When I'm up in heaven, how many graces I will beg for you! Oh! I'll torment God so much that, if He wanted to refuse me at first, my importunity will force Him to grant my desires. This story is in the Gospel.

St. Therese of Lisieux
Last Conversations p 48

I would be happy to bear the greatest sufferings - even without God's knowing it, if this were possible-...if only I knew that in this way a smile would rise to His lips.

St. Therese of Lisieux
Last Conversations p 239

...I can't rest as long as there are souls to be saved. But when the angel will have said; "Time is no more!" then I will take my rest...

St. Therese of Lisieux
Last Conversations p 102

True charity consists in putting up with all one's neighbor's faults, never being surprised by his weakness, and being inspired by the least of his virtues.

~ St Therese of Lisieux

O Jesus, why can't I tell all little souls how unspeakable is Your condescension? ...Your secrets of Love, O Jesus...can You not reveal them to others? ...I beg You to do it. I beg You to cast Your Divine Glance upon a great number of little souls. I beg You to choose a legion of little Victims worthy of Your LOVE!

St. Therese of Lisieux
Story of a Soul p 200

Seeing the eternal recompense so disproportionate to the trifling sacrifices of this life, I longed to love Jesus, to love Him ardently, to give him a thousand proofs of tenderness while yet I could do so...

St. Therese of Lisieux
Story of A Soul, Chapter V

It is true that at times a very small ray of the sun comes to illumine my darkness, and then the trail ceases for an instant, but afterwards...the fog which surrounds me becomes more dense; it penetrates my soul and envelops it in such a way that it is impossible to discover within it the sweet image of my Fatherland; everything has disappeared!

St. Therese of Lisiux
Story of a Soul p 214

...faith...is no longer a veil for me, it is a wall which reaches right up to the heavens and covers the starry firmament. When I sing of the happiness of heaven and of the eternal possession of God, I feel no joy in this, for I sing simply of what I WANT TO BELIEVE.

St. Therese of Lisieux
Story of a Soul p 214

It's the reasoning of the worst materialists which is imposed upon my mind: Later, unceasingly making new advances, science will explain everything naturally; we shall have the absolute reason for everything that exists. ... In spite of this trial which has taken away all my joy, I nevertheless cry out: "You have give me DELIGHT, O Lord, in ALL your doings."

St. Therese of Lisieux
LC-257
SS-214

He permitted my soul to be invaded by the thickest darkness, and the thought of heaven...no longer anything but the cause of struggle and torment. This trial was to last not a few days or a few weeks, it was not to be extinguished until the hour set by God Himself and this hour has not yet come.

St. Therese of Lisieux
Story of a Soul p 211

I desired that, like the face of Jesus, "my face be truly hidden, that no one on earth would know me." I thirsted after suffering, I longed to be forgotten.

St. Therese of Lisieux
Story of a Soul 152

One Sunday, looking at a picture of Our Lord on the cross, I was struck by the blood flowing from one of His divine hands...I resolved to remain in spirit at the foot of the cross and receive this divine dew. I understood then, I was to pour it out upon souls. The cry of Jesus on the cross sounded continually in my heart: "I Thirst!" these words ignited within me an unknown and very living fire.

St Therese of Lisieux
SS p 99

The little bird wills to fly towards the bright Sun which attracts its eye, imitating its brothers, the eagles, whom it sees climbing up towards the Divine Furnace of the Holy Trinity. But, alas, the only thing it can do is raise its little wings; to fly is not within its little power.

St. Therese of Lisieux
Story of a Soul p 198

In order to live in one single act of perfect love, I OFFER MYSELF AS A VICTIM OF HOLOCAUST TO YOUR MERCIFUL LOVE, asking You to consume me incessantly, allow the waves of infinite tenderness, shut up within You, to overflow into my soul...I want, O my Beloved, at each beat of my heart to renew this offering to you an infinite number of times, until the shadows having disappeared I may be able to tell You of my Love in an Eternal Face to Face!

St. Therese
Story of a Soul p 277

Why speak of a delirious joy? No, this expression is not exact, for it was rather the calm and serene peace of the navigator perceiving the beacon which must lead him to the port...O luminous Beacon of love, I know how to reach You, I have found the secret of possessing Your flame.

St. Therese
Story of a Soul p 195

Then, in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: O Jesus, my Love...my vocation, at last I have found it...MY VOCATION IS LOVE!... In the heart of the Church, my Mother, I shall be Love. Thus I shall be everything, and thus my dream will be realized.

St. Therese of Lisieux
Story of a Soul p 194

I finally had rest....If the Church had a body composed of different members, the most necessary and most noble of all could not be lacking to it, and so I understood that the Church had a heart and this heart was BURNING WITH LOVE....I understood that LOVE COMPRISED ALL VOCATIONS, THAT LOVE WAS EVERYTHING THAT IT EMBRACED ALL TIMES AND PLACES...IN A WORD THAT IT WAS ETERNAL!

St. Therese of Lisieux
Story of a Soul p 194

Is Your disdained Love to remain closed up within Your Heart?...It seems to me You would be happy not to hold back the waves of infinite tenderness within You. If Your justice loves to release itself,...how much more does Your Merciful Love desire to set souls on fire...O my Jesus let me be this happy victim; consume Your holocaust with the fire of Your Divine Love.

St. Therese of Lisieux
SS 181

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.

St. Therese of Lisieux
SS 189

Ah! my Jesus, pardon me if...my desires and longings reach even unto infinity...I feel within me the vocation of the WARRIOR, THE PRIEST, THE APOSTLE, THE DOCTOR, THE MARTYR...O Jesus, my love, my life, how can I combine these contrasts? How can I realize the desires of my poor little soul?

St. Therese
SS 192

Jesus, I cannot fathom the depths of...my bold desires. My excuse is that I am a child... But how will she prove her love since love is proved by works? Well, the little child will strew flowers...not allowing one little sacrifice to escape, not one look, not one word, profiting by all the smallest things and doing them through love. ...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...

St. Therese
SS 192

Are my measureless desires only but a dream, a folly? Ah! if this be so, Jesus, then enlighten me, for you know I am seeking only the truth. If my desires are rash, then make them disappear...

St. Therese of Lisieux
Story of A Soul p 197

Prophetic Words

I would like to enlighten souls as did the Prophets and the Doctors. I have the vocation of the Apostle. I would like to travel over the whole earth to preach Your Name...But O my Beloved, one mission alone would not be sufficient for me, I would want to preach the gospel on all the five continents...I would be a missionary, not for a few years only but from the beginning of creation until the consummation of the ages.

St. Therese of Lisieux
Story of a Soul p 192-3

The science of love, ah yes, this word resounds sweetly in the ear of my soul, and I desire only this science. ...I understand so well that is is only love which makes us acceptable to God and this love is my only ambition. Jesus deigned to show me the road that leads to the Divine Furnace, and this road is the surrender of the little child who sleeps without fear in its Father's arms.

St. Therese
Story of a Soul pp 187-188

Because I was little and weak, He lowered Himself to me, He instructed me secretly in the things of His love.

St. Therese
Story of a Soul p 105

Empty!

I am only a child, powerless and weak, and yet it is my weakness that gives me the boldness of offering myself as VICTIM of Your Love, O Jesus!...me, a weak and imperfect creature. Is not this choice worthy of Love? Yes, in order that Love be fully satisfied, it is necessary that It lower Itself, and that It lower Itself to nothingness and transform this nothingness into fire.

St. Therese of Lisieux
Story of a Soul 195

How sweet is the way of love. 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.

St. Therese of Lisieux
Story of a Soul 179

Jesus...has no need of our works but only of our love,...He did not fear to beg for a little water from the Samaritan woman. He was thirsty. But when He said:"Give me to drink," it was the love of His poor creature the creator of the universe was seeking. He was thirsty for love.

St. Therese of Lisieux
Story of a Soul 189

There is in the community a sister who has the faculty of displeasing me in everything...for this Sister who gave me so many struggles, I took care to render her all the services possible...(including) my most friendly smile...One day at recreation she asked: " ...what attracts you so much toward me, every time you look at me I see you smile?" Ah! What attracted me was Jesus hidden in the depths of her soul...

St. Therese of Lisieux
Story of a Soul pp 222/223

I should desolate for having slept (for seven years) during my hours of prayer and my thanksgiving after Holy Communion; well, I am not desolate. I remember that little children are as pleasing to their parents when they are asleep as well as when they are wide awake...I remember that:"The Lord knows our weakness, that He is mindful that we are but dust and ashes." [ed: I believe this quote is from Psalm 103]

St. Therese of Lisieux
Story of a Soul p 165

Just as a torrent, throwing itself impetuously into the ocean, drags after it everything it encounters in its passage, in the same way, O Jesus, the soul who plunges into the shoreless ocean of Your Love, draws with it all the treasures it possesses.

St. Therese
Story of a Soul p 254

Your little bird...wants to be fascinated by Your divine glance. It wants to become the prey of your love. One day I hope that...you will plunge it for all eternity into the burning Abyss of this Love to which it has offered itself as a victim.

St. Therese of Lisieux
SS-200

These words of Isaiah...There is not beauty in Him, no comeliness etc.,"...(are)the whole foundation of my devotion to the Holy Face, or to express it better, the foundation of all my piety. I, too, have desired to be without beauty, alone in treading the winepress, unknown to everyone.

St. Therese of Lisieux

The little flower transplanted to Mount Carmel was to expand under the shadow of the cross. The tears and blood of Jesus were to be her dew, and her Sun was His adorable face veiled with tears.

St. Therese of Lisieux
Story of a Soul p 151
(the picture is actually a flower on mt. carmel)

Humility does not disturb or disquiet or agitate, however great it may be; it comes with peace, delight, and calm. . . . The pain of genuine humility doesn’t agitate or afflict the soul; rather, this humility expands it and enables it to serve God more.

—Saint Teresa of Avila, The Way of Perfection, 39:1-2

A hermit had a gift from God to cast out evil spirits.
One time he asked to learn what they feared most and what compelled them to flee.

“Perhaps it is fasting?” he asked one of them.
“We,” the evil spirit replied, “neither ever eat nor ever drink.”

“Sleepless vigils, then?”
“We do not sleep at all.”

“Flight from the world?”
“Supposedly an important thing. But we spend the greater part of our time wandering around the deserts.”

“I implore you to confess what it is that can subdue you,” insisted the elder.
The evil spirit, compelled by a supernatural force, was pressed to answer: “Humility—which we can never overcome.”


from The Ancient Fathers of the Desert: Section 1
V. Rev. Chrysostomos, trans.


(hat tip: Elizabeth Foss at her Real Learning site)

God made me feel that true glory is that which will last eternally, and to reach it, it isn't necessary to perform striking works but to hide oneself and practice virtue in such a way that the left hand knows not what the right is doing.

St. Therese
SS-72

Ah! if God had not showered His beneficent rays upon His little flower, she could never have accustomed herself to earth, for she was too weak to stand up against the rains and the storms. She needed warmth, a gentle dew, and the springtime breezes. Never were these lacking. Jesus had her find them beneath the snow of trial!

Story of a Soul p 35
St. Therese

If, when I am preparing for some work, I find that the brushes and the paints are in disorder, if a rule or a penknife has disappeared, patience is very close to abandoning me and I must take my courage in both hands in order to reclaim the missing object without bitterness.

St. Therese
Story of a Soul p 228

Time is nothing in your eyes, and a single day is like a thousand years. You can, then, in one instant prepare me to appear before you.

St. Therese
SS-277

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.

St. Therese
SS-143

I just saw a little sparrow on the garden wall, waiting patiently for its parents; from time to time, it gave forth its little chirp, calling them to come and give it a mouthful of food. I thought it was like me.

St. Therese

Jesus knew very well that His little flower stood in need of the living waters of humiliation, for she was too weak to take root without this kind of help,...the dew of humiliation (was) so delightful that she would be very careful not to exchange it for the insipid water of praise.

St. Therese
Story of a Soul p 206

I was in the laundry doing the washing in front of a sister who was throwing dirty water into my face every time she lifted the handkerchiefs to her bench. My first reaction was to draw back and wipe my face to show the sister...she would do me a favor to be more careful. But I immediately thought...it would be very foolish to refuse these treasures...and I took care not to show my struggle. I...was so successful that in the end I had really taken a liking to this kind of aspersion, and I promised myself to return another time to this nice place where one received so many treasures.

St. Therese
Story of a Soul-250

But was it possible to come all the way to Rome and not go down into the Colosseum? For me it was impossible!... I saw what I was looking for and I cried to Celine: "Come quick! We can get through!" We crossed the barrier...we were climbing down over the ruins which rumbled under our feet...the guide...had pointed out a tiny bit of pavement marked with a cross as the place where the martyrs fought,...We soon found it and threw ourselves on our knees on this sacred soil...My heart was beating hard when my lips touched the dust stained with the blood of the first Christians.

St. Therese
Story of a Soul 130/131

...the Holy Spirit, before Jesus' birth, dictated this prophetic prayer: "Draw me, we shall run." What is it then to be "Drawn" if not to be united in an intimate way to the object which captivates our heart?.... I ask Jesus to draw me into the flames of His love, to unite me so closely to Him that He live and act in me.

St. Therese
Story of a Soul p 257

Ah! how good the Lord is in having matured my soul, and in having given it wings. All the nets of the hunters would not be able to frighten me, for "...the net is spread in vain before the eyes of them that have wings." (Prov 1:17)

Story of a Soul p 224

St. Therese of Lisieux

To be little...is not to become discouraged over one's faults, for children fall often, but they are too little to hurt themselves very much.

St. Therese

I always feel the same bold confidence of becoming a great saint because I don't count on my merits since I have none... God alone, content with my weak efforts, will raise me to Himself and make me a saint, clothing me in His infinite merits

SS-72

St. Therese

Little

...you can see that I am a very little soul and that I can offer God only very little things.

SS-250

St. Therese

I look upon myself as a weak little bird, with only light down as covering... At times the little bird's heart is assailed by the storm, and it seems it should believe in the existence of no other thing except the clouds surrounding it. ....It cries like a swallow and in its sweet song it recounts in detail all its infidelities, thinking in the boldness of its full trust that it will acquire in even greater fullness the love of Him who came to call not the just but sinners.

SS 198/199

St. Therese

Spiritual Sisters

Celine became the confidante of my thoughts...Jesus...formed bonds in our hearts stronger than blood. He made us become spiritual sisters,....The sparks of love He sowed so generously in our souls, and the delicious and strong wine He gave us to drink made all passing things disappear before our eyes... With enraptured gaze we beheld...the bright stars twinkling in the deep skies, the light breath of the evening breeze making the snowy clouds float easily along; all this raised our souls to heaven, that beautiful heaven whose "obverse side" alone we were able to contemplate.

SS-103

St. Therese

Mama told Marie to dress me in my Sky-blue frock with the lace trimmings but not to leave my arms bare lest the Sun burn them. I allowed myself to be dressed with the indifference a child of my age should really have, but I thought to myself that I would look much more pretty with my arms bare.

St. Therese
Story of a Soul p 24

Misunderstanding

Ah! poor women, how they are misunderstood! And yet they love God in much larger numbers than men do and during the Passion of Our Lord, women had more courage than the apostles since they braved the insults of the soldiers and dared to dry the adorable face of Jesus. It is undoubtedly because of this that he allows misunderstanding to be their lot on earth, since He chose it for Himself. In heaven He will show that His thoughts are not men's thoughts, for then the last will be first.

St. Therese of Lisieux
(Story of a Soul p 140)

Feb 6

The Blessed Virgin...didn't have a Blessed Virgin to love. And so this is one more sweetness for us and one less sweetness for her!

St. Therese

Feb 4

It is not to remain in a golden ciborium that He comes to us each day from heaven, it's to find another heaven, infinitely more dear to Him than the first; the heaven of our soul, made to His image, the living temple of the adorable Trinity!
(Story of a soul p 104)

St. Therese

Instruction

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 find just when I need them certain lights which I had not seen until then, and...these are most abundant in the midst of my daily occupations.

St. Therese (Story of a Soul, page 179)

Ah! how contrary are the teachings of Jesus to the feelings of nature! Without the help of His grace it would be impossible not only to put them into practice but to even understand them.

The Rosary

When I think of how much trouble I've had all my life trying to recite the rosary!

Sometimes when my mind is in such great dryness that it is impossible to draw forth one single thought to unite me with God, I very slowly recite an "Our Father" and then the angelic salutation (to Mary)... they nourish my soul much more than if I had recited them precipitately a hundred times.

At the time, I was having great interior trials of all kinds, even to the point of asking myself whether heaven really existed.

St. Therese of Lisieux

Jesus was sleeping as usual in my little boat; ah! I see very well how rarely souls allow him to sleep peacefully within them. Jesus is so fatigued with always having to take the initiative and attend to others. He hastens to take advantage of the repose I offer to Him.


St. Therese of Lisieux

In the evening at that moment when the sun seems to bathe itself in the immensity of the ocean waves, leaving a luminous trail behind, I went and sat down on a huge rock with Pauline. . . . I contemplated this luminous trail for a long time. It was to me the image of God's grace shedding its light across the path the little white-sailed vessel had to travel.

St. Therese of Lisieux

When we were on the way home, I would gaze upon the stars which were twinkling ever so peacefully in the skies and the sight carried me away. There was especially one cluster of golden pearls which attracted my attention and gave me great joy because they were in the form of a "T." I pointed them out to Papa and told him my name was written in heaven.

St. Therese of Lisieux

I remember one day when the beautiful blue sky became suddenly overcast and soon the thunder began to roll and lightening flashed through the dark clouds. I saw it strike a short distance away,. . . . I was thrilled with delight because God seemed so close!

St. Therese of Lisieux

I'm not breaking my head over the writing of my "little" life; it's as though I were fishing with a line. I write whatever comes to the end of my pen.

St. Therese of Lisieux

Ah! the Lord is so good to me, it is quite impossible for me to fear Him.

St. Therese of Lisieux

Our humiliation at the moment is our glory later on, even in this life.

St. Therese of Lisieux

I do not have the courage to force myself to search out beautiful prayers in books. There are so many of them it really gives me a headache!. . . . like children who do not know how to read, I say, very simply to God what I wish to say. . . For me, it is a simple glance directed to heaven, it is a cry of gratitude and love inthe midst of trial as well as joy. . .

St. Therese of Lisieux

If I had committed all possible crimes, I would always have the same confidence. I feel that this whole multitude of offenses would be like a drop of water thrown into a fiery furnace.

St. Therese of Lisieux

Jesus does not demand great actions from us, but simply surrender and gratitude.

St. Therese of Lisieux

Sacrifice

Ah! It is prayer, it is sacrifice which gives me all my strength; these are the invincible weapons which Jesus has given me. They can touch souls much better than words, as I have frequently experienced.

St. Therese of Lisieux

Sometimes I feel alone, very much alone. . . I repeated these words which always gave rise to a new peace and strength in my heart: "Life is your barque and not your home!" . . . . Doesn't the Book of Wisdom say: "Life is like a ship that plows the restless waves and leaves after it no trace of its rapid passage?" When I think these things, my soul is plunged into infinity, and it seems to me it already touches the eternal shore.

St. Therese of Lisieux

. . . for me to translate my thoughts, I have to be like the solitary sparrow, and this is rarely my lot. When I begin to take up my pen, behold a Sister passes by, a pitchfork on her shoulder. She believes she will distract me with a little idle chatter, then another hay worker throws flowers on my lap, perhaps believing this will inspire me with poetic thoughts. I . . . would prefer to see the flowers remain swaying on their stems. Finally, fatigued by opening and shutting this famous copybook, I .. . copy out some thoughts from the psalms. . .

St. Therese of Lisieux

"Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer."

Romans 12: 12

Feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774 - 1821)

"Live simply, so that all may simply live."
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

I wondered for a long time why God has preferences, why all souls do not receive an equal amount of graces. I was puzzled at seeing how our Lord was pleased to caress certain ones from the cradle to the the grave. . . I wondered why poor savages died in great numbers without even having heard the name of God pronounced. Jesus deigned to teach me this mystery by setting before me the book of nature; . . . He willed to create great souls comparable to lilies and roses, but He also created smaller ones and these must be content to be daisies or violets destined to give joy to God's glances when He looks down at His feet. . . God does not call those who are worthy, but those whom He pleases.

St. Therese of Lisieux

All the great truths of religion, the mysteries of eternity, plunged my soul into a state of joy not of this earth. I experienced what God reserved for those who love Him.

St. Therese of Lisieux