| Age | Sources and Pages | Code Number | Quotations | Relevant Key Words, Phrases and Their Code Numbers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | SS 57 -58. |
23-9-1 | …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! |
2-9-1 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 8-9-1 (Weakness, Frailties), 24-9-1 (Mercy ofGod, Grace), 39-9-1 (Pauline) |
| 14 | SS 137. |
23-14-1 | 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! |
2-14-13 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials) |
| 15 | GCI 400 -401, March 18 (?), 1888, LT 43B to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
23-15-1 |
…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. |
2-15-5 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 7-15-2 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 14-15-2 (The Little Way), 17-15-1 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 22-15-2 (Salvation of Souls), 37-15-1 (Time), 39-15-3 (Pauline) |
| 15 | GCI 408, March 27, 1888, LC78: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
23-15-2 | …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. |
2-15-6 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 37-15-2 (Time), 39-15-7 (Pauline) |
| 15 | GCI 449 -450, July 23, 1888, LT57: to Celine. |
23-15-3 | 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…. |
2-15-13 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 14-15-4 (The Little Way), 22-15-3 (Salvation of Souls), 40-15-1 (Participation to Salvation) |
| 16? | SS 152 |
23-16-1 |
…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. |
2-16-2 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 3-16-1 (Silence, Hidden), 7-16-1 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 11-16-1 (Nothingness), 14-16-1 (The Little Way), 24-16-1 (Mercy of God, Graces), 25-16-1 (Glory) |
| 16~ 17? |
SS 159. |
23-16-2 | …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.… |
2-16-7 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 7-16-2 (Renunciation, Forget Self) |
| 16~17 | SS 248 -249. |
23-16-3 | …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? |
2-16-9 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 14-16-3 (The Little Way), 20-16-1 (Truth), 24-16-1 (Mercy of God, Grace), 37-16-2 (Time) |
| 16 | GCI 499 -500, Jan. 6, 1889, LT74: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
23-16-4 | …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!… |
2-16-10 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 3-16-2 (Silence, Hidden), 39-16-1 (Pauline) |
| 16 | GCI 504, Jan.7, 1889, LT 76: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
23-16-5 | 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!… |
2-16-12 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 29-16-3 (Consolation), 39-16-4 (Pauline) |
| 16 | GCI 511, Jan.8, 1889, LT 78: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
23-16-6 |
…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). |
2-16-14 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 16-16-4 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 28-16-2 (Peace), 29-16-4 (Consolation), 39-16-5 (Pauline), 41-16-1 (Unfelt Love), 43-16-2 (Darkness) |
| 16 | GCI 537, Feb. 28, 1889, LT 82: to Celine. |
23-16-7 |
Oh! how it costs to give Jesus what He asks!…What joy that it
costs…
What an unspeakable
joy to carry our Crosses
FEEBLY… Has
the Lily-immortelle understood the poor grain of sand?….Your novitiate
is one of sorrow; what and inexplicable privilege…. Ah! dear little sister, far from complaining to Jesus about the Cross he is sending us, I cannot understand the infinite love that has drawn Him to treat us in this way…. Our dear Father must be much loved by Jesus to have to suffer this way, but don't you find that the misfortune that is striking him is really the complement of his beautiful life?… I feel, little Lily-Immortelle, that I am speaking real follies to you, but it does not matter. I still think very many others things about the love of Jesus which are perhaps much stronger than what I am saying to you….What a joy to be humbled; it is the only thing that makes saints!… Can we doubt now the will of Jesus concerning our souls?… Life is only a dream, and soon we shall wake up, and what joy… the greater our sufferings are the more infinite will be our glory… Oh, let us not lose the trial that Jesus is sending us, it is a gold mine to be exploited. Are we going to miss the chance?… The grain of sand wants to get to work, without joy, without courage, without strength, and it is all these titles which will facilitate the enterprise for it; it wants to work through love. |
2-16-19 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 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), 37-16-4 (Time) |
| 16 | GCI 541- 542, March 5, 1889, LT 83: to Celine. |
23-16-8 |
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…. |
2-16-20 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 14-16-8 (The Little Way), 16-16-8 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 21-16-2 (A Saint), 37-16-5 (Time) |
| 16 | GCI 546, March 12, 1889, LT 85: to Celine. |
23-16-9 |
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!… |
2-16-21 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 7-16-7 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 37-16-6 (Time), 41-16-2 (Unfelt Joy), |
| 16 | GCI 563- 564, End of May (?), 1889, LT 91: to Sr. Marie of the Sacred Heart. |
23-16-10 |
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!… |
2-16-26 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 5-16-1 (Prayer, Meditation, Contemplation), 16-16-11 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 37-16-9 (Time) |
| 16 | GCI 577, July 14, 1889, LT 94: to Celine. |
23-16-11 | 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. |
2-16-28 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 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), 37-16-10 (Time), 41-16-4 (Unfelt Love) |
| 16 | GCI 595, Nov. 21, 1889, LC 119: from Sr. Marie of the Angels. |
23-16-12 | …Attached yourself to the Cross like
the ivy in order to die there if
Jesus so wills. May divine suffering be the center of your life; plunge
into this bottomless ocean, and may it engulf you as it did Jesus, for
there alone are life and happiness.
Always love to be little, so little
that the eyes of Jesus only may find you! Little grain of dust,
be unseen
by all in order to be seen by God alone. Be filled with confidence that good Jesus will do everything; rejoice at being poor, at feeling yourself so poor in order that, little beggar, you may have everything from the infinite charity and love of Jesus! Take flight to the All of your heart with wings of humility, simplicity, and love. Jesus loves you with a tender predilection, so pay Him in return, and be happy to love Jesus in suffering for Jesus! |
2-16-34 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 4-16-2 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 8-16-2 (Weakness, Frailty), 9-16-1 (Poor in Spirit), 10-16-2 (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), 31-16-2 (Simplicity of the Soul), 44-16-2 (Reveals to the Little Ones) |
| 17~18 | SS 172 -173. |
23-17-1 | …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! |
2-17-2 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 18-17-1 (Holy Communion), 24-17-3 (Mercy of God, Graces), 29-17-1 (Consolation), 32-17-1 (Uncertainty of her Faith) |
| 17 | GCI 620, May 10, 1890, LT 106: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
23-17-2 |
…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!… |
2-17-7 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 3-17-3 (Silence, Hidden), 7-17-3 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 14-17-3 (The Little Way), 39-17-4 (Pauline) |
| 17 | GCI 667, Sep. 4, 1890, LT 115: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
23-17-3 |
…
My soul is always in the subterranean passage, but it is very happy,
yes, happy to have no consolation whatsoever, for I find that then
its love is not like the love of earthly fiancees who are always
looking at the hands of their fiances to see if they have brought
them any gifts, or else at their faces to catch there a smile of
love which delights them… But the poor little fiancee of Jesus feels that she loves Jesus for Himself alone, and she wants to look at her Beloved's face only to catch there the tears which flow from His eyes which have delighted her by their hidden charms!… |
17-17-8 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 29-17-7 (Consolation), 39-17-7 (Pauline) |
| 17 | GCI 677- 678, Sept. 8, 1890, LC 141: from Sr. Marie of the Angels. |
23-17-4 |
Little virginal Spouse of Jesus, the Lamb, if you wish to follow Him one day
with the virgins in the homeland, follow Him each day in the path which He
traces out for you and which was His own!
May the cross, suffering, humility,
sublime poverty be your whole ambition, your joy! Love little Jesus. The gentle little Child became today your Spouse, and for Him make yourself little, very little, too, so well hidden in His Heart that He alone, His Immaculate Mother, and the angels of heaven may find you. |
2-17-11 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 3-17-6 (Silence, Hidden), 10-17-1 (Littleness), 12-17-2 (Humility, Humbleness) |
| 20 | GCII 795 - 796, July 6, 1893, LT 142: to Celine. |
23-20-1 |
…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;… |
2-20-1 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 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), 28-20-1 (Peace), 42-20-1 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 20 | GCII 816, Aug. 13, 1893, LT 148: to Leonie. |
23-20-2 | 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. |
2-20-4 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 14-20-7 (The Little Way), 16-20-4 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
20 | GCII 826, Oct. 20(?), 1893, LT 149: to Celine. |
23-20-3 | … 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…. |
2-20-5 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 14-20-8 (The Little Way), 16-20-5 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), |
| 21 | GCII 882, Aug. 19, 1894, LT 169: to Celine. |
23-21-1 | …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!… |
2-21-10 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 14-21-4 (The Little Way), 17-21-5 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 27-21-1 (Sinners, Sins), 37-21-3 (Time), 49-21-2 (Trinity) |
| 22 | SS 175. | 23-22-1 | …And just as Solomon, when he considered all the works of his hands in which he had place so much useless toil, saw that all is vanity and affliction of spirit, in the same way I recognized from EXPERIENCE that happiness consists in hiding oneself, in remaining ignorant of created things. I understood that without love all works are nothing, even the most dazzling, such as raising the dead to life and converting peoples. |
3-22-2 (Silence, Hidden), 14-22-2 (The Little Way), 17-22-2 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 42-22-1 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 23 | SS 196 -197. |
23-23-1 |
…
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! |
2-23-2 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 7-23-1 (Renunciation, Sacrifices), 10-23-2 (Littleness), 11-23-2 (Nothingness), 14-23-2 (The Little Way), 17-23-13 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 42-23-2 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 23 | SS 197. |
23-23-2 | … 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. |
2-23-3 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 17-23-4 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 20-23-1 (Truth), |
| 23 | SS 198 -199. |
23-23-3 |
And yet after all these misdeeds, instead of going and hiding away
in a corner, to weep over its misery and to die of sorrow,
the little
bird turns towards its beloved Sun, presenting its wet wings to
its beneficent rays. It cries like a swallow and in its sweet song
it recounts in detail all its infidelities, thinking in the boldness
of its full trust that it will acquire in even greater fullness
the love of Him who came to call
not the just but sinners. (Matthew 9:11.)
And even if the Adorable Star remains deaf to the plaintive chirping
of the little creature, even if it remains hidden, well, the little
one will remain wet, accepting its numbness from the cold and rejoicing
in its suffering which it knows it deserves. O Jesus, Your little bird is happy to be weak and little…. |
4-23-1 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 8-23-3 (Weakness, Frailty), 10-23-3 (Littleness), 17-23-5 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 27-23-1 (Sinners, Sins) |
| 24 | SS 210. |
23-24-1 | …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…. |
2-24-3 (Joy of Suffering), 28-24-1 (Peace) |
| 24 | SS 211. |
23-24-2 | … Never did Carmel's austerities appear so delightful to me; the hope of going to heaven soon transported me with joy…. | |
| 24 | SS 214. |
23-24-3 | …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. |
2-24-6 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 27-24-2 (Sinners, Sins) |
| 24 | SS 218. |
23-24-4 | …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. |
2-24-8 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 16-24-2 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
| 24 | SS 244, |
23-24-5 | …I cannot explain how a thing which is so displeasing to nature can cause such a great happiness; if I had not experienced it, I could not believe it…. |
1-24-5 (Self -love, Nature), 7-24-7 (Renunciation, Forget Self) |
| 24 | GCII 1069, March 19, 1897, LT 221: to P. Rou- lland. |
23-24-6 | …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. |
2-24-18 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 17-24-11 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 22-24-3 (Salvation of Souls), 42-24-3 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 24 | GCII 1092, May 9, 1897, LT 226: to P. Rou- lland. |
23-24-7 |
…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!… |
2-24-20 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 16-24-8 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 22-24-5 (Salvation of Souls) |
| 24 | LC 46, May 19. |
23-24-8 |
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….” |
2-24-29 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials) |
| 24 | LC 51, May 27. Asce- nsion |
23-24-9 | 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.” | 2-24-30 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials) |
| 24 | LC 52, May 29. |
23-24-10 |
“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.” |
2-24-31 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials) |
| 24 | LC 74, July 5. |
23-24-11 | 2. “Don't be sad about seeing me sick, little Mother, for you can see how happy God makes me. I'm always cheerful and content." | |
| 24 | LC 123, July 31. |
23-24-12 |
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!” |
2-24-51 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 14-11-7 (The Little Way), 24-11-5 (Mercy of God, Graces), 29-11-2 (Consolation), 47-24-3 (Consistency of Spirituality), |
| 24 | LC 145, Aug. 11. |
23-24-13 |
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.” |
2-24-57 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 10-24-17 (Littleness) |
| 24 | LC 239, July 28. |
23-24-14 |
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!” |
2-24-49 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials) |
| 24 | LC 252, Aug. 2, |
23-24-15 | “I don't find any natural pleasure in being loved, coddled, but I find great pleasure in being humiliated. When I make a bad blunder which humiliates me and makes me see what I am, oh! then, I experience a natural pleasure; I experience a real joy such as you experience at being loved.” | 12-24-9 (Humility, Humbleness) |