| Age | Sources and Pages | Code Number | Quotations | Relevant Key Words, Phrases and Their Code Numbers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | SS 102. |
35-14-1 |
…I was nourished for a long time on the “pure flour”
contained in the Imitation of Christ, this being the only book which did me
any good, for as yet I had not discovered the treasures hidden in the Gospel. I knew almost all the chapters of my beloved Imitation by heart. This little book never parted company with me, for in Summer I carried it in my pocket, in winter, in my muff…. With my new desire for knowledge at the age of fourteen, God found it necessary to join to the “pure flour” some “honey and oil in abundance.” This honey and oil He showed me in Abbe Arminjon's conferences on the end of the present world and the mysteries of the future life. This book had been lent to Papa by my dear Carmelites, and contrary to my custom (I didn't read Papa's book), I asked to read it. This reading was one of the greatest graces in my life. I read it by the window of my study, and the impressions I received are too deep to express in human words. |
24-14-2 (Mercy of God, Graces) |
| 22 | SS 179. |
35-22-1 | Ah! how many lights have I not drawn from the Works of our holy Father, St. John of the Cross! At the age of seventeen and eighteen I had no other spiritual nourishment; later on, however, all books left me in aridity and I'm still in that state. If I open a book composed by a spiritual author (even the most beautiful, the most touching book), I feel my heart contract immediately and I read without understanding, so to speak. Or if I do understand, my mind comes to a standstill without the capacity of meditating…. | |
| 22 | SS 179. |
35-22-2 | I understand and I know from experience that : “The kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke17:21.) Jesus has no need of books or teachers to instruct souls; He teaches without the noise of words. Never have I heard Him speak, but I feel that He is within me at each moment; He is guiding and inspiring me with what I must say and do. I find just when I need them certain lights which I had not seen until then, and it isn't most frequently during my hours of prayer that these are most abundant but rather in the midst of my daily occupations. |
5-22-1 (Prayer, Meditation, Contemplation), 15-22-1 (Union with Jesus), 37-22-1 (Time) |
| 22 | SS 187 |
35-22-3 | Do not believe I am swimming in consolations; oh, no, my consolation is to have none on earth. Without showing Himself, without making His voice heard, Jesus teaches me in secret; it is not by means of books, for I do not understand what I am reading…. |
29-22-1 (Consolation) |
| 23 | GCII 994 Sep. 13, 1896, LT 196: to Sr. Marie of the Sacred Heart. |
4-23-3 | …Without showing Himself, without making His voice heard, Jesus teaches me in secret; it is not by means of books, for I do not understand what I am reading, but at times a word like this one that I drew out at the end of prayer (after having remained in silence and aridity) comes to console me: “Here is the Master I am giving you; he will teach you all you must do. I want to have you read in the book of life, wherein is contained the science of LOVE.” The science of Love, oh! yes, this word resounds sweetly in the ear of my soul, and I desire only this science. Having given all my riches for it, I looked upon this as having given nothing, just as did the spouse in the sacred canticles…. I understand so well that it is only love which makes us pleasing to God that this love is the only good that I ambition. Jesus is pleased to show me the only road that leads to this divine furnace, and this road is the abandonment of the little child who sleeps without fear in its Father's arms.… |
3-23-1 (Silence, Hidden), 4-23-3 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 14-23-4 (The Little Way), 17-23-11 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 42-23-5 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 23 | GCII 1030, Dec. 4, 1896, LT 203: to Mother Agnes of Jesus. |
12-23-1 | Little Mother is altogether too darling! … If she does not know what she is, I myself know it well and I LOVE her! … Oh, yes! but how pure my affection is!… It is that of a child who admires the humility of its Mother. You do me more good than all the books in the world!… |
12-23-1 (Humility, Humbleness), 17-23-14 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 39-23-1 (Pauline) |
| 24 | GCII 1093- 1094, May 9, 1897, LT 226: to P. Roulland. |
35-24-1 | This is, Brother, what I think of God's justice; my way is all confidence and love. I do not understand souls who fear a Friend so tender. At times, when I am reading certain spiritual treatises in which perfection is shown through a thousand obstacles, surrounded by a crowd of illusions, my poor little mind quickly tires; I close the learned book that is breaking my head and drying up my heart, and I take up Holy Scripture. Then all seems luminous to me; a single word uncovers for my soul infinite horizons, perfection seems simple to me, I see it is sufficient to recognize one's nothingness and to abandon oneself as a child into God's arms. Leaving to great souls, to great minds the beautiful books I cannot understand, much less put into practice, I rejoice at being little since children alone and those who resemble them will be admitted to the heavenly banquet.(Matthew 19:14.) |
4-24-4 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 10-24-8 (Littleness), 11-24-2 (Nothingness), 14-24-7 (The Little Way), 16-24-9 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 24-24-9 (Mercy of God, Graces) |
| 24 | LC 43 -44, May. 15. |
35-24-2 |
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.” |
28-24-7 (Peace) |
| 24 | LC 261, Jul. from a note of Celine. |
35-24-3 |
One day when she was standing in front of a library: “Oh! I would have been sorry to have read all those books!” I asked: “Why? This would have been quite an acquisition. I would understand your regretting to read them, but not to have already read them.” “If I had read them, I would have broken my head, and I would have wasted precious time that I could have employed very simply in loving God.” |