself subject to
weakness and suffering for love of me, He made me strong and courageous,
arming me with His weapons. Since that
night I have never been defeated
in any combat, but rather walked from victory to victory,
beginning, so
to speak, “to run as a giant!” The source of my tears was
dried up and
has since re-opened rarely and with great difficulty. This justified what
was often said to me: “You cry so much during your childhood, you'll no
longer have tears to shed later on!” It was December 25, 1886, that I received the grace of leaving my childhood, in a word, the grace of my complete conversion. |
5-13-1 (Prayer, Meditation, Contemplation), 14-13-1 (The Little Way), 24-13-3 (Mercy of God, Graces), 49-13-1 (Trinity) |
| 14 | SS 99 -98. |
2-14-1 |
…He made me a fisher of souls.
I experienced a great desire to work for
the conversion of sinners, a desire I hadn't
felt so intensely before. I felt charity enter into my soul, and the need to forget myself and to please others; since then I've been happy! One Sunday, looking at a picture of Our Lord on the Cross, I was struck by the blood flowing from one of the divine hands. I felt a great pang of sorrow when thinking this blood was falling to the gound without anyone's hastening to gather it up. I was resolved to remain in spirit at the foot of the Cross and to receive the divine dew. I understood I was then to pour it out upon souls. The cry of Jesus on the Cross sounded continually in my heart: “I thirst!” (John 19:28.) These words ignited within me an unknown and very living fire. I wanted to give my Beloved to drink and I felt myself consumed with a thirst for souls. And yet, it was not the souls of priests that attracted me, but those of great sinners; I burned with desire to snatch them from the eternal flames. |
7-14-1 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 13-14-1 (Joyful Soul), 14-14-1 (The Little Way), 17-14-1 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 22-14-1 (Salvation of Souls), 27-14-1 (Sinners, Sins), |
| 14 | SS 102. |
2-14-2 | …I experienced already what God reserved for those who love Him (not with the eye but with the heart), and seeing the eternal rewards had no proportion to life's small sacrifices, I wanted to love, to love Jesus with a passion, giving Him a thousand proofs of my love while it was possible. |
14-14-2 (The Little Way), 17-14-3 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity) |
| 14 | SS 104. |
2-14-3 |
…As the Imitation says, God communicates Himself at times in the midst
of great splendor or “gently veiled, under shadows and figures.” It was
in this way He deigned to manifest Himself to our souls, but how light and
transparent the veil was which hid Jesus from our gaze! Doubt was impossible,
faith and hope were unnecessary, and Love made us find on earth the One whom
we were seeking. “Having found us alone, he gave
us his kiss, in order that
in the future no one could despise us.” (Canticle of Canticles 8:1.) Graces as great as this were not to be without fruit and it was abundant. The practice of virtue became sweet and natural to us. At the beginning, it is true, my face betrayed the struggle, but little by little this vanished and renunciation was easy, even the first call of grace, … |
7-14-2 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 17-14-4 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 24-14-3 (Mercy of God, Graces), 28-14-2 (Peace) |
| 14 | SS 106. |
2-14-4 | The place was Carmel. Before “resting in the shadow of him whom I desired,” (Canticle of Canticles 2:3.) I was to pass through many trials, but the divine call was so strong that had I been forced to pass through flames, I would have done it out of love for Jesus. |
17-14-6 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity) |
| 14 | SS 106. |
2-14-5 | I found only one soul to encourage me in my vocation, that of my dear Mother. My heart found a faithful echo in hers, and without her, perhaps, I would not have reached the blessed shore which received her five years before on its soil permeated with the heavenly dew. Yes, I was separated from you for five years, dear Mother, and I believed I'd lost you forever; at the moment of trials your hand pointed out the way I should follow…. |
29-14-2 (Consolation), 39-14-1 (Pauline) |
| 14 | SS 107. |
2-14-6 | …Shouldn't they help the timid child who was chosen by God to be the apostle of apostles through her prayers and sacrifices in Carmel?… |
5-14-1 (Prayer, Meditation, Contemplation) |
| 14 | SS 109. |
2-14-7 |
…He forbade me to speak about my vocation to him until I was seventeen.
It was contrary to human prudence, he said, to have a child of fifteen
enter Carmel. This Carmelite life was, in the eyes of many, a life of
mature reflection, and it would be doing a great wrong to the religious
life to allow an inexperienced child to embrace it. Everybody would be
talking about it, etc., etc. He even said that for him to decide to allow
me to leave would require a
miracle. I saw all reasoning with him was
useless and so I left, my heart plunged into
the most profound bitterness.
My only consolation was prayer. I begged
Jesus to perform the miracle
demanded, since at this price only I'd be able to answer His call. …I knew Jesus was there sleeping in my boat, but the night was so black it was impossible to see Him; nothing gave me any light, not a single flash came to break the dark clouds. No doubt, lightning is a dismal light, but at least if the storm had broken out in earnest I would have been able to see Jesus for one passing moment. But it was night! The dark night of the soul! I felt I was all alone in the garden of Gethsemani like Jesus, and I found no consolation on earth or from heaven; God Himself seemed to have abandoned me…. |
5-14-2 (Prayer, Meditation, Contemplation), 29-14-1 (Consolation), 43-14-1 (Darkness) |
| 14 | SS 114. |
2-14-8 |
…Ah!what that trip cost me! God had to give me a very
special grace
to overcome my timidity. It's also very true that “love never finds
impossibilities, because it believes everything is possible, everything
is permitted.” (TIC, III, 5:4.) It was surely only love of Jesus that
could help me
surmount these difficulties and the ones that followed, for it pleased
Him to have me buy my vocation with
very great trials. Today, when I am enjoying Carmel's solitude ( resting in the shadow of him whom I have so ardently desired (Canticle of Canticles 2:3.)), I find I paid very little for my happiness, and would be ready to bear with even greater trials to acquire it if I still didn't have it! |
17-14-8 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 24-14-6 (Mercy of God, Graces) |
| 14 | SS 118. |
2-14-9 | …Ah! how painful it was!It seemed my future was ruined forever. The more I approached the goal, the more I saw my affairs all mixed up. My soul was plunged into bitterness but into peace too, for I was seeking God's will. |
16-14-2 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 28-14-1 (Peace) |
| 14 | SS 125. |
2-14-10 | When I saw all these beauties very profound thoughts came to life in my soul. I seemed to understand already the grandeur of God and the marvels of heaven. The religious life appeared to me exactly as it is with its subjections, its small sacrifices carried out in the shadows. I understood how easy it is to become all wrapped up in self, forgetting entirely the sublime goal of one's calling. I said to myself: When I am a prisoner in Carmel and trials come my way and I have only a tiny bit of the starry heavens to contemplate, I shall remember what my eyes have seen today. This thought will encourage me and I shall easily forget my own little interests, recalling the grandeur and power of God, this God whom I want to love alone. |
1-14-2 (Self -love, Nature), 3-14-1 (Silence, Hidden), 7-14-4 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 14-14-6 (The Little Way), 17-14-10 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity) |
| 14 | SS 131 -132. |
2-14-11 | …She became my saint of predilection, my intimate confidante. Everything in her thrilled me, especially her abandonment, her limitless confidence which made her capable of virginizing souls who had never desired any other joys but those of the present life. St.Cecilia is like the bride in the Canticle; in her I see “a choir in an armed camp.” (Canticle of Canticles 7:1.) Her life was nothing else but a melodious song in the midst of the greatest trials, and this does not surprise me because “the Gospel rested on her heart,” and in her heart reposed the Spouse of Virgins! |
4-14-1 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 14-14-7 (The Little Way), 21-14-1 (A Saint) |
| 14 | SS 133. |
2-14-12 | …My heart beat strongly and my prayers were fervent when Jesus descended into the hands of His Pontiff. However, I was filled with confidence, for the Gospel of the day contained these beautiful words: “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32.) No, I did not fear, I hoped the kingdom of Carmel would soon belong to me;I was not thinking then of those other words of Jesus: “And I appoint to you a kingdom even as my Father has appointed to me…” (Luke 22:29.) In other words, I reserve crosses and trials for you, and it is thus you will be worthy of possessing this kingdom after which you long; since it was necessary that the Christ suffer and that He enter through it into His glory, (Luke 24:26.) if you desire to have a place by His side, then drink the chalice He has drunk! (Matthew 20:21-22.) |
4-14-2 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 5-14-3 (Prayer, Meditation, Contemplation), 25-14-2 (Glory) |
| 14 | SS 137. |
2-14-13 | During the course of the whole trip, we were lodged in princely hotels; never had I been surrounded with so much luxury. There's no mistake about it: riches don't bring happiness, for I would have been much happier under a thatched roof with the hope of Carmel in the offing, than in the midst of these sumptuous dwellings, these marble staircases, and silk tapestries, and all the while bitterness in my heart. Ah!I really felt it: joy isn't found in the material objects surrounding us but in the inner recess of the soul. One can possess joy in a prison cell as well as in a palace. The proof of this: I am happier in Carmel even in the midst of interior and exterior trials than in the world surrounded by the comforts of life, and even the sweetness of the paternal hearth! |
23-14-1 (The Joy of Sufferings) |
| 14 | SS 142. |
2-14-14 | My heart was broken when going to Midnight Mass;I was counting so much on assisting at it behind Carmel's grilles! This trial was very great for my faith, but the One whose heart watches even when he sleeps, made me understand that to those whose faith is like that of a mustard seed He grants miracles and moves mountains(Matthew 17:19.) in order to strengthen this faith which is still small; but for His intimate friends, for His Mother, He works no miracles before having tried their faith. | |
| 14 | SS 143. |
2-14-15 | …I really want to believe I must have appeared unreasonable in not accepting my three months exile joyfully, but I really want to believe I must have appeared unreasonable in not accepting my three months exile joyfully, but I also believe that, without its appearing so, this trial was very great and made me grow very much in abandonment and in the other virtue. |
4-14-3 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment) |
| 14 | GCI 289, Oct. 8, 1887, LT 27: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-14-16 | …In spite of everything, I feel that I am filled with courage; I am sure that God is not going to abandon me. Now, as Uncle told me, my time of trial is about to begin. Oh! pray for me; pray for your Theresita. You know how much she loves you; you are her confidante. I would really have to see you, but this is still a sacrifice to offer Jesus. Oh, I want to refuse Him nothing, and even though I feel sad and alone on this earth, He still remains with me. And has not St. Teresa said: “God alone suffices.”… |
4-14-4 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 16-14-3 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
| 14 | GCI 310, Nov. 8, 1887, LD: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-14-17 | …In order to enter the House of the heavenly Spouse you must have some trials, you must knock several times, you must weep, knock and weep again. Then there will come a moment when the door will finally open, and what has opened the door if not desire, suffering, and love?. |
17-14-12 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 39-14-7 (Pauline) |
| 14 | GCI 312, Nov. 9, 1887, LC 57: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-14-18 | …Don't forget that He wept there often; very often; He wept there with love and with the desire to see all souls take flight towards Him, and He wept with sorrow when seeing so few would love Him in the future!. |
17-14-13 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 39-14-8 (Pauline) |
| 14 | GCI 329, Nov. 11, 1887, L C62: from Mother Marie de Gon- zague. |
2-14-19 | …Yes, confidence, dear child of my heart; everything that Jesus wills is marked with the seal of the Cross, and we must not drag this Cross but carry it! The longer you live, my treasure, the more you will understand all the sacrifices for his love that the grace of the vocation Jesus has given you merits…. |
4-14-6 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 16-14-4 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 24-14-7 (Mercy of God, Graces) |
| 14 | GCI 346, Nov. 20, 1887, LC 64: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-14-20 | …Well, it's because little Jesus never sends anything but Crosses to his loved ones…. |
39-14-9 (Pauline) |
| 14 | GCI 347, Nov. 20, 1887, LC 64: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-14-21 | …Think that sanctity is synonymous with suffering; think that the little heart torn by thorns is a thousand times closer to the Heart of the Child Jesus than the heart filled with joy, even holy joy. It is not our satisfaction that pleases our Jesus but our readiness to deprive ourselves of all satisfaction to please Him… |
7-14-5 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 16-14-5 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
| 14 | GCI 353, Nov. 20, 1887, LT 36: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-14-22 |
…Oh! Pauline, if you could only have read my heart, you would have seen
there a great confidence…. …Oh! Pauline, I cannot tell you what I felt. I was crushed. I felt I was abandoned, and, then, I am so far, so far…. I was crying a lot when writing this letter; my heart is heavy. However, God cannot give me trials that are above my strength. He has given me the courage to bear this trial. Oh! it is very great…. But, Pauline, I am the Child Jesus' little ball; if He wishes to break His toy, He is free. Yes, I will all that He wills. |
4-14-8 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 16-14-6 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 39-14-10 (Pauline) |
| 14 | GCI 358, Nov. 23, 1887, LC 66: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-14-23 | …I learned that My little ball was filled only with My love. I learned that it really wants to suffer for Me. I learned that it wants only Me…This kiss will be the seal of My Heart; no one will be able to break it, no one…. Oh! how happy I am! How I love My little ball! I can pierce it! I can do all I want with it and always it repeats:‘Jesus, I love You! Jesus, I love You! To rejoice, to suffer, to suffer again! All that You will, my dear little Jesus.’”. |
16-14-7 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-14-14 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 39-14-11 (Pauline), |
| 14 | GCI 358 -359, Nov. 23, 1887, LC 66: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-14-24 | …So young, at fifteen, He finds you already worthy to carry His Cross; He finds you worthy to suffer! What an honor for you! If you only knew what these trials do to advance your soul in the way of sanctity! You want to be a saint, a great saint. Be at peace, Jesus wills this also. He is giving proof of it today. |
16-14-9 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 21-14-3 (A Saint), 28-14-2 (Peace), 39-14-12 (Pauline) |
| 14 | GCI 361, Nov. 23, 1887, LC68: from Mme. Guerin. |
2-14-25 | …I would like to be near you, my darling, to console you and to tell you all that I think regarding His Providence is guiding you, be sure of it, and be very trusting. You are doing all that you can, and you're doing it to please God, and this God is pleased to try His little child. Don't be surprised at what has happened to you; your good uncle finds this very natural, and he finds it even extraordinary that you were so disturbed by this. |
16-14-10 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
| 14 | GCI 364, Nov. 24, 1887, LD: from Sr. Marie of the Sacred Heart. |
2-14-26 | I leave you as a last thought, this word from Father during the retreat: “Unfortunate are souls who are not protected by their Cross!” Oh! yes, the Cross protects, it defends, it is victory's arm…. | |
| 14 | GCI 369, Nov. 25, 1887, LC 69: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-14-27 | … Remember, my darling, that the desperate hours are always God's hours….You will really suffer during your life, your heart is especially made to suffer, but when Jesus is there, when it is He who is sending His little ball into the midst of thorns, the thorns will change into flowers…. Oh! how Jesus loves you, and do you know why I believe more than ever in His divine call? It is because you have suffered…. Without the Cross, one is sure of nothing; without the Cross, there is only the human element, the mundane; without the Cross, Jesus is not there. |
39-14-14 (Pauline) |
| 15 | SS 148. |
2-15-1 | …my soul experienced a PEACE so sweet, so deep, it would be impossible to express it. For seven years and a half that inner peace has remained my lot, and has not abandoned me in the midst of the greatest trials. |
28-15-1 (Peace) |
| 15 | SS 149. |
2-15-2 | …Illusions, God gave me the grace not to have A SINGLE ONE when entering Carmel. I found the religious life to be exactly as I had imagined it, no sacrifice astonished me and yet, as you know, dear Mother, my first steps met with more thorns than roses! Yes, suffering opened wide its arms to me and I threw myself into them with love. I had declared at the feet of Jesus-Victim, in the examination preceding my Profession, what I had come to Carmel for: “I came to save souls and especially to pray for priests.” When one wishes to attain a goal, one must use the means; Jesus made me understand that it was through suffering that He wanted to give me souls, and my attraction for suffering grew in proportion to its increase. This was my way for five years; exteriorly nothing revealed my suffering which was all the more painful since I alone was aware of it. |
3-15-1 (Silence, hidden), 14-15-1 (The Little Way), 22-15-1 (Salvation of Souls), 24-15-1 (Mercy of God, Graces), 46-15-1 (Revelations) |
| 15 | GCI 396, Feb. 21, 1888, LT 42: to Sr. Marie of the Sacred Heart. |
2-15-3 | …Oh, yes! on this earth we must attach ourselves to nothing, not even the most innocent things, for they fail you at the moment when you are least expecting it…. |
7-15-1 (Renunciation, Forget Self) |
| 15 | GCI 397, Around Mar. 10, 1888, LC 75: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-15-4 | …, love the Cross, it is the blessed mast to which the sails of love are attached. |
39-15-1 (Pauline) |
| 15 | GCI 400 -401, Mar. 18 (?), 1888, LT 43B to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-15-5 |
…Oh, Pauline, when Jesus will have placed me on the blessed shore of Carmel,
I want to give myself totally to Him, I want to live no longer but for Him. Oh,
no, I shall not fear His strikes, for, even
in the most bitter sufferings, I
always feel that it is His gentle hand that is striking. I really felt this at
Rome at the very moment when I would have believed the earth could have given
way beneath my steps. I desire only one thing when I shall be in Carmel, and it is to suffer always for Jesus. Life passes so quickly that really it must be better to have a very beautiful crown and a little trouble than to have an ordinary one without any trouble. And then for a suffering borne with joy, when I think that during the whole of eternity I will love God better. Then in suffering we can save souls. Ah! Pauline, if at the moment of my death I could have a soul to offer to Jesus, how happy I would be; it would be a soul that would have been snatched from the fire of hell and would bless God for all eternity. |
7-15-2 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 14-15-2 (The Little Way), 17-15-1 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 22-15-2 (Salvation of Souls), 23-15-1 (The Joy of Sufferings), 37-15-1 (Time), 39-15-3 (Pauline) |
| 15 | GCI 408, Mar. 27, 1888, LC78: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-15-6 | …Let us not be frightened by the sorrows of this earth, for it is they that merit for us the joys of heaven! Let us welcome, then, suffering as a future joy. Life! It is so short; it's a point in space. “A thousand years are in the Lord's eyes just like yesterday which has passed!” (Psalm 90:4.) we sing in one of the Psalms. Let us raise our hearts and fight the good fight in order to carry off the victory and merit the crown. |
23-15-2 (The Joy of Sufferings), 37-15-2 (Time), 39-15-7 (Pauline) |
| 15 | GCI 408, Mar. 27, 1888, LC 78: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-15-7 | …Let us love Jesus, who has loved us so much! Let the little fiancee have no fear of following her Beloved on the road to Calvary. She must learn that He is “a Spouse of blood” and that, to resemble Him and bear the name of Spouse worthily, she must always prove her love through suffering. |
17-15-2 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 39-15-8 (Pauline) |
| 15 | GCI 423, May 8, 1888, LT 47: to Celine. |
2-15-8 | A day of a Carmelite spent without suffering is a day lost. | |
| 15 | GCI 427, May 12 -20, 1888, LT 49: to Sr. Marie of the Sacred Heart. |
2-15-9 | Ask that your little daughter always remain a little grain of sand, truly unknown, truly hidden from all eyes, that Jesus alone may be able to see it, and that it may become smaller and smaller, that it may be reduced to nothing…. |
3-15-3 (Silence, Hidden), 10-15-3 (Littleness), 11-15-1 (Nothingness), 14-15-3 (The Little Way) |
| 15 | GCI 436, Jun. 18, 1888, LC 82: from Fr. P. Pichon. |
2-15-10 | You will always carry out those ardent desires for sanctity, for the apostolate, by aiming at nothingness out of love for God. In your little nothingness, you will find the great ALL… And with Him what can you not do? | 11-15-2 (Nothingness), 16-15-4 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
| 15 | GCI 439, Jul. 3(?), 1888, LC 83: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-15-11 | Ah! blessed Eternity, it is worth suffering a little and even very much in order to attain it. | 37-15-3 (Time), 39-15-9 (Pauline) |
| 15 | GCI 442, Jul. 5 -9, 1888, LT 55: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-15-12 | Yes, I desire them, these agonies of the heart, these pinpricks about which the lamb speaks. What does it matter to the little reed if it bends? It is not afraid of breaking, for it has been planted at the edge of the waters, and, instead of touching the ground when it bends, it encounters only a beneficent wave which strengthens it and makes it want another storm to come and pass over its frail head. Its weakness gives rise to all its confidence. It cannot break since, no matter what happens to it, it wants only to see the gentle hand of its Jesus…. |
4-15-1 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 8-15-2 (Weakness, Frailty), 39-15-10 (Pauline) |
| 15 | GCI 449 -450, July 23, 1888, LT57: to Celine. |
2-15-13 | Life is burdensome. What bitterness… but what sweetness. Yes, life is painful for us. It is hard to begin a day of work. The feeble bud has seen it just as the beautiful lily has. If we feel Jesus present, oh! then we would really do all for Him, but no, He seems a thousand leagues away. We are all alone with ourselves. Oh! what annoying company when Jesus is not there. But what is this sweet Friend doing then? Doesn't He see our anguish, the weight that is oppressing us? Where is He? Why doesn't He come to console us since we have Him alone for a friend? Alas, He is not far; He is there, very close. He is looking at us, and He is begging this sorrow, this agony from us. He needs it for souls and for our soul. He wants to give us such a beautiful recompense, and His ambitions for us are very great. But how can He say: “My turn,” (A Note: Fr. Arminjon) if ours hasn't come, if we have given Him nothing? Alas, it does pain Him to give us sorrows to drink, but He knows this is the only means of preparing us to “know Him as He knows Himself and to become Gods ourselves.” Oh! what a destiny. How great is our soul…. |
14-15-4 (The Little Way), 22-15-3 (Salvation of Souls), 23-15-3 (Joy of Suffering), 40-15-1 (Participation to Salvation) |
| 15 | GCI 450, Jul. 23, 1888, LT 57: to Celine. |
2-15-14 | Jesus is asking ALL, ALL, ALL. As much as He can ask from the greatest Saints. |
21-15-2 (A Saint) |
| 15 | GCI 467 Oct. 20, 1888, LT 65: to Celine. |
2-15-15 | Tomorrow, then, is your feast day. Oh! how I would like to be the first to wish you a happy feast; if this is not possible, at least I can do it in my heart. What do you want me to offer you for your feast? If I were to listen to myself, I would ask Jesus to send me all the sorrows, all the sadness, all the annoyances in the life of my dear Celine, but you see, I am not listening to myself, for I would fear that Jesus may say to me that I am an egoist. I would be wanting Him to give me all there is of the best without leaving a little for His little fiancee whom He loves so much…. | |
| 15 | GCI 467 -468, Oct. 20, 1888, LT 65: to Celine. |
2-15-16 | When I think that if God were to give us the entire universe with all its treasures that this would not be comparable to the lightest suffering! What a grace when, in the morning, we feel no courage, no strength to practice virtue; that is the moment to put the axe to the root of the tree. Instead of wasting our time gathering a few baubles, we can dip into diamonds, and what a profit at the end of the day…. It is true that sometimes, for a few moments, we look with scorn at gathering our treasures, and this is the difficult moment. We are tempted to leave all behind, but in one act of love, even unfelt love, all is repaired, and Jesus smiles. He is helping us without seeming to do so, and the tears that the wicked make Him shed are dried by our poor and feeble love. Love can do all things, and the most difficult things don't appear difficult to it. Jesus does not look so much at the grandeur of actions or even their difficulty as at the love which goes to make up these actions…. |
14-15-5 (The Little Way), 17-15-3 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 24-15-3 (Mercy of God, Graces), 41-15-1 (Unfelt Love), 42-15-1 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 15 | GCI 475, Nov. 2-4 (?), 1888, LC 92: from Sr. Marie of the An- gels. |
2-15-17 | …Jesus is a Spouse of blood, and He is drenching your nuptial dress in the blood of the Lamb…let Him, you will not regret it! Little Therese of the Child Jesus, let the Child play games with His very dear ball; smile at Him still, smile at Him always, and the more He makes you suffer the more you are to love Him! Let everything in your souls sing the intoxicating songs of Calvary, and, in this, be more than a cicada on the ground but be rather a little Nightingale from Paradise! |
17-15-4 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity) |
| 15 | GCI 478, Nov. 18, 1888, LT 67: to Mme. Guerin. |
2-15-18 | This morning, during my Holy Communion, I prayed very much to Jesus to give you His joys; alas! this is not what He is sending us for some time. It is the Cross, the Cross alone, which He is giving us in order to test us…. Oh! Aunt, if it had been only myself who was suffering, this would have been nothing, but I know the large share you took in our trial. For your feast, I would like to take away all sorrow and to take for myself all your pains. This is what I was asking for just now from Him whose Heart beats in unison with my own. I then felt that all He could give us of the best was suffering, and He was giving this only to His chosen friends; this answer proved to me that I was not answered, for I saw that Jesus loved dear Aunt too much to take away the Cross!… |
5-15-2 (Prayer, Meditation, Contemplation), 14-15-6 (The Little Way), 18-15-1 (Holy Communion) |
| 15 | GCI 488 -489, Dec. 27, 1888, L C97: from Fr. P. Pichon. |
2-15-19 | Entirely surrounded by thorns, your vocation appears to me more beautiful and more radiant. Oh! I envy your privileged lot; suffering for Jesus and what sufferings! This is the engagement gift. God is molding your heart, even its most delicate fibers. Let Him do with you and with your holy patriarch all He wills to do. There is nothing in divine Providence that is not inspired by the love of a Father. |
16-15-5 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-15-5 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity) |
| 16? | SS 151 -152 |
2-16-1 | The little flower transplanted to Mount Carmel was to expand under the shadow of the cross. The tears and blood of Jesus were to be her dew, and her Sun was His adorable Face veiled with tears. | |
| 16? | SS 152. |
2-16-2 |
…I understood what real
glory was.
He whose Kingdom is not of this world
(John 18:36.) showed me that true wisdom consists
in “desiring to be unknown
and counted as nothing,” in “placing one's joy in the contempt
of self.”
Ah! I desired that, like the Face of Jesus, “
my face be truly hidden, that
no one on earth would know me.” (Isaias 53:3.)
I thirsted after
suffering and I longed to be forgotten. How merciful is the way God has guided me. Never has He given me the desire for anything which He has not given me, and even His bitter chalice seemed delightful to me. |
3-16-1 (Silence, Hidden), 7-16-1 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 11-16-1 (Nothingness), 14-16-1 (The Little Way), 23-16-1 (The Joy of Suffering), 24-16-1 (Mercy of God, Graces), 25-16-1 (Glory) |
| 16~ 18 |
SS 157. |
2-16-3 | …Yes, Papa's three years of martyrdom appear to me as the most lovable, the most fruitful of my life; I wouldn't exchange them for all the ecstasies and revelations of the saints. My heart overflows with gratitude when I think of this inestimable treasure which must cause a holy jealousy to the angels of the heavenly court. |
46-16-1 (Revelations) |
| 16? | SS 157. |
2-16-4 | …My desire for suffering was answered, and yet my attraction for it did not diminish. My soul soon shared in the sufferings of my heart. Spiritual aridity was my daily bread and, deprived of all consolation, I was still the happiest of creatures since all desires had been satisfied. |
29-16-1 (Consolation), |
| 16? | SS 157. |
2-16-5 | …O dear Mother! How sweet our great trial was since from our hearts came only sighs of love and gratitude! We were no longer walking in the way of perfection, we were flying, all five of us…. |
16-16-1 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
| 16 | SS157. | 2-16-6 | …As formerly in the belvedere, they dreamed about things of eternity. To enjoy this endless happiness as soon as possible, they chose as their lot here on earth both suffering and contempt. |
37-16-1 (Time), |
| 16~ 17? |
SS 159. |
2-16-7 | …Instead of feeling annoyed at being thus deprived of it, I was really happy, feeling that Poverty consists in being deprived not only of agreeable things but of indispensable things too. And so in this exterior darkness, I was interiorly illumined.… |
7-16-2 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 23-16-2 (The Joy of Sufferings) |
| 16 | SS159. | 2-16-8 |
…I was exerting much effort, too,
at not excusing myself, which was
very difficult for me, especially with our Novice Mistress from whom I
didn't want to hide anything. Here was my first victory, not too great
but it cost me a whole lot. A little vase set behind a window was broken,
and our Mistress, thinking it was my fault, showed it to me and told me
to be more careful in the future. Without a word, I kissed the floor,
promising to be more careful in the future.
Because of my lack of virtue
these little practices cost me very much
and I had to console myself
with the thought that at the Last Judgment everything would be revealed.
I noticed this: when one performs her duty, never excusing herself, no
one knows it; on the contrary, imperfections appear immediately. I applied myself to practicing little virtues, not having the capability of practicing the great. For instance, I loved to fold up the mantles forgotten by the Sisters, and go render them all sorts of little services. Love for mortification was given me, and this love was all the greater because I was allowed nothing by way of satisfying it. The only little mortification I was doing while still in the world, which consisted in not leaning my back against any support while seated, was forbidden me because of my inclination to stoop. Alas! my ardor for penances would not have lasted long had the Superiors allowed them. The penances they did allow me consisted in mortifying my self-love, which did me much more good than corporal penances. The refectory, which I was given charge of immediately after I received the Habit, furnished me, on more than one occasion, with the chance of putting my self-love in its proper place, i.e., under my feet…. |
1-16-1 (Self-love, Nature), 7-16-3 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 14-16-2 (The Little Way), 33-16-1 (Penances, Mortification), 42-16-1 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 16~17 | SS 248 -249. |
2-16-9 | …Instead of the beautiful strains of music I heard only her occasional complaints, and instead of the rich gildings I saw only the bricks of our austere cloister, hardly visible in the faintly glimmering light. I cannot express in words what happened in my soul; what I know is that the Lord illumined it with rays of truth which so surpassed the dark brilliance of earthly feasts that I could not believe my happiness. Ah! I would not have exchanged the ten minutes employed in carrying out my humble office of charity to enjoy a thousand years of worldly feasts. If already in suffering and in combat one can enjoy a moment of happiness that surpasses all the joys of this earth, and this when simply considering that God has withdrawn us from this world, what will this happiness be in heaven when one shall see in the midst of eternal joy and everlasting repose the incomparable grace the Lord gave us when He chose us to dwell in His house, heaven's real portal? |
14-16-3 (The Little Way), 20-16-1 (Truth), 23-16-3 (The Joy of Sufferings), 24-16-2 (Mercy of God, Grace), 37-16-2 (Time) |
| 16 | GCI 499 -500, Jan .6, 1889, LT 74: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-16-10 | …He is riddling me with pinpricks; the poor little ball is exhausted. All over it has very little holes which make it suffer more than if it has only one large one!… Nothing near Jesus. Aridity!… Sleep!… But at least there is silence!… Silence does good to the soul…. But creatures! Oh! creatures!… The little ball shudders from them!… Understand Jesus' little toy!… When it is the sweet Friend who punctures His ball Himself, suffering is only sweetness, His hand is so gentle!… But creatures!…Those who surround me are very good, but there is something, I don't know what, that repels me!… I cannot give you any explanation. Understand your little soul. I am, however, very happy, happy to suffer what Jesus wants me to suffer. If He doesn't directly puncture His little ball, it is really He who directs the hand that punctures it!… |
3-16-2 (Silence, Hidden), 23-16-4 (The Joy of Sufferings), 39-16-1 (Pauline) |
| 16 | GCI 501, Jan. 6 or 7, 1889, LT 75: to Sr. Marie of the Sacred Heart. |
2-16-11 | … Why speak of joy on earth; I admit to you that my heart has a burning thirst for it, but this heart sees that no creature is capable of quenching its thirst. On the contrary, the more it drinks at this delightful spring the more burning does its thirst become!… I know another spring; it is the one at which, after one has drunk, one is still thirsty, but with a thirst that is not panting. It is very sweet, on the contrary, because it has something satisfying in it, and this spring is the suffering that is known to Jesus alone!… | |
| 16 | GCI 504, Jan.7, 1889, LT 76: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-16-12 | And Father's letter? I find it heavenly, and my heart finds many beautiful things in it, but joy?… Oh, no! no joy…. joy is to be found only in suffering and in suffering without any consolation!… |
23-16-5 (The Joy of Sufferings), 29-16-3 (Consolation), 39-16-4 (Pauline) |
| 16 | GCI 508 -509, Jan. 6-9, 1889, (?), LC 104: from Sr. Marie of the Angels. |
2-16-13 | …Bless him for the ardent desires He is giving you to love Him and gain souls for Him. What does it matter if your heart is little, provided your desires are very great! Desire, desire again and always to love Him whom you will never love enough. Your aridities, your sufferings, these are something to offer Jesus both for Himself and for souls! You know very well, there are little flowers which don't always have to be touched by the rays of the sun; for them to develop to their plenitude, they need more shade than sun. Well, then, if Jesus wills that you be one of these flowers, what does it matter, as long as in the eyes of heaven you were blooming with all the splendor that the divine Gardner had given your soul in treating it in the way that He knows is suitable for it! |
16-16-3 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-16-3 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity) |
| 16 | GCI 511, Jan. 8, 1889, LT 78: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-16-14 |
…The lamb is mistaken in believing that Jesus' toy is not in
darkness; it
is immersed in darkness. Perhaps, and the little lamb agrees with this, this
darkness is light, but in spite of everything it is darkness….
Its only
consolation is a strength and a very great
peace, and, then, it wants to be
as Jesus wills it to be; that is its joy,
otherwise, all is sadness…. If you only knew how great my joy is not to have anything with which to please Jesus!… It is a refined joy (but in no way felt). |
16-16-4 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 23-16-6 (The Joy of Suffering), 28-16-2 (Peace), 29-16-4 (Consolation), 39-16-5 (Pauline), 41-16-1 (Unfelt Love), 43-16-2 (Darkness) |
| 16 | GCI 514, Jan.8, 1889, LT 79: to Sr. Marie of the Sacred Heart. |
2-16-15 | Oh! the homeland…the homeland! How I thirst for heaven, there where I shall love Jesus without reserve! But we must suffer and cry in order to arrive there…well, then, I want to suffer all that will please Jesus; let Him do whatever He wills with His little ball. |
14-16-5 (The Little Way), 16-16-5 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-16-4 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity) |
| 16 | GCI 521, Jan. 10, 1889, LC 109: from Sr. Marie of the Angels. |
2-16-16 | During this octave of the Kings, He espoused her to Himself in order to make her soon the Queen of His most tender love. Be happy, then, very happy for long years in Carmel, dear little child. Share in the kingship of Jesus. His kingdom will become yours, His crown awaits you, refuse Him nothing. The kingdom of Jesus is not of this world, and your will not be either. Aid Jesus in extending His divine kingdom in souls; save them by your sacrifices, by your generosity. Work for heaven. Jesus will count all you do for Him, and nothing will escape His loving and constant gaze! |
7-16-6 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 22-16-2 (Salvation of Souls) |
| 16 | GCI 529, Jan. 23 -25 (?), 1889, LT 81: to Celine. |
2-16-17 |
Yes, darling of my heart, Jesus is there with His
Cross! Privileged one
of His love, He wills to make you like Him!
Why be frightened at not
being able to carry this Cross without weakening?
Jesus on the road to
Calvary fell three times, and, you, poor little child, you would not be
like your Spouse, you would not be willing to fall a hundred times if
necessary to prove your love for Him, rising with greater strength than
before your fall!… Celine…Jesus must love you with a special love to be trying you in this way. Do you know that I am almost jealous of you? To those who love more He gives more, and to those who love less He gives less!… |
16-16-6 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-16-6 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity) |
| 16 | GCI 529 -530, Jan. 23- 25(?), 1889, LT81, to Celine. |
2-16-18 |
You give me an impression, at this moment, of a person who is surrounded with
immense riches… the sight of them is lost over the horizon…. This person wants
to turn her back because, she says, too many riches embarrass her, she does not know
what to do with them; it is better to lose them, or that another take them!… That
other will not come, for these riches are prepared for the fiancee of Jesus… and
for her alone!… God would turn the world upside down to find
suffering in order
to give it to a soul upon whom His DIVINE glance has rested with an indescribable
love!… The things of this earth…what do they mean to us?… Should this be our homeland, this slime, so unworthy of an immortal soul… and what does it matter to us that cowardly men harvest the mustiness that grows on this slime? The more our heart is in heaven, the less we feel these pinpricks…. But believe that this is a grace and a great grace to feel these pinpricks, for, then, our life is a martyrdom, and one day Jesus will give us the palm. To suffer and to be despised!…what bitterness but what glory…. Suffer both again and always…. But all passes. |
14-16-6 (The Little Way), 17-16-5 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 24-16-3 (Mercy of God, Graces), 25-16-2 (Glory), 37-16-3 (Time) |
| 16 | GCI 537, Feb. 28, 1889, LT 82: to Celine. |
2-16-19 |
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. |
12-16-1 (Humility, Humbleness), 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 541- 542, March 5, 1889, LT 83: to Celine. |
2-16-20 |
Each new suffering, each new agony of her
heart is like a light breeze
which will carry to Jesus the perfume of His lily; then He will smile
lovingly, and He will immediately prepare a new sorrow. He is filling
the chalice to the brim, thinking that the more His lily grows in love
the more, too, must it grow in suffering!… What a privilege Jesus grants us in sending such a great sorrow. Ah! ETERNITY will not be too long to thank Him. He is giving us His favors just as He gave them to the greatest saints. Why this great predilection?… However, what she does not know perhaps is the love that Jesus has for her, a love that demands ALL. There is nothing that is impossible for Him. He does not want to set any limit to His Lily's SANCTITY; His limit is that there is no limit!… Why should there be any? We are greater than the whole universe, and one day we ourselves shall have a divine existence…. Oh! I thank Jesus for having placed a lily near our dear Father, a lily that fears nothing, a lily that wishes rather to die than to abandon the glorious field in which the love of Jesus has placed it!… Now we have no longer anything to hope for on earth, no longer anything but suffering and again suffering. When we have finished, suffering will still be there, extending its arms to us. Oh! what a lot worthy of envy…. The Cherubim in heaven envy our joy…. |
14-16-8 (The Little Way), 16-16-8 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 21-16-2 (A Saint), 23-16-8 (The Joy of Sufferings), 37-16-5 (Time), |
| 16 | GCI 546, Mar. 12, 1889, LT 85: to Celine. |
2-16-21 |
I have a need this evening to come with my Celine in order to plunge
myself into infinity…. I have to forget this earth….Here below,
everything tires me, everything is a burden to me….
I find only one
joy, that of suffering for Jesus, but this
unfelt joy is
above every
other joy!… Life is passing away…. Eternity is advancing in great strides…. Soon we shall live the very life of Jesus…. After having drunk at the fountain of all sorrows, we shall be deified at the very fountain of all joys, all delights…. Soon, little sister, with one look, we shall be able to understand what is taking place within the inner depths of our being!… |
7-16-7 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 23-16-9 (The Joy of Sufferings), 37-16-6 (Time), 41-16-2 (Unfelt Love) |
| 16 | GCI 546- 547, March 12, 1889, LT 85: to Celine. |
2-16-22 |
Jesus' love for Celine can be understood only by Jesus!… Jesus
had
done foolish things for Celine…. Let Celine do foolish things for
Jesus…. Love is repaid by love alone, and the
wounds of love are
healed only by love. Let us really offer our sufferings to Jesus to save souls, poor souls!… They have less grace than we have, and still all the Blood of a God was shed to save them…. And yet Jesus wills to make their salvation depend on one sigh from our heart….What a mystery! If one sigh can save a soul, what can sufferings like ours not do?… Let us refuse Jesus nothing!… |
7-16-8 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 14-16-9 (The Little Way), 16-16-9 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-16-10 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 22-16-3 (Salvation of Souls), 24-16-4 (Mercy of God, Graces), 40-16-1 (Participation to Salvation), 50-16-2 (Jesus's Wounds, Pains and Tears) |
| 16 | GCI 552, March 15, 1889, LT86: to Celine. |
2-16-23 | Celine's dream is very pretty, and perhaps one day it will be carried out… but, in the meanwhile, let us begin our martyrdom, let Jesus tear from us all that is most dear to us, and let us refuse Him nothing. Before dying by the sword, let us die by pinpricks …. Does Celine understand?… The little grain of Sand is united in suffering to the little shadow of Jesus. |
7-16-9 (Renunciation, Forget Self) |
| 16 | GCI 552 -553, Apr. 4, 1889, LT 87: to Celine |
2-16-24 |
Your letter gave great sadness to my soul! Poor little Papa!…
No, the
thoughts of Jesus are not our thoughts, and His ways are not
our ways…. (Isaias 55:8.) He is offering us a chalice as bitter as our feeble nature can bear!… Let us not withdraw our lips from this chalice prepared by the hand of Jesus…. Let us see life as it really is …. It is a moment between two eternities…. Let us suffer in peace! I admit that this word peace seemed a little strong to me, but the other day, when reflecting on it, I found the secret of suffering in peace…. The one who says peace is not saying joy, or at least, felt joy…. To suffer in peace it is enough to will all that Jesus wills…. To be the spouse of Jesus we must resemble Jesus, and Jesus is all bloody, He is crowned with thorns!… “A thousand years in your eyes, Lord, are as yesterday, which has PASSED”!… (Psalm 90:4.) “On the banks of the river of Babylon, we sat and wept when we remembered Sion…. We hung our harps on the willows in the fields…. Those who led us into captivity said to us: ‘Sing for us one of the pleasant songs from Sion.’ How could we sing the song of the Lord in a foreign land!” …Psalm of David… (Psalm 136:1-4.). No, let us not sing the canticles of heaven to creatures…. But, like Cecilia, let us sing a melodious canticle in our heart to our Beloved!… The canticle of suffering united to His sufferings is what delights His Heart the most!… Jesus is on fire with love for us… look at His adorable Face!… Look at His eyes lifeless and lowered! Look at His wounds…. Look at Jesus in His Face…. There you will see how He loves us. |
1-16-3 (Self Love, Nature), 7-16-10 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 14-16-10 (The Little Way), 16-16-10 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-16-9 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 28-16-3 (Peace), 37-16-7 (Time), 41-16-3 (Unfelt Love), 50-16-3 (Jesus's Wounds, Pains and Tears) |
| 16 | GCI 559, April 27, 1889, LC 111: from Fr. P. Pichon. |
2-16-25 |
Love all that comes to you from Jesus, everything, even
the most bitter
gall, the sharpest thorns, your most filial agonies, the divine
absences. Be obstinate in smiling at Our Lord just the same. Yes, you are right, it is better to love Jesus on His terms; there is more love on Calvary than on Thabor. Yes, yes, take joy in being nothing since Jesus is all. Bless God that you feel nothing, possess nothing, find nothing in yourself. |
11-16-3 (Nothingness), 17-16-11 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), |
| 16 | GCI 563- 564, End of May (?), 1889, LT 91: to Sr. Marie of the Sacred Heart. |
2-16-26 |
Time has passed since those blessed moments that slipped away in our
sweet nest…. Jesus has come to visit us…. He has found us worthy
to pass through the crucible of suffering…. Before my entrance into Carmel, our incomparable Father said when giving me to God: “I would like to have something better to offer to God.” Jesus has listened to his prayer… that other better thing was himself!… What a joy for a moment of suffering …. It is the Lord who has done this…. And the Lord loves Papa incomparably better than we love Papa; he is God's little child. And God, in order to spare him great sufferings, wills that we suffer for him!… |
5-16-1 (Prayer, Meditation, Contemplation), 16-16-11 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 23-16-10 (The Joy of Sufferings), 37-16-9 (Time) |
| 16 | GCI 576, July 14, 1889, LT 93: to Marie Guerin. |
2-16-27 |
Don't be troubled about feeling
no consolation in your Communions; this
is a trial that you must bear with love.
Don't lose any of the thorns you
are meeting every day; with one of them you can save a soul!… Ah, if you only knew how much God is offended! Your soul is so well made for consoling Him … love Him to folly for all those who don't love Him!… |
17-16-12 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 18-16-2 (Holy Communion), 22-16-4 (Salvation of Souls), 29-16-6 (Consolation), |
| 16 | GCI 577, Jul. 14, 1889, LT 94: to Celine. |
2-16-28 | My soul doesn't leave you … it suffers exile with you!… Oh! how hard it is to live, to remain on this earth of bitterness and anguish…. But, tomorrow … in an hour, we shall be at port, what joy! Ah, what a good it will be to contemplate Jesus face to face all through the whole of eternity! Always, always more love, always more intoxicating joys… a happiness without clouds…. What has Jesus done, then, to detach our souls from all that is created? Ah, He has struck a big blow… but it is a blow of love. God is admirable, but He is especially lovable; let us love Him, then … let us love Him enough to suffer for Him all that He wills, even spiritual pains, aridities, anxieties, apparent coldness …. Ah, here is great love, to love Jesus without feeling the sweetness of this love … this is martyrdom…. Well, then, let us die as martyrs. Oh! Celine… sweet echo of my soul, do you understand? … Unknown martyrdom, known to God alone, which the eye of the creature cannot discover, a martyrdom without honor, without triumph…. That is love pushed to the point of heroism.… But, one day, a grateful God will cry out: “Now, my turn. ” Oh, what will we see then?… What is this life which will no more have an end?… God will be the soul of our soul… unfathomable mystery.… The eye of man has not seen the uncreated light, his ear has not heard the incomparable harmonies, and his heart cannot have any idea of what God reserves for those whom He loves. And all this will come soon, yes, soon. |
3-16-3 (Silence, Hidden), 7-16-11 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 8-16-1 (Weakness, Frailty), 14-16-12 (The Little Way), 15-16-2 (Union with Jesus), 16-16-12 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-16-13 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 23-16-11 (The Joy of Sufferings), 37-16-10 (Time), 41-16-4 (Unfelt Love) |
| 16 | GCI 579, Jul.? or Aug.?, 1889, LT 95: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-16-29 | …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!… |
7-16-12 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 11-16-4 (Nothingness), 12-16-2 (Humility, Humbleness), 39-16-6 (Pauline) |
| 16 | GCI 580, Jul.? or Aug.? 1889, LT 95: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-16-30 |
The grain of sand wants
at all costs to save souls…. Jesus must grant
it this grace. Little Veronica, ask this grace from the luminous Face of
Jesus!… Yes, the Face of Jesus is luminous, but if in the midst of
wounds and tears it is already so beautiful, what will it be, then when
we shall see it in heaven? Oh, heaven…
heaven. Yes, to see one day the Face of Jesus, to contemplate eternally
the marvelous beauty of Jesus, the poor grain of sand desires to be despised
on earth!… Dear lamb, beg Jesus that His grain of sand hurry to save many souls in a short time in order to take its flight promptly towards His dear Face!… I am suffering!… But the hope of the homeland gives me courage, soon we shall be in heaven!… In heaven, there will no longer be day or night, but the Face of Jesus will make an incomparable light shine!… Dear lamb, understand the grain of sand; it does not know what it is saying this evening, but certainly it has no intention of writing one single word of all it has scribbled…. |
22-16-6 (Salvation of Souls), 24-16-5 (Mercy of God, Graces), 39-16-7 (Pauline) |
| 16 | GCI 585, Oct. 4, 1889, LC 117: from Fr. P. Pichon. |
2-16-31 | The Cross! Always the Cross planted at Caen and so heavy on your hearts. Let Jesus hear from us only our cries of filial gratitude. The divine Beloved does well in all that He does! | |
| 16 | GCI 586, Autumn (?), 1889, LC 118: from Mother Marie de Gon- zague. |
2-16-32 | …Jesus has formed my violet for suffering, and I don't want to be a prophet today, but I can, nevertheless, say to my little daughter, that it is suffering and more sacrifices still that will make you a great saint. We shall be spared nothing, and we shall have a beautiful bundle at the end of our exile, and, like another St. Teresa, if we are faithful, we shall see the Jesus of Teresa. | 21-16-3 (A Saint) |
| 16 | GCI 587- 588, Oct. 15, 1889, LT 96: to Celine. |
2-16-33 | Yes, life is a treasure…each moment is an eternity, an eternity of joy in heaven, an eternity of seeing God face to face, of being one with Him!… There is only Jesus who is; all the rest is not…. Let us love Him, then, unto folly; let us save souls for Him. Ah! Celine, I feel that Jesus is asking both us to quench His thirst by giving Him souls, the souls of priests especially. I feel that Jesus wills that I say this to you, for our mission is to forget ourselves and to reduce ourselves to nothing…. We are so insignificant …and yet Jesus wills that the salvation of souls depends on the sacrifices of our love. He is begging souls from us…. Ah, let us understand His look! There are so few who understand it. Jesus is giving us a hidden light!… Celine… life will be short, eternity is without end…. Let us make our life a continual sacrifice, a martyrdom of love, in order to console Jesus. He wants only a look, a sigh, but a look and a sigh that are for Him alone!… Let all the moments of our life be for Him alone!; let creatures touch us only in passing. There is only one thing to do during the night, the one night of life which will come only once, and this is to love, to love Jesus with all the strength of our heart and to save souls for Him so that He may be loved.… Oh, make Jesus loved!… | 3-16-4 (Silence, Hidden), 7-16-13 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 11-16-5 (Nothingness), 14-16-13 (The Little Way), 16-16-13 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-16-15 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 22-16-7 (Salvation of Souls), 37-16-12 (Time), 40-16-2 (Participation to Salvation) |
| 16 | GCI 595, Nov. 21, 1889, LC 119: from Sr. Marie of the Angels. |
2-16-34 | …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! |
4-16-2 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 8-16-2 (Weakness, Frailty), 9-16-1 (Poor in Spirits), 10-16-2 (Littleness), 12-16-3 (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) |
| 16 | GCI 600, Dec.30, 1889, LT 100: to M. and Mme. Guerin. |
2-16-35 | …When I consider, the time that has just run out, I feel drawn to thank God for, although His hand has offered us a bitter chalice, His divine Heart has been able to sustain us in the trial, and He has given us the strength necessary for drinking His chalice even to the last dregs…. | |
| 17 | SS 158. |
2-17-1 | …I was to wait for another eight months. I found it difficult, at first, to accept this great sacrifice, but soon light shone in my soul. I was meditating on the Foundations of the Spiritual Life by Father Surin at the time…. One day, during my prayer, I understood that my intense desire to make Profession was mixed with a great self-love. Since I had given myself to Jesus to please and console Him, I had no right to oblige Him to do my will instead of His own…. |
1-17-1 (Self Love, Nature), 16-17-1 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
| 17~18 | SS 172 -173. |
2-17-2 | …All this, however, does not prevent both distractions and sleepiness from visiting me, but at the end of the thanksgiving when I see that I've made it so badly I make a resolution to be thankful all through the rest of the day. You see, dear Mother, that I am far from being on the way of fear; I always find a way of being happy and of profiting from my miseries; no doubt this does not displease Jesus since He seems to encourage me on this road. Contrary to my usual state of mind, one day I was a little disturbed when going to Communion; it seemed to me that God was not satisfied with me and I said to myself: Ah! if I receive only half a host today, this will cause me great sorrow, and I shall believe that Jesus comes regretfully into my heart. I approached, and oh, what joy! For the first time in my life I saw the priest take two hosts which were well separated from each other and place them on my tongue! You can understand my joy and the sweet tears of consolation I shed when beholding a mercy so great! |
18-17-1 (Holy Communion), 23-17-1 (The Joy of Sufferings), 24-17-3 (Mercy of God, Graces), 29-17-1 (Consolation), 32-17-1 (Uncertainty of her Faith) |
| 17 | GCI 607- 608, Mar. 27, 1890, LC 126: from Fr. P. Pichon. |
2-17-3 | Let it not be enough for you to love Jesus.
You must make Him loved. Without
that, would you be a daughter of St. Teresa? Now, to make Jesus loved we must
suffer, suffer very much. Be happy, then, since everything is
suffering and exile for you. Your wedding will carry the seal of the Cross just as your espousals did. How pleased I am to see you totally abandoned to God's good pleasure!… All that Jesus does is done well. His gifts are the best: nails, thorns, bitter gall, and chalice! Let us bless all Crosses, even the Cross of Caen. We are really crucified in the person of our venerable patriarch. Do you think that Jesus is not interested in our martyrdom? |
4-17-1 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 17-17-1 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), |
| 17 | GCI 612, May 4, 1890, LT 103: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-17-4 | …Oh! how it longs to be reduced to nothing, to be unknown by all creatures. Poor little thing, it desires nothing any longer, nothing but to be FORGOTTEN… not contempt, insults, this would be too glorious for a grain of sand. Were one to despise it, one would have to see it, But to be FORGOTTEN!… Yes, I want to be forgotten, and this, not only by creatures but by myself. I'd like to be reduced to nothing to such an extent as to have no desire whatsoever…. The glory of Jesus, that is all;… |
3-17-2 (Silence, Hidden), 7-17-1 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 11-17-1 (Nothingness), 14-17-2 (The Little Way), 25-17-1 (Glory), 39-17-1 (Pauline) |
| 17 | GCI 614, May 3, 1890, LC 127: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-17-5 | …Ah! let us both remember that on earth there can be only suffering for those who love and seek with ardor the gentle, suffering Face of Jesus…. Let us not be so cowardly as to desire consolations with such a love in our heart!… |
29-17-2 (Consolation), 39-17-2 (Pauline) |
| 17 | GCI 618, May 10, 1890, LT 105: to Celine. |
2-17-6 | … Ah! little sister, let us detach ourselves from this earth, let us fly to the mountain of love where the beautiful Lily of our souls is to be found…. Let us detach ourselves from the consolations of Jesus in order to attach ourselves to Him!… |
7-17-2 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 29-17-4 (Consolation), |
| 17 | GCI 620, May 10, 1890, LT 106: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
2-17-7 |
…How happy I am to be always a prisoner in Carmel; I have no desire
to go to Lourdes to have ecstasies. I prefer (the monotony of sacrifice)!
What a joy to be so hidden that
nobody thinks of you!… To be unknown
even to persons with whom you live…. Silence, this is the language that alone can tell you what is happening in my soul!… |
3-17-3 (Silence, Hidden), 7-17-3 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 14-17-3 (The Little Way), 23-17-2 (The Joy of Sufferings), 39-17-4 (Pauline) |
| 17 | GCI 622, May 19 -20, 1890, LT 107: to Celine. |
2-17-8 | Celine, don't you find that on this earth there is nothing left for us! Jesus wills to have us drink His chalice to the dregs by leaving our dear Father over there. Ah! let us refuse Him nothing; He has so much need of love and He is so thirsty that he expects from us the drop of water that must refresh Him!… Ah! let us give without counting the cost. One day, He will say: “ now, my turn.” |
17-17-3 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), |
| 17 | GCI 630, July 18, 1890, LT 109: to Celine. |
2-17-9 | Celine, since Jesus was (alone in treading the wine) which He is giving us to drink, let us not refuse in our turn to wear clothing stained in blood… let us tread for Jesus a new wine which may quench His thirst, which will return Him love for love. Ah, let us not keep back one drop of wine that we can offer Him … and, then, looking about, He will see that we are coming to help Him!… His face was as though hidden!… Celine, it is still hidden today, for who understands the tears of Jesus? Dear Celine, let us make a little tabernacle in our heart where Jesus may take refuge, and then He will be consoled, and He will forget what we cannot forget: (the ingratitude of souls that abandon Him in a deserted tabernacle!…) |
3-17-5 (Silence, Hidden), 16-17-7 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-17-4 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 22-17-1 (Salvation of Souls), |
| 17 | GCI 630- 631, July 18, 1890, LT 109: to Celine. |
2-17-10 |
(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!… |
12-17-1 (Humility, Humbleness), 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. |
2-17-11 |
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. |
3-17-6 (Silence, Hidden), 10-17-1 (Littleness), 12-17-2 (Humility, Humbleness), 23-17-4 (The Joy of Sufferings) |
| 17 | GCI 684, Sep. 23, 1890, LT 120: to Celine. |
2-17-12 |
…It is Jesus alone who is conducting this affair, it is He, and I
recognized His touch of love…. You know the extent to which I wanted to see our dear Father again this morning; and now I see very clearly that it's God's will that he not be here. God has permitted this simply to test my love…. Jesus wants me as an orphan. He wants me to be alone with Him alone in order to unite Himself more intimately with me, and He wills to give me in the homeland the very legitimate joys that He has refused me in the exile!… Celine, be consoled, for our Spouse is a spouse of tears and not smiles. Let us give Him our tears in order to console Him, and one day these tears will be changed into smiles of an ineffable sweetness!… |
15-17-2 (Union with Jesus), 16-17-9 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-17-9 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity) |
| 18 | GCII 721, Feb. 16 , 1891, LC 146: from Fr. P. Pichon. |
2-18-1 |
I understand the silence of your soul.
I see the depths of your heart. I can
read and read again your unexpressed thoughts. When advancing toward heaven, you will see better and better that to suffer is to love and to love is to suffer! Listen to Jesus when He reveals this admirable secret to you. Keep calm and serene in your whole exterior even when your interior is tossed by the tempest. This is a holy hypocrisy. You are blessed, dear little Lamb of God, at no longer finding any pleasure outside of Jesus. Jesus alone! What riches! |
3-18-1 (Silence, Hidden), 17-18-3 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity) |
| 18 | GCII 724, April 26, 1891, LT 127: to Celine. |
2-18-2 |
For the fourth time Therese is coming from the solitude of Carmel to wish you
a happy birthday…. Oh! how these wishes little resemble those of the world,
…
It is not health, happiness, fortune, glory, etc.,
that Therese desires for her
Celine; oh, no, it is exile; our heart is there where
our treasure is, and our
treasure is up above in the homeland where Jesus prepares a place near Himself.
I say
one place and not places, for no doubt
the same throne is reserved to
those who on earth have always been only one soul…. Together we grew up;
together
Jesus instructed us in His secrets, sublime secrets
that He hides from the mighty
and reveals to the little ones;… Yes, by separating us, He
has united us in a
way unknown up to that time to my soul, for since that moment I can desire nothing
for myself alone but for us both…. Ah, Celine!… Three years ago our souls had not yet been broken; happiness was still possible for us on earth, but Jesus cast a glance of love on us, a glance veiled in tears, and this glance has become for us an ocean of suffering, but also an ocean of graces and love. |
7-18-1 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 17-18-4 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 24-18-1 (Mercy of God, Graces), 44-18-1 (Reveals to Little Ones), 50-18-1 (Jesus's Wounds, Pains and Tears) |
| 18 | GCII 725, April 26, 1891, LT 127: to Celine. |
2-18-3 | …He wills that His little flower save souls for Him; for this He wills only one thing: that His flower look at Him while suffering her martyrdom…. |
16-18-1 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 22-18-1 (Salvation of Souls) |
| 18 | GCII 728, July 8, 1891, LT 129: to Celine. |
2-18-4 | … Oh! what an exile it is, the exile of earth, especially during these hours when everything seems to abandon us…. But it is then that it is precious, it is then that the day of salvation dawns; yes, dear Celine, suffering alone can give birth to souls for Jesus…. Is it surprising that we are so favored, we whose only desire is to save a soul that seems to be lost forever?… |
14-18-1 (The Little Way), 22-18-2 (Salvation of Souls) |
| 18 | GCII, 741, Oct. 20, 1891, LT 132: to Celine. |
2-18-5 | …Winter is suffering; suffering misunderstood, misjudged, looked upon as useless by profane eyes, but as fruitful and powerful in the eyes of Jesus and the angels who, like the vigilant bees, know how to gather the honey contained within the mysterious and multiple calyxes that represent souls or rather the children of the virginal little flower…. | |
| 18 | SS 34 Dec. 5, 1891, Death of Mother Gene- vieve. |
2-18-6 | …I had no need to raise my head to see and, in fact, no longer raised it but to contemplate heaven which to me was filled with joy. All my trials had come to an end and the winter of my soul has passed on forever. | |
| 19 | GCII 761- 762, Oct.19, 1892, LT 137: to Celine. |
2-19-1 | …And He answered: “The foxes have their lairs, the birds of heaven their nests, but I have no place to rest my head.” (Matthew 8:20.) This is where we must descend in order that we may serve as an abode for Jesus. To be so poor that we do not have a place to rest our head. This is, dear Celine, what Jesus has done in my soul during my retreat…. You understand, there is question here of the interior. Besides, has not the exterior already been reduced to nothing by means of the very sad trial of Caen?… In our dear Father, Jesus has stricken us in the most sensitive exterior part of our heart; now let us allow Him to act, He can complete His work in our souls…. What Jesus desires is that we receive Him into our hearts. No doubt, they are already empty of creatures, but, alas, I feel mine is not entirely empty of myself, and it is for this reason that Jesus tells me to descend…. He, the King of kings, humbled Himself in such a way that His face was hidden, and no one recognized him… and I, too, want to hide my face, I want my Beloved alone to see it, that He be the only one to count my tears…that in my heart at least He may rest His dear head and feel that there He is known and understood!… |
3-19-2 (Silence, Hidden), 7-19-1 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 9-19-1 (Poor in Spirit), 11-19-1 (Nothingness), 14-19-2 (The Little Way), 15-19-1 (Union with Jesus) |
| 20 | GCII 795 - 796, July 6, 1893, LT 142: to Celine. |
2-20-1 |
…when the sun became hot, the Beloved led us into His garden. He made
us gather the
myrrh of trial by separating us
from
everything and from
Himself. The hill of myrrh has strengthened us with its bitter scents,
so Jesus has made us come down again, and now we are in the valley. He
leads us beside the waters…. Dear Celine, I do not know too well what
I would like to say. Ah! let us be always
Jesus' drop of dew. In that
is happiness, perfection…. Fortunately, I am speaking to you, for other
persons would be unable to understand my language, and I admit it is
true for only a few souls.
In fact, directors have others advance in
perfection by having them perform a great number of acts of virtue, and
they are right; but my director, who is Jesus, teaches me not to count
up my acts. He teaches me to do all through love, to refuse Him nothing,
to be content when He gives me a chance of proving to Him that I love Him.
But this is done in peace, in
abandonment; it is Jesus who is doing all
in me, and I am doing nothing. I feel very much united to my Celine. I believe God has not often made two souls who understand each other so well, never a discordant note. The hand of Jesus touching one of the lyres makes the other vibrate at the same time…. Oh! let us remain hidden in our divine Flower of the fields until the shadows lengthen;… |
3-20-1 (Silence, Hidden), 4-20-1 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 7-20-1 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 14-20-3 (The Little Way), 16-20-2 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-20-3 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 23-20-1 (The Joy of Sufferings), 28-20-1 (Peace), 42-20-1 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 20 | GCII 804, July 23, 1893, LT 144: to Celine. |
2-20-2 | …It is not a stone which supports his divine head (that stone for which He longed during His mortal life), it is the heart of a child, the heart of a spouse. Oh, how happy Jesus is! But how can He be happy while His spouse is suffering, while she watches during the time he is sleeping so peacefully? Does He not know that Celine sees only the night, that his divine face remains hidden from her, and even at times the weight she feels on her heart seems heavy to her?… What a mystery! Jesus, the little child of Bethlehem whom Mary used to carry as a light burden, becomes heavy, so heavy that St. Christopher is astonished by it…. The spouse of the Canticles also says her Beloved is a bundle of myrrh and that He rests on her heart. Myrrh is suffering, and it is in this way that Jesus rests on Celine's heart…. And nevertheless Jesus is happy to see her in suffering. He is happy to receive all from her during the night…. He is awaiting the dawn and then, oh, then, what an awakening will be the wakening of Jesus!!!… | |
| 20 | GCII 808- 809, Aug. 2, 1893, LT 145: to Celine. |
2-20-3 |
…Jesus does not will that we find His adorable presence in repose;
He hides
Himself; He wraps Himself in darkness. It was not thus that He acted with
the
crowd of Jews, for we see in the
gospel that the people were CARRIED AWAY
when He was speaking.
Jesus used to charm weak souls with His divine words,
He was trying to make them strong for the day of trial…. But how
small was
the number of Our Lord's friends when He was SILENT before his
judges!…
Oh! what a melody for my heart is this silence of Jesus…. He made Himself
poor that we might be able to give Him love.
He holds out His hand to us like a
beggar so that on the radiant
day of judgment when He will appear
in His glory, He may have us hear those sweet words: “
Come, blessed of
my Father, for I was hungry and you gave to eat; I was thirsty, and you
gave me to drink; I did not know where to lodge, and you gave me a home.
I was in prison, sick, and you helped me.” (Matthew 25:34-36.) It
is Jesus Himself who spoke
these words;
it is He who wants our love, who begs for
it.… He places
Himself, so to speak, at our mercy, He does not want to take anything
unless we give it to Him, and the smallest thing is precious in His
divine eyes…. Jesus is a hidden treasure, an inestimable good which few souls can find, for it is hidden, and the world loves what sparkles. Ah! if Jesus had willed to show Himself to all souls with His ineffable gifts, no doubt there is not one of them that would have despised Him. However, He does not will that we love Him for His gifts, He Himself must be our reward. To find a hidden thing one must hide oneself; our life must then be a mystery. We must be like Jesus, Jesus whose face was hidden…. “Do you want to learn something that may be of use to you?” says the Imitation. “Love to be unknown and accounted for nothing…. And elsewhere; “After you have left everything, you must above all leave yourself; let one man boast of one thing, another of something else; as for you, place your joy only in contempt of yourself.” What peace these words give to the soul, Celine. |
3-20-2 (Silence, Hidden), 14-20-5 (The Little Way), 16-20-3 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 19-20-1 (The Words of God), 25-20-1 (Glory), 28-20-3 (Peace), 40-20-1 (Participation to Salvation), 43-20-2 (Darkness) |
| 20 | GCII 816, Aug. 13, 1893, LT 148: to Leonie. |
2-20-4 | Dear little Sister, you see the share I am taking in your joy. I know that it is great but also that sacrifices do not fail to accompany it; without them, would the religious life be meritorious? No, certainly not. On the contrary, it is the little crosses that are our whole joy; they are more common than big ones and prepare the heart to receive the latter when this is the will of our good Master. |
14-20-7 (The Little Way), 16-20-4 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 23-20-2 (The Joy of Suffering) |
| 20 | GCII 826, Oct. 20(?), 1893, LT 149: to Celine. |
2-20-5 | … He alone understands when nothing answers us…. He alone arranges the events of our life of exile. It is He who offers us at times the bitter chalice. But we do not see Him, He is hiding. He veils His divine hand, and we can see only creatures. Then we suffer since the voice of our Beloved does not make itself heard and that of creatures seems to misunderstand us…. Yes, the most bitter sorrow is that of not being understood…. |
14-20-8 (The Little Way), 16-20-5 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 23-20-3 (The Joy of Sufferings) |
| 20 | GCII 826- 827, Oct. 20(?), 1893, LT 149: to Celine. |
2-20-6 | Oh, Celine! my dear Celine…it is not the precipices we must avoid, we are in the arms of Jesus. And if the voices of friends advise us to fear, it is our Beloved who wills it so, and why?… Ah! in His love He chooses for His spouses the same road He chose for Himself…. He wills that the purest joys be changed into sufferings so that not having, so to speak, even the time to breathe at ease, our heart may turn to Him who alone is our Sun and our joy…. |
16-20-6 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
| 21 | GCII 838- 839, Jan. 21, 1894, LT 156: to Mother Agnes of Jesus. |
2-21-1 | Soon, He sees in the distance strange objects bearing no resemblance to the springtime flowers. A cross!… a lance!… a crown of thorns! And yet the divine Child does not tremble; this is what He chooses to show His spouse how much He loves her!… But it is still not enough; His infant face is so beautiful. He sees it disfigured, covered with blood!… unrecognizable!… Jesus knows that His spouse will always recognize Him, that she will be at His side when all others abandon Him, so the divine Child smiles at this bloodstained image, He smiles at the chalice filled with the wine giving birth to virgins. He knows that, in His Eucharist, the ungrateful will desert Him; but Jesus is thinking of His spouse's love, her attention. He sees the flowers of her virtues as they scent the sanctuary, and the Child Jesus continues to sleep on peacefully… He awaits the shadows to lengthen… the night of life to give way to the bright day of eternity!…. |
17-21-1 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 37-21-1 (Time), 39-21-1 (Pauline) |
| 21 | GCII 841, Mar. or May, 1894, LT 157: to Celine. |
2-21-2 | Let the little exile be sad without being sad, for if tenderness of creatures is not concentrated on her, the tenderness of Jesus is totally CONCENTRATED on her. Now that Celine is without a home, Jesus Himself is well obliged. He is content to see His dear spouse wandering, this pleases Him! Why?… I myself know nothing about it…. This is Jesus' secret, but I believe He is preparing very beautiful things in His little house. … He has to work so much that He seems to forget His dear Celine…but, no, without being seen by her, he is looking at her through the window. … He is pleased to see her in the desert, having no other duty but to love while suffering, without even feeling that she loves!… Jesus knows that life is only a dream, so He is taking delight in seeing His spouse weeping on the banks of the river of Babylon! Soon the day will come when Jesus will take His Celine by the hand and will have her enter her little house which will have become an eternal palace…. Then He will say: “‘Now, my turn.’ You have given me on earth the only home that every human heart is unwilling to renounce, that is, yourself, and now I am giving you as a dwelling my eternal substance, that is, “Myself.” This is your house for all eternity. During the night of life, you have been homeless and solitary, now you will have a companion, and it is I, Jesus, your Spouse, your Friend, for whom you sacrificed all, who will be this Companion, who must fill you with joy from age to age!…” |
7-21-1 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 14-21-1 (The Little Way), 17-21-2 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 37-21-2 (Time) |
| 21 | GCII 853- 854, May 22, 1894, LT 163: to Sr. The- rese- Dosi- thee (Leo- nie). |
2-21-3 | In the meanwhile, we must merit the homeland of heaven…. We must suffer, we must fight…. Oh! I beg you, pray for your little Therese that she may profit by the exile of earth and by the abundant means she has for meriting heaven. | |
| 21 | GCII 854, May 22, 1894, LT 164: to Sr. The- rese- Dosi -thee (Leo- nie). |
2-21-4 | Which of the Therese will be the more fervent?…The one who will be more humble, more united to Jesus, more faithful in performing all her actions through love!… Ah! let us pray for one another in order to be equally faithful…. Let us wound Jesus by our eye and by a single hair, this is, by the greatest thing and by the littlest. Let us not refuse Him the least sacrifice. Everything is so big in religion… to pick up a pin out of love can convert a soul. What a mystery!… Ah! it is Jesus alone who can give such a value to our actions; let us love Him with all our strength…. |
17-21-4 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 22-21-1 (Salvation of Souls), 42-21-2 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 21 | GCII 861- 862, Jul. 7, 1894, LT 165: to Celine. |
2-21-5 | …Frequently, we descend into the fertile valleys, where our heart loves to nourish itself, the vast field of the scriptures which has so many times opened before us to pour out its rich treasures in our favor; this vast field seems to us to be a desert, arid and without water….We know no longer where we are; instead of peace and light, we find only turmoil or at least darkness…. But, like the spouse, we know the cause of our trial: our soul is troubled because of the chariots of Aminadab….We are still not as yet in our homeland, and trial must purify us as gold in the crucible…. At times, we believe ourselves abandoned. Alas! the chariots, the vain noises that disturb us, are they within us or outside us? We do not know… but Jesus really knows. He sees our sadness and suddenly His gentle voice makes itself heard, a voice more gentle than the springtime breeze: “ Return, return, my Sulamitess; return, return, that we may look at you!…” (Cant. Chap. 6, v. 12.) What a call is that of the Spouse!… And we were no longer daring even to look at ourselves so much did we consider ourselves without any splendor and adornment; and Jesus calls us, He wants to look at us at His leisure, but He is not alone; with Him, the two other Persons of the Blessed trinity come to take possession of our soul…. Jesus had promised it in days gone by when He was about to reascend to His Father and our Father. He said with ineffable tenderness: “ If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and we will make in him our abode.” (John 14:23.) To keep the word of Jesus, that is the sole condition of our happiness, the proof of our love for Him. But what, then, is this word?… It seems to me that the word of Jesus is Himself… He, Jesus, the Word, the Word of God!… In another place, Jesus teaches us that He is the way, the truth, the life. We know, then, what is the Word that we must keep; like Pilate, we shall not ask Jesus: “What is Truth?” We possess Truth. We are keeping Jesus in our hearts!… |
14-21-3 (The Little Way), 15-21-1 (Union with Jesus), 19-21-1 (Words of God), 20-21-1 (Truth), 28-21-1 (Peace), 43-21-1 (Darkness), 49-21-1 (Trinity) |
| 21 | GCII 862, Jul. 7, 1894, LT 165: to Celine. |
2-21-6 | …But how sweet it will be to hear one day this very sweet word coming from the mouth of Jesus:“ You are the ones who have always remained with me in all the trials I have had, so I have prepared my kingdom for you, just as my Father has prepared it for me.” (Luke 22:28-29.) The trials of Jesus, what a mystery! He has trials then, He too?… Yes, He has them, and often He is alone in treading the wine in the wine press; He looks for consolers and can find none…. (Isaias 63:3 and 5.) Many serve Jesus when he is consoling them, but few consent to keep company with Jesus sleeping on the waves or suffering in the garden of agony!…Who, then, will be willing to serve Jesus for Himself?… Ah! we shall be the ones… Celine and Therese will unite always more and more; in them, will be accomplished this prayer of Jesus: “ Father, that they may be one as we are one. ” (John 17:21.) Yes, Jesus is already preparing His kingdom for us, just as His Father prepared it for Him. He prepares it for us by leaving us in the trial. He wills that our face be seen by creatures, but that it be as though hidden so that no one recognize us but Himself alone!… | 3-21-1 (Silence, Hidden), 16-21-1 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
| 21 | GCII 863, July 7, 1894, LT 165: to Celine. |
2-21-7 |
…For a long time, our harps were hung on
the willows of the shore.” (Psalm 136:4 and 2.)
We were not able to use them!… Our
God, the
Guest of our soul, knows
it well, so He comes to us with the intention of finding an abode,
an EMPTY
tent, in the midst of the
earth's field of battle. He asks
only this, and He Himself is the Divine Musician who takes charge of
the
concert…. Ah! if only
we were to hear this ineffable harmony, if
one single vibration were to reach our ears!…. “We do not know how to ask for anything as we ought, but the spirit pleads within us with unutterable groanings” (St. Paul, Romans 8:26.). We have, then, only to surrender our soul, to abandon it to our great God. What does it matter, then, if our souls be without gifts that sparkle exteriorly since within us the King of kings shines with all His glory! How great must a soul be to contain a God!… And yet the soul of a day-old child is a Paradise of delights for Him; what will it be, then, for our souls that have fought and suffered to delight the Heart of our Beloved?… |
4-21-1 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 15-21-2 (Union with Jesus), 25-21-1 (Glory) |
| 21 | GCII 870- 871, Jul. 18, 1894, LT 167: to Celine. |
2-21-8 |
…God willed that I make my sacrifice; I made it and now, like you, I
have felt calm in the midst of suffering. But I felt something else, that
frequently God wants only
our will; He asks us
all, and if we were
to refuse Him the least thing, He loves us too much to give in to us;
however, as soon as our will is conformed to His, as soon as He sees we
seek Him alone, then He conducted Himself with Abraham…. This is what
Jesus is making me feel interiorly, and I think that you are on TRIAL,
that
now the cutting off is taking
place which you feel is necessary….
It is now that Jesus is
breaking your
nature, that He is giving you
the cross and tribulation. The more I go on, the more I have the inner
certitude that one day you will come here. Mother Marie de Gonzague
advises me to tell you this. She was so kind when reading your letter,
if you had seen her you would have been touched!… Fear nothing. Here you will find more than anywhere else the cross and martyrdom!… We shall suffer together, as in the past the Christians who used to join together in order to give each other more courage in the hour of trial…. |
7-21-2 (Renunciation, Forget Self) |
| 21 | GCII 870- 871, July 18, 1894, LT 167: to Celine. |
2-21-9 | Exterior crosses, what are they?…We might be far from each other without suffering, if Jesus were to comfort our souls …. What is a real cross is the martyrdom of the heart, the interior suffering of the soul, and this, which no one sees, we shall be able to bear without ever being separated. | |
| 21 | GCII 882, Aug. 19, 1894, LT 169: to Celine. |
2-21-10 | …We have only the short moment of this life to give to God… and He is already preparing to say: “ Now, my turn…” What a joy to suffer for Him who loves us unto folly and to pass as fools in the eyes of the world. We judge other as we judge ourselves, and since the world is senseless!… It naturally thinks we are the ones who are senseless!… But after all, we are not the first; the only crime with which Jesus was reproached by Herod was that of being foolish, and I think like him!… Yes, it was folly to seek out the poor little hearts of mortals to make them His thrones, He, the King of Glory, who is seated above the Cherubim…. He, whom the heavens cannot contain…. He was foolish, our Beloved, to come to earth in search of sinners in order to make them His friends, His intimates, His equals, He who was perfectly happy with the two adorable Persons of the Trinity!… |
14-21-4 (The Little Way), 17-21-5 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 23-21-1 (The Joy of Sufferings), 27-21-1 (Sinners, Sins), 37-21-3 (Time), 49-21-2 (Trinity) |
22 | SS 14. | 2-22-1 |
…
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,… |
12-22-1 (Humility, Humbleness), 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 174. |
2-22-2 | I had the happiness of contemplating for a long time the marvels Jesus is working by means of my dear Mother. I see that suffering alone give birth to souls, and more than ever before these sublime words of Jesus unveil their depths to me:“ Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it will bring forth much fruit.” (John12:24.) |
22-22-1 (Salvation of Souls) |
| 22 | SS 178. |
2-22-3 |
And now I have no other desire except to
love Jesus unto folly…the
Flower I desired, my
dear Celine, I desire no other; she
is the one that I offer Him as my most delightful bouquet.… Neither do I desire any longer suffering or death, and still I love them both; it is love alone that attracts me, however. I desired them for a long time; I possessed suffering and believed I had touched the shores of heaven, that the little flower would be gathered in the springtime of her life. Now, abandonment alone guides me. I have no other compass! I can no longer ask for anything with fervor except the accomplishment of God's will in my soul without any creature being able to set obstacles in the way. |
4-22-1 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 7-22-1 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 16-22-5 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-22-3 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity) |
| 22 | SS 181. |
2-22-4 | …Ah! since that happy day, it seems to me that Love penetrates and surrounds me, that at each moment this Merciful Love renews me, purifying my soul and leaving no trace of sin within it, and I need have no fear of purgatory. I know that of myself I would not merit even to enter there, but I also know that the Fire of Love is more sanctifying than is the fire of purgatory. I know that Jesus cannot desire useless sufferings for us, and He would not inspire the longings I feel unless He wanted to grant them. Oh! how sweet is the way of Love! How I want to apply myself to doing the will of God always with the greatest self-surrender! |
14-22-4 (The Little Way), 16-22-7 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-22-8 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 27-22-2 (Sinners, Sins) |
| 22 | SS 188. |
2-22-5 | …I understand so well that it is only love which makes us acceptable to God that this love is the only good I ambition. Jesus deigned to show me the road that leads to this Divine Furnace, and this road is the surrender of the little child who sleeps without fear in its Father's arms…. |
4-22-3 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 14-22-5 (The Little Way ), 17-22-9 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity) |
| 22 | SS 188. |
2-22-6 | … Ah! if all weak and imperfect souls felt what the least of souls feels, that is, the soul of your little Therese, not one would despair of reaching the summit of the mount of love. Jesus does not demand great actions from us but simply surrender and gratitude…. |
7-22-3 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 8-22-2 (Weakness, Frailty), 17-22-10 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 42-22-2 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 22 | SS 277. |
2-22-7 |
I thank You, O my God! for all the graces You have granted me,
especially the grace of making me pass through
the crucible of
suffering. It is with joy I shall contemplate You on the Last
Day carrying the sceptre of Your Cross.
Since You deigned
to give me a share in this very precious Cross, I hope in heaven
to resemble You and to see shining in my glorified body the sacred
stigmata of Your Passion…. After earth's Exile, I hope to go and enjoy You in the Fatherland, but I do not want to lay up merits for heaven. I want to work for Your Love alone with the one purpose of pleasing You, consoling Your Sacred Heart, and saving souls who will love You eternally. |
14-22-7 (The Little Way), 17-22-12 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 22-22-2 (Salvation of Souls), 24-22-7 (Mercy of God, Graces) |
| 22 | GCII 896, Jan. 1895, LT 173: to Sr. The- rese -Dosi- thee (Leo- nie). |
2-22-8 | Dear little Sister, do you not find, as I do, that our Father's departure had brought us close to heaven? More than half the family now enjoys the vision of God, and the five exiled on earth will not be long in flying away to their homeland. This thought of the brevity of life gives me courage, it helps me bear with the weariness of the road. What does a little work on earth matter (say the Imitation)… we pass away and we have not here a lasting dwelling! Jesus has gone before us to prepare a place in the home of His Father, and then He will come and He will take us with Him so that where He is we also may be…. Let us wait, let us suffer in peace, the hour of rest is approaching, the light tribulations of this life of a moment are preparing us for an eternal weight of glory…. |
16-22-8 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 25-22-1 (Glory), 28-22-2 (Peace), 37-22-2 (Time), 42-22-4 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 22 | GCII 909, July 20 -21, 1895, LT 178: to Mme. Guerin. |
2-22-9 | … St. Teresa was very right in saying to Our Lord, who was loading her with crosses when she was undertaking great works for Him; “Ah! Lord, I am not surprised that You have so few friends! You treat them so badly!” On another occasion, she said that to souls whom God loves with an ordinary love He gives some trials, but on those He loves with a love of predilection He lavishes His crosses as the most certain mark of His tenderness…. |
14-22-8 (The Little Way), 17-22-13 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity) |
| 23 | SS 191. Rem- ember -ing the dream she had on May 10, 1896, written on Sep. 8, 1896, |
2-23-1 | …“Mother, tell me further if God is not asking something more of me than my poor little actions and desire. Is he content with me?” The saint's face took on an expression incomparably more tender than the first time she spoke to me. Her look and her caresses were the sweetest of answers. However, she said to me:“ God asks no other thing from you. He is content, very content!” … |
42-23-1 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 23 | SS 196 -197. |
2-23-2 |
…
What this child asks for is Love. She knows
only one thing:
to love You, O Jesus.
Astounding works are forbidden to her;
she cannot preach the Gospel, shed her blood; but what does it
matter since her brothers work in her stead and she, a little
child, stays very close to the throne of the King and Queen.
She loves in her brothers' place while they do the fighting.
But how will she prove her love since
love is proved by works?
Well, the little child will strew flowers, she will perfume
the royal throne with their sweet scents, and she will sing in
her silvery tones the canticle of Love. Yes, my Beloved, this is how my life will be consumed. I have no other means of proving my love for you other than that of strewing flowers, that is, not allowing one little sacrifice to escape, not one look, one word, profiting by all the smallest things and doing them through love. I desire to suffer for love and even to rejoice through love; and in this way I shall strew flowers before Your throne. I shall not come upon one without unpettaling it for You. While I am strewing my flowers, I shall sing, for could one cry while doing such a joyous action? I shall sing even when I must gather my flowers in the midst of thorns, and my song will be all the more melodious in proportion to the length and sharpness of the thorns. O Jesus, of what use will my flowers be to You? Ah! I know very well that this fragrant shower, these fragile, worthless petals, these songs of love from the littlest of hearts will charm You. Yes, these nothingness will please You. They will bring a smile to the Church Triumphant. She will gather up my flowers unpetalled through love and have them pass through Your own divine hands, O Jesus. And this Church in heaven, desirous of playing with her little child, will cast these flowers, which are now infinitely valuable because of Your divine touch, upon the Church suffering in order to extinguish its flames and upon the Church Militant in order to gain the victory for it! |
7-23-1 (Renunciation, Sacrifices), 10-23-2 (Littleness), 11-23-2 (Nothingness), 14-23-2 (The Little Way), 17-23-3 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 23-23-1 (The Joy of Sufferings), 42-23-2 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 23 | SS 197. |
2-23-3 | … But is PURE LOVE in my heart? Are my measureless desires only but a dream, a folly? Ah! if this be so, Jesus, then enlighten me, for You know I am seeking only truth. If my desires are rash, then make them disappear, for these desires are the greatest martyrdom to me. However, I feel, O Jesus, that after having aspired to the most lofty heights of Love, if one day I am not to attain them, I feel that I shall have tasted more sweetness in my martyrdom and my folly than I shall taste in the bosom of the joy of the Fatherland, unless You take away the memory of these earthly hopes through a miracle. Allow me, then, during my exile, the delights of love. Allow me to taste the sweet bitterness of my martyrdom. |
17-23-4 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 20-23-1 (Truth), 23-23-2 (The Joy of Sufferings) |
| 23 | GCII 935, Feb. 24, 1896, LT 184: to Sr. Gene- vieve (Celine). |
2-23-4 The- rese played the role of Mother Gene- vieve |
To you, dear child, I give as wedding present the last tear I shed on this earth of exile. Carry it on your heart and remember that it is through suffering that a Sister Genevieve of Saint Teresa can reach sanctity. You will have not trouble in loving the Cross and the tears of Jesus if you think often of this saying: “He loved me and He gave Himself up for me!” Mother Genevieve |
16-23-1 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
| 23 | GCII 935, Feb. 24- March 17, 1896, LT 185: to Sr. Gene- vieve (Ce- line). |
2-23-5 |
Through love, Celine will henceforth
press to her heart the thorns of
suffering and contempt, but she has no fear because she knows from
experience that Mary can change into milk the blood flowing from
wounds made by Love…. Celine is pressing the thorns with her left hand, but with her right she is embracing Jesus, the divine bundle of myrrh resting on her heart. Celine will bring forth souls for Him alone, watering the seeds with tears, and Jesus, always joyful, will carry the sheaves of Lilies in His hands…. |
17-23-7 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 22-23-1 (Salvation of Souls), 50-23-1 (Jesus's Wounds, Pains) |
| 23 | GCII 951, Apr. 11, 1896, LT 186: to Sr. The- rese -Dosi- thee(Leo- nie). |
2-23-6 | …Dear little Sister, how sweet it is that we can, all five, call Jesus “Our Beloved.” But what will it be when we shall see Him in heaven and follow Him everywhere, singing the same canticle only virgins are permitted to sing. Then we shall understand the value of suffering, and, like Jesus, we shall repeat: “ It was really necessary that suffering should try us and have us come to glory.” (Luke 24:46.) |
25-23-1 (Glory) |
| 23 | GCII 960 -961, June 20 or 29(?), 1896, LT 190: to Mother Marie de Gon- zague. |
2-23-7 |
…
“If I were to speak to her,
her trial
would disappear, her heart
would be filled with so great a joy that her staff would never have
seemed so light…but
I do not want
to take her trial away from her,
I want only that she
may understand the truth and
recognize that her
cross is coming from
heaven and
not from earth.” “Lord, speak then to my shepherdess. How do you expect her to understand the truth since she hears only falsehood around her?…” “Little lamb, are you not the favorite of your shepherdess?… Well! Repeat to her the words I am speaking in your heart.” “Jesus, I shall do it, but I would prefer if You gave this charge to one of the sheep whose reasoning is mundane…. I am so little … my voice is so weak, how will my shepherdess believe me?…” “Your shepherdess knows that I am pleased to hide my secrets from the wise and the prudent, she knows I reveal them to the littlest ones, to the simple lambs whose white wool is not soiled by the dust of the road.… She will believe you, and if tears still flow from her eyes, these tears will no longer have the same bitterness, they will adorn her soul with the austere brightness of suffering loved and accepted with gratitude.” |
20-23-2 (Truth), 44-23-1 (Reveals to Little Ones), 48-23-1 (The Wise and the Prudent), 50-23-2 (Jesus's Wounds, Pains) |
| 23 | GCII 961, Jun. 20 or 29(?), 1896, LT 190: to Mother Marie de Gon- zague. |
2-23-8 |
“I understand You, Jesus, but there is still a mystery I would like
to fathom: Tell me, I beg You, why have You chosen the dear sheep of
my shepherdess to try her?… If You had chosen strangers, the trial
would have been sweeter….”
Then showing the lamb His feet, His hands,
and His heart, adorned with luminous wounds, the Good Shepherd answered:
“Look at these wounds;they are the ones I
received in the house of those
who loved Me!… This is the reason why they are so beautiful,
so glorious,
and why for all eternity their brilliance will revive the joy of
the angels and saints…” “Your shepherdess wonders what she has done to estrange her sheep, and I, what had I done to My people? … In what had I made them sad? Your dear Mother, then, must rejoice in having a share in My sorrows. If I am removing from her human support, it is only to fill her very loving heart!… |
37-23-1 (Time) |
| 23 | GCII 961, June 20 or 29(?), 1896, LT 190: to Mother Marie de Gon- zague. |
2-23-9 |
“Blessed is the one who places his support in Me, for he is setting up
in his heart steps which will lift him up to heaven. Notice, little lamb,
that I am not saying that one must separate himself
completely from
creatures, despise their love, their kindness, but, on the contrary,
one
must accept them in order
to please Me, and to use them as so many
steps, for to separate oneself
from creatures would serve only one things:
to walk and go astray on the paths of this earth….
To lift oneself up one
must place his foot on the
steps of creatures and attach himself to Me
only…
Do you understand, little lamb?” “Lord, I believe it, but above all I feel that Your words are the truth, for they bring peace, joy to my little heart. Ah! may they enter sweetly into the very big heart of my shepherdess!… |
19-23-1 (The Words of God), 20-23-3 (Truth), 28-23-1 (Peace) |
| 23 | GCII 1016 -1017, Nov. 1, 1896, LT 201: to P. Rou- lland. |
2-23-10 | The night of Christmas 1886 was, it is true, decisive for my vocation, but to name it more clearly I must call it: the night of my conversion. On that blessed night, about which it is written that it sheds light even on the delights of God Himself, Jesus, who saw fit to make Himself a child out of love for me, saw fit to have me come forth from the swaddling clothes and imperfections of childhood. He transformed me in such a way that I no longer recognized myself. Without this change I would have had to remain for years in the world. Saint Teresa, who said to her daughters: “I want you to be women in nothing, but that in everything you may equal strong men,” would not have wanted to acknowledge me as her child if the Lord had not clothed me in His divine strength, if He had not Himself armed me for war. |
24-23-3 (Mercy of God, Graces) |
| 23 | GCII 1033, Dec. (?), 1896, LT 205: to Sr. Marie of St. Joseph. |
2-23-11 | If the night frightens the little child, if she complains at not seeing Him who is carrying her, let her close her eyes, let her WILLINGLY make the sacrifice that is asked of her, and then let her await sleep…when she keeps herself peaceful in this way, the night which she is no longer looking at will be unable to frighten her, and soon calm, if not joy, will be reborn in her little heart…. |
28-23-2 (Peace) |
| 23 | GCII 1038 Dec. 24, 1896, LT 211: to Sr. Marie Gene- vieve. Christ- mas 1896. |
2-23-12 |
If you only knew how much you delight my heart and that of my little
Jesus, oh, how happy you would be!… But you do not know, you do not
see, and your soul is in sadness.
I would like to console you, and,
if I do not do it, it is because I know the value of suffering and
anguish of heart. Oh, my dear child! If you only knew
how my soul
was plunged into bitterness when I saw my tender spouse St. Joseph
coming back sadly to me without having found an inn. If you want to bear in peace the trial of not pleasing yourself, be at the door of your house, but do not fear, the poorer you are the more Jesus will love you…. |
9-23-2 (Poor in Spirit), 14-23-7 (The Little Way), 28-23-3 (Peace) |
| 23 | GCII 1040 Dec. 24, 1896, LT 212: to Sr. Marie of the Trinity. |
2-23-13 | …I answered my little cherubs that they were not to be sorry for not having been children since one day they would be able to play with you in the meadows of heaven; I told them, certainly, your smile was more sweet to me than their melodies because you could not play and smile except by suffering, by forgetting yourself. |
7-23-3 (Renunciation, Forget Self) |
| 23 | GCII 1041 -1042, Dec. 26, 1896, LT 213: to l'abbe Bell- iere. |
2-23-14 |
I assure you, Monsieur l'Abbe, I am doing all that is within my power
to obtain the graces necessary for you; these graces certainly will
be granted to you
since Our Lord never asks sacrifices from us above
our strength. At times, it is true, this divine Saviour makes us feel
all the bitterness of the chalice that He is offering our soul. When
He asks the sacrifice of all that is dearest in this world, it is
impossible, without a very special grace, not to cry out like Him in
the garden of agony: “
Father, let this chalice pass from me…however,
may your will be done and not mine.” (Matthew 26:39.) It is very consoling to think that Jesus, the Strong God, knew our weaknesses, that He trembled at the sight of the bitter chalice, this chalice that He had in the past so ardently desired to drink. Monsieur l'Abbe, your lot is really beautiful since Our Lord chose it for Himself and since He first wet His lips with the cup He is offering you. A Saint has said: “The greatest honor God can give a soul is not to give it much but to ask much from it!” Jesus is treating you then as a privileged one. He wills that you already begin your mission and that through suffering you may save souls. Is it not in suffering, in dying that He Himself redeemed the world?… Monsieur l'Abbe, you come seeking consolations from her whom Jesus has given you as a sister, and you have the right. Since Reverend Mother allows me to write you, I would like to respond to the sweet mission entrusted to me, but I feel the surest means of reaching my goal is to pray and to suffer…. Let us work together for the salvation of souls; we have only the one day of this life to save them and thus to give the Lord proofs of our love. |
5-23-1 (Prayer, Meditation, Contemplation), 8-23-7 (Weakness, Frailty), 14-23-8 (The Little Way), 16-23-5 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-23-15 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 22-23-5 (Salvation of Souls), 24-23-4 (Mercy of God, Graces), 29-23-1 (Consolations), 37-23-2 (Time) |
| 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. |
8-24-1 (Weakness, Frailty), 12-24-1 (Humility, Humbleness) |
| 24 | SS 209. |
2-24-2 | …Perhaps you remembered that often the Lord is pleased to grant wisdom to the little ones, and that one day, in a transport of joy, He blessed His Father for revealing them to the little ones. (Matthew 11:25.) Mother, you know yourself that those souls are rare who don't measure the divine power according to their own narrow minds;… |
14-24-2 (The Little Way), 44-24-1 (Reveals to Little Ones) |
| 24 | SS 210. |
2-24-3 | …Dear Mother, you know well that God has deigned to make me pass through many types of trials. I have suffered very much since I was on earth, but, if in my childhood I suffered with sadness, it is no longer in this way that I suffer. It is with joy and peace. I am truly happy to suffer…. |
23-24-1 (Joy of Suffering), 28-24-1 (Peace) |
| 24 | SS 212. |
2-24-4 | …May all those who were not enlightened by the bright flame of faith one day see it shine. O Jesus! if it is needful that the table soiled by them be purified by a soul who loves You, then I desire to eat this bread of trial at this table until it please You to bring me into Your bright Kingdom. The only grace I ask of You is that I never offend You! |
24-24-1 (Mercy of God, Graces) |
| 24 | SS 213 -214. |
2-24-5 | Ah! may Jesus pardon me if I have caused Him any pain, but He knows very well that while I do not have the joy of faith, I am trying to carry out its works at least. I believe I have made more acts of faith in this past year than all through my whole life. At each new occasion of combat, when my enemy provokes me, I conduct myself bravely. Knowing it is cowardly to enter into a duel, I turn my back on my adversary without deigning to look him in the face; but I run towards my Jesus. I tell Him I am ready to shed my blood to the last drop to profess my faith in the existence of heaven. I tell Him, too, I am happy not to enjoy this beautiful heaven on this earth so that he will open it for all eternity to poor unbelievers. |
27-24-1 (Sinnes, Sins), 42-24-1 (Works, Actions, Great Actions), 50-24-1 (Jesus's Wounds, Pains and Tears) |
| 24 | SS 214. |
2-24-6 | …Also, in spite of this trial which has taken away all my joy, I can nevertheless cry out: “You have given me DELIGHT, O Lord, in ALL your doings.” For is there a joy greater than that of suffering out of love for You? The more interior the suffering is and the less apparent to the eyes of creatures, the more it rejoices You, O my God! But if my suffering was really unknown to You, which is impossible, I would still be happy to have it, if through it I could prevent or make reparation for one single sin against faith. |
23-24-3 (The Joy of Sufferings), 27-24-2 (Sinners, Sins) |
| 24 | SS 217. |
2-24-7 | …However, a few months after this, they spoke of the departure of Sister Genevieve and Sister Marie of the Trinity. Then this was another kind of suffering, very intimate, very deep; I imagined all the trials, the disappointment they would suffer, and my heaven was covered with clouds; calm and peace remained only in the depths of my heart. |
28-24-2 (Peace) |
| 24 | SS 218. |
2-24-8 | …My one purpose, then, would be to accomplish the will of God, to sacrifice myself for Him in the way that would please Him. I really feel that I would have no disappointment, for when one expects pure and unmixed suffering, the smallest joy becomes an unhoped-for surprise. And you know, Mother, that suffering itself becomes the greatest of joy when one seeks it as the most precious of treasures. |
16-24-2 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 23-24-4 (The Joy of Sufferings) |
| 24 | SS 218. |
2-24-9 | …For a long time I have not belonged to myself since I delivered myself totally to Jesus, and He is therefore free to do with me as He pleases. He has given me the attraction for a complete exile and He has made me understand all the sufferings I would meet with, asking me if I would want to drink this chalice to the dregs; I wanted to seize this cup immediately when Jesus presented it, but He withdrew His hand and made me understand that my resignation alone was pleasing to Him. | |
| 24 | SS 226 -227. |
2-24-10 |
…Ah!
what peace floods the soul when she rises above
natural feelings. No,
there is no joy comparable to that which the truly poor in spirit
experience.
If such a one asks for something with detachment, and if this thing is not
only refused but one tries to take away what one already has, the poor
in spirit follow Jesus' counsel: “
If anyone take away your coat, let go
your cloak also.” (Matthew 5:40.) To give up one's cloak is, it seems to me, renouncing one's ultimate rights; it is considering oneself as the servant and the slaves of others…. |
7-24-1 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 9-24-1 (Poor in Spirit), 14-24-5 (The Little Way), 28-24-3 (Peace) |
| 24 | SS 229 -227. |
2-24-11 | Oh, yes! the reward is great, even on this earth; in this way it is only the first step that costs anything…. | |
| 24 | SS 234 -235. |
2-24-12 | …Century has followed upon century since the Most-High has spoken those words, and since then His conduct has undergone no change, for He is always using His creatures as instruments to carry on His work in souls. |
7-24-3 (Renunciation, Forget Self) |
| 24 | SS 237. |
2-24-13 |
…Love is nourished only by sacrifices,
and the more a soul refuses natural
satisfactions, the stronger and more disinterested becomes her
tenderness…. …in a word, dear Mother, I found a thousand reasons for pleasing my nature. How happy I am now for having deprived myself from the very beginning of my religious life! I already enjoy the reward promised to those who fight courageously. I no longer feel the necessity of refusing all human consolations, for my soul is strengthened by Him whom I wanted to love uniquely. I can see with joy that in loving Him the heart expands and can give to those who are dear to it incomparably more tenderness than if it had concentrated upon one egotistical and unfruitful love. |
1-24-2 (Self- love, Nature), 7-24-4 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 14-24-6 (The Little Way), 17-24-5 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 29-24-1 (Consolation) |
| 24 | SS 241. |
2-24-14 | … Ah! it is prayer, it is sacrifice which give me all my strength; these are the invincible weapons which Jesus has given me. |
5-24-1 (Prayer) |
| 24 | SS 242. |
2-24-15 | …For me, prayer is an aspiration of the heart, it is a simple glance directed to heaven, it is a cry of gratitude and love in the midst of trial as well as joy; finally, it is something great, supernatural, which expands my soul and unites me to Jesus. |
5-24-2 (Prayer, Meditation, Contemplation), 15-24-3 (Union with Jesus) |
| 24 | SS 244. |
2-24-16 | …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…. |
12-24-2 (Humility, Humbleness) |
| 24 | SS 250. |
2-24-17 | My dear Mother, you can see that I am a very little soul and that I can offer God only very little things. It often happens that I allow these little sacrifices which give such peace to the soul to slip by; this does not discourage me, for I put up with having a little less peace and I try to be more vigilant on another occasion. |
10-24-6 (Littleness), 28-24-4 (Peace) |
| 24 | GCII 1069, Mar. 19, 1897, LT 221: to P. Rou- lland. |
2-24-18 | …With all my heart I thank God for having left you on the field of battle in order that you may win numerous victories for Him; already your sufferings have saved many souls. Saint John of the Cross has said: “The smallest movement of pure love is more useful to the Church than all other works put together.” If it is so, how profitable for the Church must be your pains and trials since it is for the love of Jesus alone that you suffer them with joy. Truly, Brother, I cannot pity you since in you are realized these words of the Imitation: “When you find suffering sweet and when you love it for the love of Jesus Christ, you will have found paradise on earth.” This paradise is really that of the missionary and the Carmelite; the joy that worldlings seek in the midst of pleasures is only a fleeting shadow, but our joy sought and tested in works and sufferings is a very sweet reality, a foretaste of the happiness of heaven. |
17-24-11 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 22-24-3 (Salvation of Souls), 23-24-6 (The Joy of Sufferings), 42-24-3 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 24 | GCII 1072, Mar. 19, 1897, LT 221: to P. Rou- lland. |
2-24-19 | I am not at all worried about the future; I am sure God will do His will, it is the only grace I desire. One must not be more kingly than the king… Jesus has no need of anyone to do His work, and if He were to accept me, this would be out of pure kindness; but to tell you the truth, Brother, I rather believe Jesus will treat me like a little lazy thing. I do not want this, for I would be happy to work and suffer a long time for Him. So I am asking Him to be content with me, that is, to pay no attention to my desires of loving Him in suffering or of going to enjoy Him in heaven. I hope, Brother, that if I were to leave this exile, you would not forget your promise of praying for me. You have always welcomed my requests with such great kindness that I am daring to make one more request from you. I do not want you to ask God to deliver me from the flames of purgatory; Saint Teresa said to her daughters when they wanted to pray for her: “What does it matter to me to remain until the end of the world in purgatory if through my prayers I save a single soul?” These words find an echo in my heart. I would like to save souls and forget myself for them; I would like to save them even after my death. So I would be happy if you were to say then, instead of the little prayer you are saying and which will be always realized: “My God, allow my sister to make you still loved.” |
5-24-4 (Prayer, Meditation, Contemplation), 7-24-8 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 16-24-7 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-24-12 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 22-24-4 (Salvation of Souls), 24-24-6 (Mercy of God, Graces), 37-24-2 (Time) |
| 24 | GCII 1092, May 9, 1897, LT 226: to P. Rou- lland. |
2-24-20 |
…On this earth, where all changes, one single thing remains, and this
is the conduct of the King of heaven regarding his friends. Ever since
He has lifted up the standard of the Cross, it is under its shadow that
all must fight and carry off the victory. Theophane Venard
said : “The
whole of a missionary's life is fruitful in the Cross”, and again:
“To be truly happy we must suffer, and to live
we must die.” Brother, the beginnings of your apostolate are marked with the seal of the Cross; the Lord is treating you as a privileged one. It is more by persecution and suffering than by brilliant preaching that He wills to make His kingdom firm in souls. You say: “I am still a child who cannot speak.” Pere Mazel, who was ordained the same day as you, did not know how to speak either; however, he has already taken up the palm. … Oh! how the divine thoughts are above ours!… |
16-24-8 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 22-24-5 (Salvation of Souls), 23-24-7 (The Joy of Sufferings) |
| 24 | GCII 1117, June, 1897, (?), LT 241: to Sr. Martha of Jesus. |
2-24-21 |
Dear little Sister, yes, I understood all…. I am begging Jesus to make the sun
of His grace shine in your soul. Ah! do not fear to tell Him
you love Him, even
without feeling it. This is the way to force Jesus to help you, to carry you like
a little child too feeble to walk. It is a great trial to look on the black side, but this does not depend on you completely. Do what you can; detach your heart from the worries of this earth, and above all from creatures, and then be sure Jesus will do the rest. He will be unable to allow you to fall into the dreaded mire…. Be consoled, dear little Sister, in heaven you will no longer take a dark view of everything but a very bright view…. Yes, everything will be decked out in the divine brightness of our Spouse, the Lily of the valleys. Together we shall follow Him everywhere He goes…. Ah! let us profit from the short moment of life… together let us please Jesus, let us save souls for Him by our sacrifices…. Above all, let us be little, so little that everybody may trample us underfoot, without our even having the appearance of feeling it and suffering from it…. |
10-24-9 (Littleness), 14-24-8 (The Little Way), 16-24-10 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-24-14 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 22-24-6 (Salvation of Souls), 24-24-10 (Mercy of God, Graces), 37-24-3 (Time), 41-24-1 (Unfelt Love) |
| 24 | GCII 1127, Jun. 9, 1897, LT 244: to l'abbe Bell- iere. This letter was never sent. |
2-24-22 |
Oh, dear little Brother, how happy I am to die!…Yes, I am happy not
because I shall be delivered from sufferings here below (sufferings, on
the contrary, is the only thing that seems desirable to me in this
valley of tears), but because I really feel that
such is God's will. Our good Mother would like to keep me on earth; at this moment they are making a novena of Masses for me to Our Lady of Victories. She has already cured me in my childhood, but I believe the miracle she will work will be none other than that of consoling the Mother who loves me so tenderly. Dear little Brother, at the moment of appearing before God, I understand more than ever that there is only one thing necessary, that is, to work soley for Him and to do nothing for self or for creatures. |
7-24-9 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 14-24-10 (The Little Way), 16-24-12 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
| 24 | GCII 1140, Jul. 13, 1897, LT 253: to l'abbe Bell- iere. |
2-24-23 | All these promises, Brother, may perhaps appear to you a little bit chimerical; however, you must begin to realize that God has always treated me like a spoiled child. It is true that His Cross has followed me from the cradle, but this Cross Jesus has made me love with a passion. He has always made me desire what He wanted to give me. Will He begin, then, in heaven to carry out my desires no longer? Truly, I cannot believe it, and I say: “Soon, little Brother, I shall be near you.” | 16-24-13 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
| 24 | GCII 1142, Jul. 14, 1897, LT 255: to P. Rou- lland. The last letter to the missio- nary. |
2-24-24 |
Brother, you see that if I am leaving the field of battle already, it is
not with the selfish desire of taking my rest. The thought of eternal
beatitude hardly thrills my heart.
For a long time, suffering has become
my heaven here below, and I really have trouble in conceiving how I shall
be able to acclimatize myself in a country where joy reigns without any
admixture of sadness Jesus will have to transform my soul and give it
the capacity to rejoice, otherwise I shall not be able to put up with
eternal delights. What attracts me to the homeland of heaven is the Lord's call, the hope of loving Him finally as I have so much desired to love Him, and the thought that I shall be able to make Him loved by a multitude of souls who will bless Him eternally. |
17-24-17 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity) |
| 24 | GCII 1152 -1153, Jul. 18, 1897, LT 258: to l'abbe Bell- iere |
2-24-25 | Yes, I am certain of it, after my entrance into life, my dear little Brother's sadness will be changed into a peaceful joy that no creature will be able to take from him. I feel it, we must go to heaven by the same way, that of suffering united to love. When I shall be in port, I shall teach you, dear little Brother of my soul, how you must sail the stormy sea of the world with the abandonment and the love of a child who knows his Father loves him and would be unable to leave him in the hour of danger. Ah! how I would like to make you understand the tenderness of the Heart of Jesus, what He expects from you. In your letter of the 14th, you made my heart thrill sweetly; I understood more than ever the degree to which your soul is sister to my own, since it is called to raise itself to God by the ELEVATOR of love and not to climb the rough stairway of fear…. I am not surprised in any way that the practice of familiarity with Jesus seems to you a little difficult to realize; we cannot reach it in one day, but I am sure that I shall help you much more to walk by this delightful way when I shall have been delivered from my mortal envelpe, and soon, like St. Augustine, you will say: “Love is the weight that draws me.” | 4-24-6 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 7-24-12 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 14-24-13 (The Little Way), 16-24-14 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-24-18 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity) |
| 24 | LC 37 -38, Apr. 18. |
2-24-26 |
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!” |
10-24-11 (Littleness), 12-24-7 (Humility, Humbleness), 14-24-14 (The Little Way), 16-24-15 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 28-24-6 (Peace) |
| 24 | LC 262, May, from a note of Sr. Marie of the Sacred Heart |
2-24-27 |
The infirmarian had told her
to take a little walk for a quarter
of an hour each day in the garden. I met her walking painfully
and seemingly at the end of her strength. I said:“You would
do better to rest; this walking can do you no good under such
conditions. You're exhausting yourself.” “It's true, but do you know what gives me strength? Well, I am walking for a missionary. I think that over there, far away, one of them is perhaps exhausted in his apostolic endeavours, and, to lessen his fatigue, I offer mine to God.” |
|
| 24 | LC 44, May, 15. |
2-24-28 | 6. “I would really love to go to Hanoi, to suffer very much for God. I'd like to go there in order to be all alone, having no earthly consolations. As for the thought of making myself useful there, it doesn't even enter into my mind; I know very well I would do nothing at all.” | 29-24-2 (Consolation) |
| 24 | LC 46, May 19. |
2-24-29 |
6. …I asked
her: “Why are you so happy today?” “Because this morning I had two ‘little’ pains. Oh! very sharp ones!?… Nothing gives me ‘little’ joys like ‘little’ pains….” |
23-24-8 (Joy of Suffering) |
| 24 | LC 51, May 27. Asce- nsion |
2-24-30 | 6 “I always see the good side of things. There are some who set about giving themselves the most trouble. For me, it's just the opposite. If I have nothing but pure suffering, if the heavens are so black that I see no break in the clouds, well, I make this my joy! I revel in it! I did this during Papa's trials which made me more glorious than a queen.” | 23-24-9 (The Joy of Sufferings) |
| 24 | LC 52, May 29. |
2-24-31 |
“Pointes de
feu” [a cauterizing remedy for tuberculosis,
consisting of repeated puncturing of the skin with red-hot
needles] applied for the second time. In the evening I was
sad, and seeking consolation, I opened the Gospels in her
presence. My eyes fell upon these words which I read to her:
“He is risen; he is not
here; see the place where
they laid
him.” (Mark 16:6.) “Yes, that's really true! I am no longer, in fact, as I was in my childhood, open to every sorrow; I am as one risen; I am no longer in the place where they think I am…. Oh! don't be troubled about me, for I have come to a point where I cannot suffer any longer, because all suffering is sweet to me.” |
23-24-10 (The Joy of Suffering) |
| 24 | LC 53, May 30 |
2-24-32 |
2 “You will
perhaps suffer very much before you die,”
I said: “Oh! don't worry about it; I have a great desire to suffer.” |
|
| 24 | LC 56 -57, June 4. |
2-24-33 |
2. A little later, being
alone with her, and seeing her
suffer very much, I said: “Well, you wanted to suffer,
and God hasn't forgotten it.” “I wanted to suffer and I've been heard. I have suffered very much for several days now. One morning, during my act of thanksgiving after Communion, I felt the agonies of death…and with it no consolation. 3. “I accept everything out of love for God, even all sorts of extravagant thoughts that come into my mind.” |
17-24-21 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 29-24-3 (Consolation) |
| 24 | LC 262, July, from a note of Sr. Marie of the Sacred Heart. |
2-24-34 |
At Carmel, her great suffering had
been not being able to receive Communion
each day. She said, a short time before her death, to Mother Marie de
Gonzague, who was afraid of daily Communion: “Mother, when I'm in heaven, I'll make you change your opinion.” This is what happened. After the death of the Servant of God, the chaplain gave us Communion every day, and Mother Marie de GonZague, instead of being repelled by it, was very happy about it. |
18-24-2 (Holy Communion) |
| 24 | LC 71, Jul. 3. |
2-24-35 |
2 I was confiding to her
my thoughts of sorrow and
discouragement after having committed a fault: “You don't act like me. When I commit a fault that makes me sad, I know very well that this sadness is a consequence of my infidelity, but do you believe I remain there? Oh! no, I'm not so foolish! I hasten to say to God: My God, I know I have merited this feeling of sadness, but let me offer it up to You just the same as a trial that You sent me through love. I'm sorry for my sin, but I'm happy to have this suffering to offer to You.” |
27-24-6 (Sinners, Sins) |
| 24 | LC 73, Jul. 4. |
2-24-36 |
2 In the evening: “Our Lord died on the Cross in agony, and yet this is the most beautiful death of love. This is the only one that was seen; no one saw that of the Blessed Virgin. To die of love is not to die in transports. I tell you frankly, it seems to me that this is what I am experiencing.” |
17-24-22 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity) |
| 24 | LC 76, Jul. 6. |
2-24-37 | 8. “I'm making very many little sacrifices.” | |
| 24 | LC 87, Jul. 10. |
2-24-38 |
13 (During Matins) It came into her head that she wasn't seriously ill, that the doctor was mistaken about her state of health. She told me about these trials and added: “If my soul had not been filled in advance with abandonment to God's will, if it had been necessary that it let itself be submerged by these feelings of joy and sadness that succeed each other so quickly on this earth, this would have been a bitter pain, and I could not have borne it. But these changes only touch the surface of my soul…. Ah! nevertheless, they are great trials!” |
4-24-12 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 7-24-14 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 16-24-20 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
| 24 | LC 94, Jul. 12. |
2-24-39 |
16 To all three of us: “Don't believe that when I'm in heaven I'll let ripe plums fall into your mouths. This isn't what I had, nor what I desired. You will perhaps have great trials, but I'll send you lights which will make you appreciate and love them. You will be obliged to say like me: “ Lord, You fill us with joy with all the things You do for us.” (Psalm 91:5.) |
46-24-2 (Revelations) |
| 24 | LC 96, Jul. 13. |
2-24-40 |
18 … She spoke to me, moreover, about the violence she had to do to herself to remove the spiders' webs from the alcove of St. Alexis under the stairs (She had a horror of spiders), and a thousand other details which proved to me how faithful she had been in her tasks, and what she had suffered from them without anyone's being aware of it. |
3-24-5 (Silence, Hidden), 7-24-16 (Renunciation, Forget Self) |
| 24 | LC 238, Jul. 13, from a note of Sr. Marie of the Sacred Heart. |
2-24-41 |
3 “Rejoice, you will soon be
freed from the pains of this
life!” I said: “I who am such a brave soldier!” |
|
| 24 | LC 102, Jul. 16. |
2-24-42 |
6. “If God were to say to me: If you die tonight now, you will have
very great glory; if you die at eighty, your glory will not be as
great, but it will please Me much more. I wouldn't hesitate
to answer: ‘My God, I want to die at eighty, for I'm not seeking
my own glory but simply Your pleasure.’ The great saints worked for the glory of God, but I'm only a little soul; I work simply for His pleasure, and I'd be glad to bear the greatest sufferings when this would be for the purpose of making Him smile only once.” |
10-24-13 (Littleness), 21-24-5 (A Saint), 25-24-4 (Glory), 42-24-8 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 24 | LC 103 -104, July 20. |
2-24-43 |
1. She coughed up blood at three in the morning. “What would you have done had one of us been sick instead of you? Would you have come to the infirmary during the recreation periods?” I asked. “I would have gone directly to recreation, without asking for any information. However, I'd have done this quite simply so that no one would notice the sacrifice I was making. If I had come to the infirmary, it would have been to please others and not to satisfy myself. I would do all this in order to accomplish my little task and to draw down grace upon you, which the seeking of myself would certainly not accomplish. I myself would have drawn great strength from this sacrifices. If at times through weakness, I would have acted otherwise, I would not have been discouraged. I would have been careful to make up for my failures by depriving myself still more, without allowing this to be seen by others.” |
3-24-6 (Silence, Hidden), 7-24-18 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 8-24-16 (Weakness, Frailty), 24-24-18 (Mercy of God, Graces) |
| 24 | LC 282, Jul. 20, from a letter of Sr. Marie of the Eucha- rist to her cousin Celine Maude- londe. |
2-24-44 | I thought, little Celine, that in giving you our little patient(note: Therese of Lisieux) as an example, I couldn't give you better counsel. Oh! if she were in your place, if she had like you a little family trial, how she would be able to profit from it. She'd see God in all the circumstances, and she'd offer to Him each little thorn wounding her heart as an act of perfect love. This is what she would do and she would experience a great peace. But she often said to me: “This doesn't mean that we must not feel the pain, the suffering; where would the merit be if one didn't feel it? One can feel suffering very intensely even, but can offer it to God and find in this offering, in the midst of the greatest sufferings, a great peace.” | 28-24-17 (Peace) |
| 24 | LC 106, Jul. 23. |
2-24-45 |
3. I was always telling her of my
fear that she'd have to suffer much more: “We who run in the way of love shouldn't be thinking of sufferings that can take place in the future; it's a lack of confidence, it's like meddling in the work of creation.” |
4-24-15 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 14-24-21 (The Little Way), 37-24-4 (Time) |
| 24 | LC 107, July 23. |
2-24-46 |
4 “At the time of Papa's trials,
I had a violent desire
to suffer. One night, knowing he was sicker than usual,
Sister Marie of the Angels noticed I was very sad, and
she consoled me as well as she could. I said:‘Oh, Sister
Marie of the Angels, I feel I can suffer more!’ She
looked at me, surprised, and has often reminded me of it
since.” (Sister Marie of the Angels had never forgotten that night. Our little Saint was still a postulant and was ready to retire; she was sitting on her bed in her nightgown, her beautiful hair was falling over her shoulders. “Her appearance and her entire person had something about them so noble and so beautiful that I thought I was looking at a virgin from heaven.”) |
|
| 24 | LC 108, July 25. |
2-24-47 |
1 I was telling her that I was
coming to a point where I
desired her death so that she wouldn't suffer any longer; “Yes, but you mustn't say that, little Mother, because suffering is exactly what attracts me in life.” |
|
| 24 | LC 109 -110, July 25. |
2-24-48 |
6 I was telling her that death
was a sad affair, that I would suffer
a lot when she died. She answered tenderly: “The Blessed Virgin held her dead Jesus on her knees, and He was disfigured, covered with blood! You will see something different! Ah! I don't know how she stood it! Imagine if they were to bring me to you in this state, what would become of you? Reponde mihi! ("Answer me!")” |
|
| 24 | LC 239, Jul. 28. |
2-24-49 |
1 We were telling her it would
cost us much to lose our recreations
for anyone else but her; she answered immediately: “And I'd be so happy to do it! Since we are on earth to suffer, the more we suffer, the happier we are.… We practice charity much better when we are helping a person who is less appealing to us. Oh! how badly we know how to arrange our little affairs on earth!” |
23-24-14 (The Joy of Sufferings) |
| 24 | LC 116, Jul. 29. |
2-24-50 |
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!” |
12-24-8 (Humility, Humblenes), 21-24-6 (A Saint), 47-24-2 (Consistency of Spirituality), |
| 24 | LC 123, July 31. |
2-24-51 |
13. “I have found happiness
and joy on earth, but soley in suffering,
for I've suffered very much here below; you must make it known
to souls…. “Since my First Communion, since the time I asked Jesus to change all the consolations of this earth into bitterness for me, I had a perpetual desire to suffer. I wasn't thinking, however, of making suffering my joy: this is a grace that was given to me later on. Up until then, it was like a spark hidden beneath the ashes, and like blossoms on a tree that must become fruit in time. but seeing my blossoms always falling, that is, allowing myself to fall into tears whenever I suffered, I said to myself with astonishment and sadness: “But I will never go beyond the stage of desires!” |
14-11-7 (The Little Way), 23-24-12 (The Joy of Sufferings), 24-11-5 (Mercy of God, Graces), 29-11-2 (Consolation), 47-24-3 (Consistency of Spirituality), |
| 24 | LC 257, Jul. from a note of Mother Agnes of Jesus. |
2-24-52 |
I was asking her about
the “way” she wanted to teach to souls
after her death: “Mother, it's the way of spiritual childhood, it's the way of confidence and total abandon. I want to teach them the little means that have so perfectly succeeded with me, to tell them there is only one thing to do here on earth: to cast at Jesus the flowers of little sacrifices, to take Him by caresses; this is the way I've taken Him, and it's for this that I shall be so well received.” |
4-24-18 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 14-24-30 (The Little Way) |
| 24 | LC 258, Aug., from a note of Mother Agnes of Jesus. |
2-24-53 |
“I've suffered from the cold
in Carmel even to the point
of dying from it.” I was astonished to hear her speak in this way, because in the winter time her conduct revealed nothing of her suffering. Not even in the coldest weather did I see her rub her hands together or walk more rapidly or bend over more than was her usual habit, as all of us do naturally when we are cold. |
39-24-4 (Pauline) |
| 24 | LC 258, Aug., from a note of Mother Agnes of Jesus. |
2-24-54 |
During
this phase of her
sickness, how many times must her patience
have caused God to smile! What sufferings she had
to endure! She
sighed many times like a poor little lamb about to be immolated. She told
me: “Watch carefully, Mother, when you will have patients a prey to violent pains; don't leave near them any medicines that are poisonous. I assure you, it needs only a second when one suffers intensely to lose one's reason. Then one would easily poison oneself.” |
39-24-5 (Pauline) |
| 24 | LC 138 -139, Aug. 6. |
2-24-55 |
8 I asked her to explain what she
meant by “remaining a little child
before God.” She said: “It is to recognize our nothingness, to expect everything from God as a little child expects everything from its father; it is to be disquieted about nothing, and not to be set on gaining our living. Even among the poor, they give the child what is necessary, but as soon as he grows up, his father no longer wants to feed him and says: ‘Work now, you can take care of yourself.’ “It was so as not to hear this that I never wanted to grow up, feeling that I was incapable of making my living, the eternal life of heaven. I've always remained little, therefore, having no other occupation but to gather flowers, the flowers of love and sacrifice, and of offering them to God in order to please Him. “To be little is not attributing to oneself the virtues that one practices, believing oneself capable of anything, but to recognize that God places this treasure in the hands of His little child to be used when necessary; but it remains always God's treasure. Finally, it is not to become discouraged over one's faults, for children fall often, but they are too little to hurt themselves very much.” |
8-24-19 (Weakness, Frailty), 10-24-15 (Littleness), 11-24-5 (Nothingness), 14-24-25 (The Little Way), 16-24-33 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
| 24 | LC 142, Aug. 8. |
2-24-56 | 3. “Today, I was thinking of my past life, about the courageous act I performed formerly at Christmas, and the praise directed to Judith came into my mind: ‘You have acted with manly courage, and your heart has been strengthened.’ (Judith 15:11.) Many souls say: I don't have the strength to accomplish this sacrifice. Let them do, then, what I did: exert a great effort. God never refuses that first grace that gives one the courage to act; afterwards, the heart is strengthened and one advances from victory to victory.” | 14-24-27 (The Little Way), 24-24-23 (Mercy of God, Graces), 47-24-4 (Consistency of Spirituality) |
| 24 | LC 145, Aug. 11. |
2-24-57 |
3 “I didn't expect to suffer like this; I'm suffering
like a little child. “ I would never want to ask God for greater sufferings. If He increases them, I will bear them with pleasure and with joy because they will be coming from Him. But I'm too little to have any strength through myself. If I were to ask for sufferings, these would be mine, and I would have to bear them alone, and I've never been able to do anything alone.” |
10-24-17 (Littleness), 23-24-13 (The Joy of Sufferings) |
| 24 | LC 147, Aug. 12. |
2-24-58 |
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.) |
12-24-14 (Humility, Humbleness), 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 149, Aug. 15. |
2-24-59 | 6 “ God gives me courage in proportion to my sufferings. I feel at this moment I couldn't suffer any more, but I'm not afraid, since if they increase, He will increase my courage at the same time.” | |
| 24 | LC 155, Aug. 19. |
2-24-60 | 10. “I'm suffering only for an instant. It's because we think of the past and the future that we become discouraged and fall into despair.” | 37-24-5 (Time) |
| 24 | LC 159, Aug. 20. |
2-24-61 |
14. “How charming it will be in heaven to know everything that took place in
the Holy Family! When little Jesus began to grow up, perhaps when He saw
the Blessed Virgin fasting, He said to her: ‘I would really like to fast,
too.’ And the Blessed Virgin answered: ‘No, little Jesus, You are still
too little, You haven't the strength.’ Or else perhaps she didn't dare
hinder Him from doing this. “And good St. Joseph! Oh! how I love him! He wasn't able to fast because of his work. “I can see him planing, then drying his forehead from time to time. Oh! how I pity him! It seems to me that their life was simple. “The country women came to speak familiarly with the Blessed Virgin. Sometimes they asked her to entrust her little Jesus to them so that He would go and play with their children. And little Jesus looked at the Blessed Virgin to see if He should go and play. At times, the good women went directly to the Child Jesus and said to Him quite simply: ‘Come and play with my little boy.’ “What does me a lot of good when I think of the Holy Family is to imagine a life that was very ordinary. It wasn't everything that they have told us or imagined. For example, that the Child Jesus, after having formed some birds out of clay, breathed upon them and gave them life. Ah! no! little Jesus didn't perform useless miracles like that, even to please His Mother. Why weren't they transported into Egypt by a miracle which would have been necessary and so easy for God. In the twinkling of an eye, they could have been brought there. No, everything in their life was done just as in our own. “How many troubles, disappointments! How many times did other make complaints to good St. Joseph! How many times did they refuse to pay him for his work! Oh! How astonished we would be if we only knew how much they had to suffer! |
30-24-2 (Ordinary) |
| 24 | LC 241, Aug. 20, from a note of Sr. Marie of the Sacred Heart |
2-24-62 | “This isn't like persons who suffer from the past or the future; I myself suffer only at each present moment. So it's not any great thing.” | 37-24-6 (Time) |
| 24 | LC 164, Aug. 23. |
2-24-63 | 1. “I have not yet spent a night so bad. Oh! How good God will have to be so that I can bear all I'm suffering. Never would I believe I could suffer so much. And yet I believe I'm not at the end of my pains; but He will not abandon me.” | |
| 24 | LC 168, Aug. 25. |
2-24-64 |
2. “How you are suffering! Oh!
it's hard! Are you
sad?” I said: “Oh, no, I'm not unhappy in the least; God gives me exactly what I can bear.” |
37-24-7 (Time) |
| 24 | LC 169 -170, Aug. 26. |
2-24-65 |
3. I was telling her that she was
made to suffer much, that her soul was
tempered for it: “Ah! to suffer in my soul, yes, I can suffer much …. But as to suffering of body, I'm like a little child, very little. I'm without any thought, I suffer from minute to minute.” |
|
| 24 | LC 289, Aug. 26, a note from Dr. Francis La Neele. |
2-24-66 |
…After I examined her, I had
her sit up on her pillows. She asked:“Am
I going to heaven soon?”
“Not yet, dear little sister. God
wants you
to wait for a few more weeks so that your crown will be more beautiful
in heaven. “ Oh! no, I'm not thinking of that! It's only to save souls that I want to suffer more.” I answered: “That's very true, but when you save souls, you climb up higher in heaven, you are closer to God.” She answered with a radiant smile which lighted up her face as though heaven had opened before her eyes, flooding her with its divine brightness. |
22-24-11 (Salvation of Souls) |
| 24 | LC 171, Aug. 27. |
2-24-67 | 1. “Oh, no, we are not unfortunate when we're dying from our sickness. How strange it is to fear death! … But when we're married, when we have a husband and children, this is understandable; but I who haven't anything!” | |
| 24 | LC 290, Aug. 27, from a note of Sr. Marie of the Eucha- rist. |
2-24-68 | … There is much change in her condition since the feast of the Assumption. And we have even come to the desire of her deliverance, for she's suffering a martyrdom.She was saying yesterday: “Fortunately, I didn't ask for suffering. If I had asked for it, I fear I wouldn't have the patience to bear it. Whereas, if it is coming directly from God's will, He cannot refuse to give me the patience and the grace necessary to bear it.” | 6-24-5 (Perseverance, Patience), 16-24-37 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 24-24-28 (Mercy of God, Graces) |
| 24 | LC 176, Aug. 31. |
2-24-69 | 3. “What courage I need in order to make the sign of the cross! … Ah! little sisters! Ah! my God! my God!… My God, have pity on me!… I have only this to say!” | |
| 24 | LC 180, Sep. 2. |
2-24-70 | 3. “It cost me very much to ask permission to perform acts of mortification in the refectory because I was timid and I blushed: but I was faithful to my two weekly mortifications. When this trial of timidity passed away, I paid less attention to them, and I must have forgotten my two mortifications more than once.” | 33-24-4 (Penance, Mortification) |
| 24 | LC 184, Sep. 5. |
2-24-71 |
3. Pointing to her glass of
reddened water, with a nice little gestures,she
said cheerfully: “Something to drink, little Mother, if you please. There is ice in it, that's good!” After drinking: “I drank without thirst! I'm a little ‘drinker without thirst.’” I was telling her she suffered less during the silence: “Oh! just the opposite! I suffered very much, very much! But it's to the Blessed Virgin that I complained.” |
13-24-6 (Joyful Soul, Cheerfulness) |
| 24 | LC 186, Sep. 8. |
2-24-72 |
Finally, someone brought her
a sheaf of wild flowers for the anniversary
of her Profession. Seeing herself so loaded with gifts, she cried with
gratitude and said: “It's all God's tenderness towards me: exteriorly, I'm loaded with gifts: interiorly, I'm always in trial (of faith) … but also in peace.” |
28-24-14 (Peace) |
| 24 | LC 194, Sep. 21. |
2-24-73 | When drying her eyes, a few
eyelashes were detached from her eyelids: “Take these lashes, Sister Genevieve, for we must give as little as possible to the earth.” [a la terre] (She was making a pun here upon the name Pere Alaterre, a workman, and brother of Sister St. Vincent de Paul.) “Poor man, if this gives him any pleasure!” It was in this way that she was always cheerful in spite of her great sufferings of both body and soul. |
13-24-9 (Joyful Souls, Cheerfulness) |
| 24 | LC 196, Sept. 22. |
2-24-74 |
6. “What a terrible
sickness and how much you're suffering!” “Yes! What a grace it is to have faith! If I had not had any faith, I would have committed suicide without an instant's hesitation ….” |
24-24-26 (Mercy of God, Graces) |
| 24 | LC 199 -200, Sept. 25. |
2-24-75 |
7 She had said to me on one of
those last days of suffering: “O Mother, it's very easy to write beautiful things about suffering, but writing is nothing, nothing! One must suffer in order to know!” I had retained a painful impression from this statement of hers, when, that same day, appearing to remember what she had told me, she looked at me in a very special and solemn way, and pronounced these words: “ I really feel now that what I've said and written is true about everything. … It's true that I wanted to suffer much for God's sake, and it's true that I still desire this.” |
20-24-13 (Truth) |
| 24 | LC 200, Sept. 25. |
2-24-76 |
8 Someone said: “Ah! it's
frightful what you're suffering.” “No, it isn't frightful. A little victim of love cannot find frightful what her Spouse sends her through love.” |
|
| 24 | LC 228, Sept. 26, from a note of Sr. Gene- vieve (Cel- ine). |
2-24-77 |
3. On one of the last day of her
life, in a moment of great suffering, she
begged me: “Oh! little Sister Genevieve, pray to the Blessed Virgin for me. I would pray so much to her if you were sick! One dares not ask for oneself.” She sighed once more, saying: “Oh! how necessary it is to pray for the agonizing! If you only knew!” |
5-24-11 (Prayer, Meditation, Contemplation) |
| 24 | LC 205, Sept. 30. |
2-24-78 |
“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.” |
12-24-17 (Humility, Humbleness), 20-24-14 (Truth), 22-24-10 (Salvation of Souls) |
| 24 | LC 206, Sept. 30. |
2-24-79 |
At six o'clock, when
the Angelus was ringing, she looked at the statue
of the Blessed virgin for a long time. Finally, at a few minutes past
seven, Mother Prioress dismissed the Community, and she
sighed: “Mother! Isn't this the agony!… Am I not going to die? …” “Yes, my poor little one, it's the agony, but God perhaps wills to prolong it for several hours.” She answered with courage: “Well… All right!… All right!” “Oh! I would not want to suffer for a shorter time!” And looking at her Crucifix: “Oh! I love Him!…” “My God… I love you!…” |
17-24-31 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity) |