| Age | Sources and Pages | Code Number | Quotations | Relevant Key Words, Phrases and Their Code Numbers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3? | SS 24 -25. |
7-3-1 | …With a nature such as my own, had I been reared by parents without virtue or even if I had been spoiled by the maid, Louise as Celine was, I would have become very bad and perhaps have even been lost. But Jesus was watching over His little fiancee; He had willed that all turn out for her good even her faults which, corrected very early, stood her in good stead to make her grow in perfection. As I had an excessive self-love and also a love of the good, as soon as I began to think seriously (which I did when still very little), it was enough for one to say a thing wasn't good and I had no desire to repeat it twice. |
1-3-1 (Self-love, Nature), 16-3-1 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
| 9? | GCI 152, Nov. -Dec. 1882, (?) LT9: to Mother Marie de Gon- zague. |
7-9-1 | …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…. |
2-9-4 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 18-9-1 (Holy Communion) |
| 9- 10 |
GCI 157, End of Dec. 1882, or Jan. 1883, LC7: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
7-9-2 | …you may merit these caresses by very many efforts and by love. |
2-9-5 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials) |
| 10~11 | SS 74. |
7-10-1 | …Just as famous warriors taught their children the art of war, so Marie spoke to me about life's struggles and of the palm given to the victors. She spoke also about the eternal riches that one can so easily amass each day, and what a misfortune it was to pass by without so much as stretching forth one's hand to take them. She explained the way of becoming holy through fidelity in little things; furthermore, she gave me a little leaflet called “Renunciation” and I meditated upon this with delight. |
5-10-1 (Prayer, Meditation, Contemplation), 10-10-1 (Littleness), 14-10-2 (The Little Way) |
| 11~ 12? |
SS 27. |
7-11-1 | 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!” |
2-11-1 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 14-11-1 (The Little Way), 16-11-1 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 21-11-1 (A Saint) |
| 11 | GCI 180, Jan. 1884, (?), LC 19: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
7-11-2 |
…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! |
2-11-3 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 14-11-4 (The Little Way), 39-11-2 (Pauline), 50-11-1 (Jesus's Wounds, Pains and Tears), |
| 11 | GCI 189, Feb. 29, 1884, LC 24: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
7-11-3 | Sister Therese of St. Augustine gave me this little chaplet of practices for you, and Marie will explain how you are to use it. |
2-11-5 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 14-11-5 (The Little Way) |
| 11 | GCI 190, Mar. 1-6, 1884, LT 11: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
7-11-4 | 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. |
2-11-6 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 5-11-2 (Prayer, Meditation, Contemplation), 14-11-6 (The Little Way), 39-11-5 (Pauline) |
| 14 | SS 99 -98. |
7-14-1 |
…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. |
2-14-1 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 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 104. |
7-14-2 |
…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, … |
2-14-3 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 17-14-4 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 24-14-3 (Mercy of God, Graces), 28-14-2 (Peace) |
| 14 | SS 121 -122. |
7-14-3 | I understood true greatness is to be found in the soul, not in a name, since as Isaias says: “The Lord will call his servants by ANOTHER NAME,” (Isaias 65:15.) and St. John says: “ To him that overcomes I will give a white stone, and on the stone a NEW NAME written which no man knows but the one who receives it.” (Apocalypse 2:17.) It is in heaven, then, that we shall know our titles of nobility. Then shall every man have praise from God (1 Corinthians 4:5.) and the one who on earth wanted to be the poorest, the most forgotten out of love of Jesus, will be the first, the noblest, and the richest! |
9-14-2 (Poor in Spirit), 14-14-5 (The Little Way), 17-14-9 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity) |
| 14 | SS 125. |
7-14-4 | 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), 2-14-10 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Cross, Trials), 3-14-1 (Silence, Hidden), 14-14-6 (The Little Way), 17-14-10 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity) |
| 14 | GCI 347, Nov. 20, 1887, LC 64: from Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
7-14-5 | …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… |
2-14-21 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 16-14-5 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
| 15 | GCI 396, Feb. 21, 1888, LT 42: to Sr. Marie of the Sacred Heart. |
7-15-1 | …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…. |
2-15-3 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), |
| 15 | GCI 400 -401, March 18 (?), 1888, LT 43B to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
7-15-2 |
…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), 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 403, March 18- 19, 1888, from Sr. Agnes of Jesus |
7-15-3 |
…Don't you see at last the mountain of Carmel. It is there, for intimacy
with Jesus
you will live hidden in His Heart…. Oh! yes,
HIDDEN! I desire
that Jesus' little toy be not admired by anyone in this world. If Jesus
wills to play with a grain of sand, He is free, the whole earth is His.
Why does He not always take the most beautiful souls for His spouses? Why,
instead of a grain of sand, does He not play with a diamond?
But Jesus
loves humility. Jesus loves what does not appear before the eyes of men,
what they trample underfoot, what they despise. Oh! humility, how beautiful
it is! Jesus loves it so much that He seeks for it everywhere on
the earth in order to make His heaven out of it. But it is rare. All
the beautiful, the truly beautiful is almost not to be found here below. I am sure that the little grain of sand understands me and that it will not ever wish to become a mountain, but, on the contrary, always little, lighter, in order to be lifted more easily by the breeze of love. |
3-15-2 (Silence, Hidden), 10-15-1 (Littleness), 12-15-1 (Humility, Humbleness), 16-15-3 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 39-15-5 (Pauline) |
| 15 | SS 207. |
7-15-4 | …I made a resolution to give myself up more than ever to a serious and mortified life. When I say mortified, this is not to give the impression that I performed acts of penance. Alas, I never made any. Far from resembling beautiful souls who practiced every kind of mortification from their childhood, I had no attraction for this. Undoubtedly this stemmed from my cowardliness, for I could have, like Celine, found a thousand ways of making myself suffer. Instead of this I allowed myself to be wrapped in cotton wool and fattened up like a little bird that needs no penance. My mortifications consisted in breaking my will, always so ready to impose itself on others, in holding back a reply, in rendering little services without any recognition, in not leaning my back against a support when seated, etc., etc. It was through the practice of these nothings that I prepared myself to become the fiancee of Jesus, and I cannot express how much this waiting left me with sweet memories. Three months passed by very quickly, and then the moment so ardently desire finally arrived. |
33-15-1 (Penance) |
| 16? | SS 152. |
7-16-1 |
…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), 11-16-1 (Nothingness), 14-16-1 (The Little Way), 23-16-1 (The Joy of Sufferings), 24-16-1 (Mercy of God, Graces), 25-16-1 (Glory) |
| 16~ 17? |
SS 159. |
7-16-2 | …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), 23-16-2 (The Joy of Sufferings) |
| 16 | SS 159 -160. |
7-16-3 |
…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), 2-16-8 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 14-16-2 (The Little Way), 33-16-1 (Penance, Mortification), 42-16-1 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 16 | GCI 500, Jan. 6, 1889, LT74: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
7-16-4 |
If you only knew how much I want to be indifferent to
the things of this earth. What do all created beauties mean
to me, I would be unhappy possessing them, my heart would
be so empty!… It is incredible how big my heart appears to
me when I consider all earth's treasures. But when I consider
Jesus, how little it appears to me!!
I would so much like
to love Him!… Love Him more than He has ever been loved!…
My only desire is to do the will of Jesus always! To dry away
the little tears that sinners make Him shed…. Oh! I do not
WANT Jesus to have any sorrow. On the day of my espousals,
I would like to convert all the sinners of this earth and
to save all the souls in purgatory!… The Lamb of Jesus is going to laugh when it sees this desire of the little grain of sand!… I know that it's folly, but, nevertheless, I would like it to be this way so that Jesus have not one single tear to shed. |
14-16-4 (The Little Way), 16-16-2 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-16-1 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 22-16-1 (Salvation of Souls), 27-16-1 (Sinners, Sins), 39-16-2 (Pauline), 50-16-1 (Jesus's Wounds, Pains and Tears) |
| 16 | GCI 504, Jan. 7, 1889, LT 76: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
7-16-5 |
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!… |
11-16-2 (Nothingness), 17-16-2 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 28-16-1 (Peace), 29-16-2 (Consolation), 39-16-3 (Pauline), 43-16-1 (Darkness) |
| 16 | GCI 521, Jan. 10, 1889, LC 109: from Sr. Marie of the Angels. |
7-16-6 | 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! |
2-16-16 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 22-16-2 (Salvation of Souls) |
| 16 | GCI 546, March 12, 1889, LT85: to Celine. |
7-16-7 |
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), 23-16-9 (The Joy of Sufferings), 37-16-6 (Time), 41-16-2 (Unfelt Joy), |
| 16 | GCI 546- 547, March 12, 1889, LT 85: to Celine. |
7-16-8 |
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!… |
2-16-22 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 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, Mar. 15, 1889, LT 86: to Celine. |
7-16-9 | 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. |
2-16-23 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), |
| 16 | GCI 552 -553, Apr. 4, 1889, LT 87: to Celine |
7-16-10 |
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), 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 577, July 14, 1889, LT 94: to Celine. |
7-16-11 | 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), 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. |
7-16-12 | …Dear lamb, how good it is to work for Jesus alone, for Him ALONE!… Oh, then, how full the heart is, how light one feels…. Little Belloni of Jesus, pray for the poor little grain of sand, that the grain of sand be always in its place, that is to say, under the feet of all, that no one may think of it, that its existence be, so to speak, unknown. The grain of sand does not desire to be humbled; this is still too glorious since one would be obliged to be occupied with it. It desires only one thing, to be FORGOTTEN, counted for nothing!… |
2-16-29 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 11-16-4 (Nothingness), 12-16-2 (Humility, Humbleness), 39-16-6 (Pauline) |
| 16 | GCI 587- 588, Oct. 15, 1889, LT 96: to Celine. |
7-16-13 | 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!… | 2-16-33 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 3-16-4 (Silence, Hidden), 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) |
| 17 | GCI 612, May 4, 1890, LT 103: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
7-17-1 | …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;… |
2-17-4 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 3-17-2 (Silence, Hidden), 11-17-1 (Nothingness), 14-17-2 (The Little Way), 25-17-1 (Glory), 39-17-1 (Pauline) |
| 17 | GCI 618, May 10, 1890, LT 105: to Celine. |
7-17-2 | … 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!… |
2-17-6 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 29-17-4 (Consolation), |
| 17 | GCI 620, May 10, 1890, LT 106: to Sr. Agnes of Jesus. |
7-17-3 |
…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), 14-17-3 (The Little Way), 23-17-2 (The Joy of Sufferings), 39-17-4 (Pauline) |
| 22 | GCII 902 -903, April 28, LT 176: to Sr. The- rese- Dosi- thee |
7-17-4 |
…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), 14-17-5 (The Little Way), 16-22-9 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 20-22-1 (Truth), 28-22-3 (Peace) |
| 18 | GCII 724, April 26, 1891, LT 127: to Celine. |
7-18-1 |
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. |
2-18-2 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 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 732 -733, July 23, 1891, LT 130: to Celine. |
7-18-2 | …Life is then a dream?… and to think that with this dream we can save souls!… Ah! Celine, let us not forget souls, but let us forget ourselves for them, and one day Jesus will say, when looking at us: “How beautiful is the chaste generation of virgin souls.” |
22-18-3 (Salvation of Souls) |
| 19 | GCII 761- 762, Oct. 19, 1892, LT 137: to Celine. |
7-19-1 | …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!… |
2-19-1 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 3-19-2 (Silence, Hidden), 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. |
7-20-1 |
…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), 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) |
| 21 | GCII 841, March or May, 1894, LT 157: to Celine. |
7-21-1 | 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!…” |
2-21-2 (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 870- 871, Jul. 18, 1894, LT 167: to Celine. |
7-21-2 |
…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…. |
2-21-8 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), |
| 22 | SS 178. |
7-22-1 |
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. |
2-22-3 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 4-22-1 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 16-22-5 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity), 17-22-3 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity) |
| 22 | SS 181. |
7-22-2 | …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! |
2-22-4 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 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. |
7-22-3 | … 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…. |
2-22-6 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 8-22-2 (Weakness, Frailty), 17-22-10 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 42-22-2 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 22 | SS 189. |
7-22-4 | …He has no need of our works but only of our love, for the same God who declares He has no need to tell us when He is hungry did not fear to beg for a little water from the Samaritan woman. He was thirsty. But when He said: “Give me to drink,”(John 4:7.) it was the love of His poor creature the Creator of the universe was seeking. He was thirsty for love. Ah! I feel it more than ever before, Jesus is parched, for He meets only the ungrateful and indifferent among His disciples in the world, and among His own disciples, alas, He finds few hearts who surrender to Him without reservations, who understand the real tenderness of His infinite Love. |
4-22-4 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 14-22-6 (The Little Way), 17-22-11 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 40-22-1 (Participation to Salvation), 42-22-3 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 23 | SS 196 -197. |
7-23-1 |
…
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), 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 200. |
7-23-2 |
O Jesus, allow me in my boundless gratitude to say to You that Your love reaches
unto folly. In the presence of this folly, how can You not desire that my heart
leap towards You? How can my confidence, then, have any limits? Ah! the saints
have committed their follies for You, and they have done great things because
they are eagles. Jesus, I am too little to perform great actions, and my own folly is this: to trust that Your Love will accept me as a victim. My folly consists in begging the eagles, my brothers, to obtain for me the favor of flying towards the Sun of Love with the Divine Eagle's own wings! As long as You desire it, O my Beloved, Your little bird will remain without strength and without wings and will always stay with its gaze fixed upon You. … … I feel that if You found a souls weaker and little than mine, which is impossible, You would be pleased to grant it still greater favors, provided it abandoned itself with total confidence to Your Infinite Mercy…. |
4-23-2 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 8-23-4 (Weakness, Frailty), 10-23-4 (Littleness), 17-23-6 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 24-23-1 (Mercy of God, Graces), 42-23-3 (Works, Actions, Great Actions) |
| 23 | GCII 1040 Dec. 24, 1896, LT 212: to Sr. Marie of the Trinity. |
7-23-3 | …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. |
2-23-13 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials) |
| 24 | SS 226 -227. |
7-24-1 |
…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), 9-24-1 (Poor in Spirit), 14-24-5 (The Little Way), 28-24-3 (Peace) |
| 24 | SS 229. |
7-24-2 | …Truly, when one knows very well that never will the time one lends be ever returned, one would prefer to say: “I give it to you.” This would satisfy self-love, for giving is a more generous act than lending, and then we make the Sister feel we don't depend on her services. Ah! how contrary are the teachings of Jesus to the feelings of nature! Without the help of His graces it would be impossible not only to put them into practice but to even understand them. |
1-24-1 (Self-love, Nature), 24-24-4 (Mercy of God, Graces) |
| 24 | SS 234 -235. |
7-24-3 | …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. |
2-24-12 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials) |
| 24 | SS 237. |
7-24-4 |
…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), 2-24-13 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 14-24-6 (The Little Way), 17-24-5 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity), 29-24-1 (Consolation) |
| 24 | SS 238 -239. |
7-24-5 | …One feels it is absolutely necessary to forget one's likings, one's personal conceptions, and to guide souls along the road which Jesus has traced out for them without trying to make them walk one's own way. But this is still not the most difficult thing; what cost me more than anything else was to observe the faults and lightest imperfections and to wage a war to the death on these…. | |
| 24 | SS 239. |
7-24-6 | …I would prefer a thousand times to receive reproofs than to give them to others; however, I feel it is necessary that this be a suffering for me, for, when we act according to nature, it is impossible for the soul being corrected to understand her faults;… |
1-24-4 (Self-love, Nature) |
| 24 | SS 244, |
7-24-7 | …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), 23-24-5 (The Joy of Sufferings) |
| 24 | GCII 1072, Mar. 19, 1897, LT 221: to P. Rou- lland. |
7-24-8 | 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.” |
2-24-19 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 5-24-4 (Prayer, Meditation, Contemplation), 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 1127, Jun. 9, 1897, LT 244: to l'abbe Bell- iere. This letter was never sent. |
7-24-9 |
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. |
2-24-22 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 14-24-10 (The Little Way), 16-24-12 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
| 24 | GCII 1134, June 21, 1897, LT 247: to l'abbe Bell- iere. |
7-24-10 | I know there are some saints who spent their life in the practice of astonishing mortifications to expiate their sins, but what of it; “there are many mansions in the house of heavenly Father,” (John 14:2.) Jesus has said, and it is because of this that I followed the way He is tracing out for me. I try to be no longer occupied with myself in anything, and I abandon myself to what Jesus sees fit to do in my soul, for I have not chosen an austere life to expiate my faults but those of others. |
4-24-5 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 14-24-12 (The Little Way), 22-24-7 (Salvation of Souls), 27-24-5 (Sinners, Sins), 33-24-1 (Penance, Mortification) |
| 24 | GCII 1138, June? July?, 1897, LT 251: to Sr. Marie of Jesus. |
7-24-11 | Dear little Sister, do not be a sad little girl when seeing you are not understood, that you are judged badly, that you are forgotten, but lay a trap for everybody by taking care to do like others, or rather by doing for yourself what others are doing for you, that is, forget all that is not Jesus, forget YOURSELF for His love!… |
17-24-16 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity) |
| 24 | GCII 1152 -1153, Jul. 18, 1897, LT 258: to l'abbe Bell- iere |
7-24-12 | 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.” | 2-24-25 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 4-24-6 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 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 44, May, 15. |
7-24-13 | 5. “To the right and to the left, I throw to my little birds the good grain that God places in my hands. And then I let things take their course! I busy myself with it no more. Sometimes, it's just as though I had thrown nothing; at other times, it does some good. But God tells me; ‘Give, give always, without being concerned about the results.’” | |
| 24 | LC 87, Jul. 10. |
7-24-14 |
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!” |
2-24-38 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 4-24-12 (Trust, Confidence, Abandonment), 16-24-20 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
| 24 | LC 90, Jul. 12. |
7-24-15 | “She told me that formerly she had
to undergo a rough battle with
regard to a lamp to be prepared for Mother Marie de Gonzague's
family that arrived unexpectedly to spend the night in the extern
Sisters' quarters.
The struggle was so violent, there came such
thoughts against authority into her mind, that, not to give in to
them, she had to implore God's help with insistence. At the same
time, she applied herself as well as she could to what had been
demanded of her. It was during the night silence. She was portress,
and Sister St. Raphael was first in charge: “To conquer myself I imagined I was preparing the lamp for the Blessed Virgin and the Child Jesus; and then I did it with an incredible care, not leaving on it the least speck of dust, and, little by little, I felt a great appeasement and a great sweetness. Matins sounded, and I was not able to go to it immediately, but I experienced such a disposition of mind, I had received such a grace, that if Sister St. Raphael had come, and had said, for example, that I was mistaken about the lamp, that I had to prepare another, I would have obeyed her happily. From that day, I made the resolution never to consider whether the things commanded me appeared useful or not.” |
1-24-7 (Self-love, Nature), 24-24-16 (Mercy of God, Graces), 38-24-1 (Disposition) |
| 24 | LC 96, Jul. 13. |
7-24-16 |
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. |
2-24-40 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 3-24-5 (Silence, Hidden) |
| 24 | LC 96, Jul. 14. |
7-24-17 | 1. “If I had been rich, I would have found it impossible to see a poor person going hungry without giving him my possessions, And in the same way, when I gain any spiritual treasures, feeling that at this very moment there are souls in danger of being lost and falling into hell, I give them what I possess, and I have not yet found a moment when I can say: Now I'm going to work for myself. | |
| 24 | LC 103 -104, Jul. 20. |
7-24-18 |
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.” |
2-24-43 (Sufferings, Sacrifices, Crosses, Trials), 3-24-6 (Silence, Hidden), 8-24-16 (Weakness, Frailty), 24-24-18 (Mercy of God, Graces) |
| 24 | LC 108, Jul. 24. |
7-24-19 | 1. “In the refectory, I always considered to whom I should offer the food. Sweets were for little Jesus; strong foods were for St. Joseph, and I didn't forget the Blessed Virgin either. But when I missed anything, for example, when they forgot to give me sauce or salad, I was very happy, for then I could really offer it to the Holy Family, being really deprived of what I was offering.” | |
| 24 | LC 111, Jul. 25. |
7-24-20 |
13. With reference to spiritual direction: “I think we have to be very careful not to seek ourselves, for we can get a broken heart that way, and afterwards, it can be said of us in all truth: ‘The keepers … wounded me; they took away my veil from me…. When I had passed by them a little, I found Him whom my soul loves.’”(The Canticle of Canticles 5:7., 3:4.) “I think that if this soul had humbly asked the keepers where her Beloved was, they would have shown her where He was to be found; however, because she wanted to be admired, she got into trouble, and she lost simplicity of heart.” |
31-24-2 (Simplicity of Soul) |
| 24 | LC 129, Aug. 3. |
7-24-21 |
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), 28-24-10 (Peace) |
| 24 | LC 130, Aug. 3. |
7-24-22 |
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), 12-24-11 (Humility, Humbleness), 28-24-11 (Peace), 33-24-2 (Penance, Mortification) |
| 24 | LC 181, Sep. 2. |
7-24-23 | 6. “When we accept our disappointment at our failures, God immediately returns to us." |
8-24-20 (Weakness, Frailty) |
| 24 | LC 252, Jul. 11, a note of Sr. Marie of the Eucha -rist. |
7-24-24 | “It always give God a very little pain when we rationalize a very little about what Mother Prioress has said; and it gives Him much pain when we rationalize much, even in our heart.” |
1-24-10 (Self-love, Nature) |
| 24 | LC 252, Jul. 11, with Marie Guerin |
7-24-25 | “I advise you, when you have struggles against charity, to read this chapter of the Imitation: ‘We must bear with the faults of others.’ You will find that your struggles will disappear; it always did me a lot of good. It's very good and very true.” |
1-24-10 (Self-love, Nature) |
| 24 | LC 281, Jul. 20 a note of Sr. Marie of the Eucha -rist. |
7-24-26 | …. I asked her the other day: “Did you sometimes refuse God anything?” She said: “No, I don't remember refusing Him anything. Even when I was very little, at the age of three, I began to refuse God nothing He was asking from me.” |
14-24-31 (The Little Way), 16-24-37 (His Will, Perfection, Sanctity) |
| 24 | LC 242, Sep. 1. |
7-24-27 |
With reference to Mother H. of
the Heart of Jesus, to whom the
infirmarians had to pay much attention: “How happy I would have been to be her infirmarian. This would have cost me much according to my natural inclinations, but it seems to me I would have taken care of her with so much love, because I think of what Our Lord said: ‘I was sick and you visited me.’” (Matthew 24:36.) |
1-24-11 (Self -love, Nature), 17-24-33 (Love Jesus, The Love of God, Charity) |
| 24 | LC 253, Sep. 11 from a note of Sr. Marie of the Eucha -rist. |
7-24-28 | “You must become gentle; never any harsh words, never a harsh tone, never take on a harsh look, always be gentle.” |
1-24-12 (Self-love, Nature) |