| Age | Sources and Pages | Code Number | Quotations | Relevant Key Words, Phrases and Their Code Numbers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | SS 58. |
28-9-1 | I shall always remember, dear Mother, with what tenderness you consoled me. Then you explained the life of Carmel to me and it seemed so beautiful! When thinking over all you had said, I felt that Carmel was the desert where God wanted me to go also to hide myself. I felt this with so much force that there wasn't the least doubt in my heart; it was not the dream of a child led astray but the certitude of a divine call; I wanted to go to Carmel not for Pauline's sake but for Jesus alone. I was thinking very much about things which words could not express but which left a great peace in my soul. |
39-9-2 (Pauline) |
| 14 | SS 118. |
28-14-1 | …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. |
2-14-9 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 16-14-2 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
| 14 | GCI 358 -359, Nov. 23, 1887, LC 66: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
28-14-2 | …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 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. |
2-15-1 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials) |
| 16 | GCI 504, Jan. 7, 1889, LT 76: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
28-16-1 |
How good He is to me, He who will soon be my Fiancee; how
divinely lovable He is when not wanting to allow me
to attach myself to ANY created thing.
He knows well that
if He were to give me a shadow of HAPPINESS, I would attach
myself to it with all my energy, all the strength of my heart,
and this shadow He is refusing me; He prefers leaving me in
darkness to giving me a false light which would not be
Himself!… Since I can't find any creature that contents me,
I want to give all to Jesus, and I don't want to give to
the creature even one atom of my love. My Jesus always makes
me understand that He alone is perfect joy, when He appears
to be absent!… Today more than yesterday, if that were possible, I was deprived of all consolations. I thank Jesus, who finds this good for my soul, and that, perhaps if He were to console me, I would stop at this sweetness; but He wants that all be for Himself!… Well, then, all will be for Him, all, even when I feel I am able to offer nothing; so, just like this evening, I will give Him this nothing! Although Jesus is giving no consolation, He is giving me a peace so great that it is doing me more good!… |
7-16-5 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 11-16-2 (Nothingness), 17-16-2 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 29-16-2 (Consolation), 39-16-3 (Pauline), 43-16-1 (Darkness) |
| 16 | GCI 511, Jan. 8, 1889, LT 78: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
28-16-2 |
…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), 23-16-6 (The Joy of Suffering), 29-16-4 (Consolation), 39-16-5 (Pauline), 41-16-1 (Unfelt Love), 43-16-2 (Darkness) |
| 16 | GCI 552 -553, Apr. 4, 1889, LT 87: to Celine |
28-16-3 |
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), 2-16-24 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 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), 37-16-7 (Time), 41-16-3 (Unfelt Love), 50-16-3 (Jesus's Wounds, Pains and Tears) |
| 16 | GCI 559, Apr. 27, 1889, LC 111: from Fr. P. Pichon. |
28-16-4 | The great peace which you are enjoying is a treasure par excellence which Our Lord has bequeathed to us in His divine testament. Be very grateful and guard this gift from God. May Jesus be ever free to sever us from our consolations and from all the most seductive Thabors. Your Calvary is worth more, dark as it is |
29-16-5 (Consolation) |
| 16 | GCI 561, Apr. 27, 1889, LT 90: to Celine. |
28-16-5 | The great peace which you are enjoying is a treasure par excellence which Our Lord has bequeathed to us in His divine testament. Be very grateful and guard this gift from God. May Jesus be ever free to sever us from our consolations and from all the most seductive Thabors. Your Calvary is worth more, dark as it is |
37-16-8 (Time) |
| 17 | GCI 641, July 27 -29, 1890, LT 109: to Marie Guerin. |
28-17-1 |
…You are mistaken, my darling, if you believe that your little
Therese walks always with fervor on the road of virtue.
She is
weak and very weak, and every day she has a new experience of
this weakness, but, Marie, Jesus is pleased to teach her, as He
did St. Paul, the science of rejoicing in her infirmities. This
is a great grace, and I beg Jesus to teach it to you, for peace
and quiet of heart are to be found there only. When we see
ourselves as so miserable, then we no longer wish to consider
ourselves, and we look only on the unique Beloved!… Dear little Marie, as for myself, I know no other means of reaching perfection but (love)…. |
8-17-1 (Weakness, Frailty),
14-17-4 (The Little Way), 16-17-8 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 24-17-4 (Mercy of God, Grace) |
| 20 | GCII 795 - 796, July 6, 1893, LT 142: to Celine. |
28-20-1 |
…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), 23-20-1 (The Joy of Sufferings), 42-20-1 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 20 | GCII 801, Jul. 18, 1893, LT 143: to Celine. |
28-20-2 |
…I had to go along quietly in peace and love, doing only what He was asking
me….But I had a light. St. Teresa says we must maintain love.
The wood is
not within our reach when we are in darkness, in aridities, but at least
are we not obliged to throw little pieces of straw on it? Jesus is really
powerful enough to keep the fire going by Himself. However, He is satisfied
when He sees us put a little fuel on it. This
attentiveness pleases Jesus,
and then He throws on the fire a lot of wood. We do not see it, but we do
feel the
strength of love's warmth. I have
experienced it; when I
am feeling
nothing, when I am INCAPABLE of praying, of practicing virtue, then is the
moment for seeking opportunities,
nothings, which please Jesus more than
mastery of the world or even martyrdom suffered with generosity. For example,
a smile, a friendly word, when I would want to say
nothing, or put on a look
of annoyance, etc., etc. Celine, do you understand? It is not for the purpose of weaving my crown, gaining merits, it is in order to please Jesus….When I do not have any opportunities, I want at least to tell Him frequently that I love Him; this is not difficult, and it keeps the fire going. Even though this fire of love would seem to me to have gone out, I would like to throw something on it, and Jesus could then relight it. Celine, I am afraid I have not said what I should; perhaps you will think I always do what I am saying. Oh, no! I am not always faithful, but I never get discouraged; I abandon myself into the arms of Jesus. |
4-20-2 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 11-20-1 (Nothingness), 14-20-4 (The Little Way), 17-20-4 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 37-20-1 (Time), 43-20-1 (Darkness) |
| 20 | GCII 808- 809, Aug. 2, 1893, LT 145: to Celine. |
28-20-3 |
…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. |
2-20-3 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 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), 40-20-1 (Participation to Salvation), 43-20-2 (Darkness) |
| 21 | GCII 861- 862, July 7, 1894, LT 165: to Celine. |
28-21-1 | …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!… |
2-21-5 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 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) |
| 22 | SS 179. |
28-22-1 | How sweet is the way of love, dear Mother. True, one can fall or commit infidelities, but, knowing how to draw profit from everything, love quickly consumes everything that can be displeasing to Jesus; it leaves nothing but a humble and profound peace in the depths of the heart. |
12-22-3 (Humility, Humbleness),
17-22-4 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), |
| 22 | GCII 896, Jan. 1895, LT 173: to Sr. The- rese -Dosi- thee (Leo- nie). |
28-22-2 | 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…. |
2-22-8 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 16-22-8 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 25-22-1 (Glory), 37-22-2 (Time), 42-22-4 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 22 | GCII 902 -903, Apr. 28, LT 176: to Sr. The- rese- Dosi- thee |
28-22-3 |
…I assured you, I was very sad, but, one day, God
gave me to understand
that there was a great self-seeking
in this desire to pronounce my holy
vows. Then I said to myself: For my reception of the Habit, I was robed
in a beautiful white dress adorned with lace and flowers, and who was
thinking, now, of giving me any dress for my wedding? … This dress I
must prepare all alone; Jesus wills that no
one help me except Himself,
so with His aid I was going to set myself to the task,
to work with
fervor…. Creatures will not see my efforts which will be
hidden in my
heart. Taking care to forget myself, I shall
want no other look but that
of Jesus…. What does it matter if I appear poor and destitute of mind
and talents?… I want to put into practice this counsel from the
Imitation: “Let this one take glory in one thing, another in
something
else, but as for you, set your joy only in contempt of self, in My will
and My glory.” Or : “Do you want to learn something that will help
you; Love to be unknown and counted as nothing!…”
When thinking
this over,
I felt a great peace in my soul, I felt that
here was truth and peace! I
was no longer disturbed about the date of my Profession, thinking that
on the day when my wedding dress was finished, Jesus would come seeking
His poor little spouse…. (Note: This letter was written when she was 22 years old, recalling the final Profession days at the age of 17.) |
1-22-1 (Self-love, Nature), 3-22-3 (Silence, Hidden), 7-17-4 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 14-17-5 (The Little Way), 16-22-9 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 20-22-1 (Truth) |
| 23 | GCII 961, June 20 or 29(?), 1896, LT 190: to Mother Marie de Gon- zague. |
28-23-1 |
“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!… |
2-23-9 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 19-23-1 (The Words of God), 20-23-3 (Truth) |
| 23 | GCII 1033, Dec. (?), 1896, LT 205: to Sr. Marie of St. Joseph. |
28-23-2 | 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…. |
2-23-11 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials) |
| 23 | GCII 1038 Dec. 24, 1896, LT 211: to Sr. Marie Gene- vieve. Christ- mas 1896. |
28-23-3 |
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…. |
2-23-12 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 9-23-2 (Poor in Spirit), 14-23-7 (The Little Way) |
| 24 | SS 210. |
28-24-1 | …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 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 23-24-1 (Joy of Suffering) |
| 24 | SS 217. |
28-24-2 | …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. |
2-24-7 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials) |
| 24 | SS 226 -227. |
28-24-3 |
…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…. |
2-24-10 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 7-24-1 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 9-24-1 (Poor in Spirit), 14-24-5 (The Little Way) |
| 24 | SS 250. |
28-24-4 | 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. |
2-24-17 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 10-24-6 (Littleness), 28-24-4 (Peace) |
| 24 | LC 36, Apr. 6, 1897. |
28-24-5 | 1. “ When we're misunderstood and judged unfavorably, what good does it do to defend or explain ourselves? Let the matter drop and say nothing. It's so much better to say nothing and allow others to judge us as they please. We don't see in the Gospel where Mary explained herself when her sister accused her of remaining at Jesus' feet, doing nothing! (Luke 10:39-40.) She didn't say: ‘Oh, Martha, if you only knew the joy I am experiencing, if you only heard the words I hear! And besides, it's Jesus who told me to remain here.’ No, she preferred to remain silent. O blessed silence that gives so much peace to souls!” |
3-24-2 (Silence, Hidden), 45-24-4 (Magdalene) |
| 24 | LC 37 -38, Apr. 18. |
28-24-6 |
1. She had just confided to me
some painful humiliations some Sisters
had given her: “It is in this way that God gives me the means of remaining very little; however, this is exactly what is needed. I'm always happy, for I always manage in the midst of the tempest to preserve interior peace. If one tells me about her fights with the Sisters, I am careful not to work myself up against this or that Sister. I must, for example, while listening to her, be able to look out the window and enjoy interiorly the sight of sky, the trees, etc. Understand? Just now, during my struggle with regard to Sister X, I was watching with pleasure two beautiful magpies playing in the field, and I was as much at peace as if I were at prayer. I really fought with Sister, and I am very tired, but I don't fear the struggle. It is God's will that I fight right up until death. Oh! little Mother, pray for me!” |
2-24-26 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 10-24-11 (Littleness), 12-24-7 (Humility, Humbleness), 14-24-14 (The Little Way), 16-24-15 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), |
| 24 | LC 43 -44, May. 15. |
28-24-7 |
3. I was speaking to her about certain practices of devotion and perfection
counseled by the saints, which were a source of discouragement to me: “As for me, with the exception of the Gospels, I no longer find anything in books. The Gospels are enough. I listen with delight to these words of Jesus which tell me all I must do: ‘Learn of me for I am meek and humble of heart’(Matthew 11:29); then I'm at peace, according to His sweet promise: ‘and you will find rest for your souls.’” She quoted the last sentence, her eyes raised with a heavenly expression in them; she added the word: ‘little’ to Our Lord's words, thus giving them even more charm: “And you will find rest for your little souls.” |
35-24-2 (Books), |
| 24 | LC 89, Jul. 11. |
28-24-8 | 8. “…There's great peace in my soul….My little boat is sailing once again. I know I shall not return, but I am resigned to remain sick for several months, as long as God wills it.” |
16-24-21 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
| 24 | LC 97 -98, Jul. 14. |
28-24-9 | 9. “ My heart is filled with God's will, and when someone pours something on it, this doesn't penetrate its interior; it's a nothing which glides off easily, just like oil which can't mix with water. I remain always at profound peace in the depths of my heart; nothing can disturb it.” | 16-24-23 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), |
| 24 | LC 129, Aug. 3. |
28-24-10 |
1. I asked: “What did you
do to reach such unchangeable
peace?” “I forgot self, and I was careful to seek myself in nothing.” |
1-24-8 (Self-love, Nature), 7-24-21 (Renunciation, Forget Self) |
| 24 | LC 130, Aug. 3. |
28-24-11 |
5. I was talking to her
about
mortifications under the form of
penitential instruments: “We must be very restrained on this point, for often nature is involved in this matter more than anything else.” (*) Novissima Verba (Note:See the explanation on this book on pp. 8-9 of the LC) adds: She had told me on another occasion: “A passage in the life of Blessed Henry Suso struck me with regard to corporal penances. He had performed frightful penances which had destroyed his health; an angel appeared to him, telling him to stop. Then he added: ‘You are no longer to fight as a simple soldier; from this moment I shall arm you as a knight.’ And he made the Saint understand the superiority of the spiritual combat over corporal mortifications. “Well, little Mother, God didn't want me to be a simple soldier; I was armed from the beginning as a knight, and I went out to war against self in the spiritual domain, through self-denial in hidden sacrifices. I discovered peace and humility in this obscure struggle in which nature finds nothing for self.” |
1-24-9 (Self-love, Nature), 3-24-7 (Silence, Hidden), 7-24-22 (Renunciation, Forget Self), 12-24-11 (Humility, Humbleness), 33-24-2 (Penance, Mortification) |
| 24 | LC 137, Aug. 6. |
28-24-12 |
4. “
I can depend on nothing, on no good works
of my own in order
to have confidence. For example, I&##039d like to be able to say
that I've carried out all my obligations of reciting my prayers
for the dead. This poverty, however, was a real light and a grace
for me. I was thinking that never in my life would I be able
to pay my debts to God; this was real riches, real strength for me,
if I wanted to take it in this way. “Then I made this prayer to God: O my God, I beg You, pay the debt that I have acquired with regard to the souls in purgatory, but do it as God, so that it be infinitely better than if I had said my Offices for the Dead. And then I remembered with great consolation these words of St. John of the Cross' canticle: ‘Pay all debts.’ I had always applied this to Love. I felt this grace can't be expressed in words; it's far too sweet! We experience such great peace when we're totally poor, when we depend upon no one except God.” |
4-24-17 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 5-24-8 (Prayer, Meditation, Contemplation), 8-24-18 (Weakness, Frailty), 9-24-3 (Poor in Spirit), 14-24-24 (The Little Way), 16-24-31 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-24-27 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 24-24-22 (Mercy of God, Graces), 29-24-4 (Consolation), 42-24-9 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 24 | LC 171, Aug. 27. |
28-24-13 | 3. “Aren't you surprised, little Mother, at the way I'm suffering? …But I have great peace in my heart.” | |
| 24 | LC 186, Sep. 8. |
28-24-14 |
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.” |
2-24-72 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials) |
| 24 | LC 197, Sep. 24. |
28-24-15 |
2. She was telling me about some suffering she experienced, when,much
too late in the year, the chestnut trees were pruned: “At first, it was a bitter sadness and great interior struggles that I experienced at one and the same time. I so loved the shadows cast by the branches, and there were none that year. The branches, already green, were lying in bundles on the ground, and all that remained were the trunks of the trees! Then, all of a sudden, I got control over myself by saying: If I were in another Carmel, what difference would it make to me if they cut down entirely all the chestnut trees in the Carmel of Lisieux! And then I experienced a great peace and a heavenly joy.” |
2-24-72 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials) |
| 24 | LC 199, Sep. 24. |
28-24-16 |
10. “You don't have any intuition about the day of
your death?” “Ah! Mother, intuitions! If you only knew the poverty I'm in! I know nothing except what you know; I understand nothing except through what I see and feel. But my soul, in spite of this darkness, is in an astonishing peace.” |
9-24-4 (Poor in Spirit) |
| 24 | LC 282, Jul. 20, from a letter of Sr. Marie of the Eucha- rist to her cousin Celine Maude- londe. |
28-24-17 | 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.” | 2-24-44 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials) |