St. Therese of Lisieux Quotation - July 12, 2006.

"Jesus does not consider time, since He is eternal. He considers only Love."

 

~St. Therese, The Little Flower

St. Therese of Lisieux Quotation - October 8, 2005.

Our Lord died on the Cross in agony, and yet this is the most beautiful death of love. To die of love is not to die in transports.

 

~St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese of Lisieux Quotation

When faced by our limitations, we must have recourse to the practice of offering to God the good works of others.

 

~St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese of Lisieux Quotation - September 8, 2005.

We often think we receive graces and are divinely illuminated by means of brilliant candles. But from whence comes their light? From prayers, perhaps, of some humble, hidden soul, whose inward shining is not apparent to human eyes.

 

~St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese of Lisieux Quotation

“Love proves itself by deeds, so how am I to show my love?  Great deeds are forbidden me.  The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and every word and the doing of the least actions for love.” 

~St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese on Prayer

[While I realize most of us feel more comfortable with short, bite-sized quotations from St. Therese of Lisieux, sometimes the Lord does ask us to spend a little more time reading and pondering at greater length what St. Therese had to say. I found the below material on the EWTN website. ~Blessings, Christine]

 

Found at: http://www.ewtn.com/therese/letters/Letters6.htm

 

St. Thérèse on Prayer

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Quite often when pondering the lives of the saints we hear of great miracles (e.g., ecstasies, healings, levitations, etc.). It is rare that we hear of a saint’s faults and weaknesses. Sometimes we need to hear about these in order to be able to relate to them; to realize that they were "earthen vessels" like the rest of us. One of Saint Thérèse’s weaknesses was distraction at prayer. However, this did not keep her from trudging along her "little way". As we shall see in her autobiography and letters, Saint Thérèse faithfully acknowledged her weakness to God, trusting in His Infinite Mercy to forgive.

Three letters taken from General Correspondence Volume Two Translated by John Clarke, O.C.D. Copyright (c) 1988 by Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites, ICS Publications, 2131 Lincoln Road, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20002 U.S.A.

From Thérèse to Céline.

July 18, 1893

J.M.J.T.

Jesus

Dear Céline,

I was not counting on answering your letter this time, but our Mother wants me to add a note to hers. What things I would have to tell you! But since I have only a few moments, I must first assure the little drop of dew that her Thérèse understands her… After having read your letter, I went to prayer, and taking the gospel, I asked Jesus to find a passage for you, and this is what I found: "Behold the fig tree and the other trees, when they begin to bear tender leaves, you judge that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things taking place, know that the kingdom of God is near." I closed the book, I had read enough; in fact, these things taking place in my Céline’s soul prove the kingdom of Jesus is set up in her soul…. Now I want to tell you what is taking place in my own soul; no doubt, it is the same things as in yours. You have rightly said, Céline, the cool mornings have passed for us, there remain no more flowers to gather, Jesus has taken them for Himself. Perhaps He will make new ones bloom one day, but in the meantime what must we do? Céline, God is no longer asking anything from me…in the beginning, He was asking an infinity of things from me. I thought, at times, that since Jesus was no longer asking anything from me, I had to go along quietly in peace and love, doing only what He was asking me…. But I had a light. St. Teresa [of Avila] says we must maintain love. The wood is not within our reach when we are in darkness, in aridities, but at least are we not obliged to throw little pieces of straw on it? Jesus is really powerful enough to keep the fire going by Himself. However, He is satisfied when He sees us put a little fuel on it. This attentiveness pleases Jesus, and then He throws on the fire a lot of wood. We do not see it, but we do feel the strength of love’s warmth. I have experienced it; when I am feeling nothing, when I am INCAPABLE of praying, of practicing virtue, then is the moment for seeking opportunities, nothings, which please Jesus more than mastery of the world or even martyrdom suffered with generosity. For example, a smile, a friendly word, when I would want to say nothing, or put on a look of annoyance, etc., etc.

Céline, do you understand? It is not for the purpose of weaving my crown, gaining merits, it is in order to please Jesus…. When I do not have any opportunities, I want at least to tell Him frequently that I love Him; this is not difficult, and it keeps the fire going. Even though this fire of love would seem to me to have gone out, I would like to throw something on it, and Jesus could then relight it. Céline, I am afraid I have not said what I should; perhaps you will think I always do what I am saying. Oh, no! I am not always faithful, but I never get discouraged; I abandon myself into the arms of Jesus. The little drop of dew goes deeper into the calyx of the flower of the fields, and there it finds again all it has lost and even much more.

Your little Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus of the Holy Face

re. carm. ind.

St. Therese Quotation

I realize that we aren't all made alike. For me, God's infinite mercy is the quality that stands out in my life, and when I contemplate and adore God's other perfections, it's against this background of mercy all the time.

 

~St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese Quotation - very timely

Jesus offers you the cross, a very heavy cross, and you are afraid of not being able to carry it without giving way. Why? Our Beloved Himself fell three times on the way to Calvary, and why should we not imitate Him?

 

~St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese quote

Our Lord does not come down from Heaven every day to lie in a golden ciborium. He comes to find another heaven which is infinitely dearer to him - the heaven of our souls, created in His Image, the living temples of the Adorable Trinity.

- Saint Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897)

St. Therese's First Communion

St. Thérèse's First Communion
8^th May 1884

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Source: Story of a Soul [St. Thérèse's autobiogrphy], Rockford, Illinois: TAN Books and Publishers, Inc.

At last the most wonderful day of my life arrived¹, and I can remember every tiny detail of those heavenly hours: my joyous waking up at dawn, the tender, reverent kisses of the mistresses and older girls², the room where we dressed -- filled with the white "snowflakes" in which one after another we were clothed -- and above all, our entry into chapel and the singing of the morning hymn: "O Altar of God, Where the Angels are Hovering." I would not tell you everything, even if I could, for there are certain things which lose their fragrance in the open air, certain thoughts so intimate that they cannot be translated into earthly language without losing at once their deep and heavenly meaning. How lovely it was, that first kiss of Jesus in my heart -- it was truly a kiss of love. I knew that I was loved and said, "I love You, and I give myself to You forever." Jesus asked for nothing, He claimed no sacrifice. Long before that, He and little Thérèse had seen and understood one another well, but on that day it was more than a meeting -- it was a complete fusion. We were no longer two, for Thérèse had disappeared like a drop of water lost in the mighty ocean. Jesus alone remained -- the Master and the King. Had she not asked Him to take away her liberty, the liberty she feared? She felt so weak and frail that she wanted to unite herself forever to His Divine Strength. And her joy became so vast, so deep, that now it overflowed. Soon she was weeping, to the astonishment of her companions, who said to one another later on: "Why did she cry? Was there something on her conscience? Perhaps it was because her mother³ was not there, or the Carmelite sister⁴ she loves so much." It was beyond them that all the joy of Heaven had entered one small, exiled heart, and that it was too frail and weak to bear it without tears. As if the absence of my mother could make me unhappy on the day of my First Communion! As all Heaven entered my soul when I received Jesus, my mother came to me as well. Nor could I cry because you⁵ were not there, we were closer than ever before. It was joy alone, deep ineffable joy that filled my heart.

That afternoon I was chosen to read the "Act of Consecration to Our Lady." I suppose they chose me because I had lost my earthly mother so young. Anyway, I put my whole heart into it and begged Our Lady to guard me always. I felt sure she was looking at me with that lovely smile which had cured me and delivered me, and I knew all I owed her; for it was she herself, that morning of the 8^th of May, who placed Jesus in my soul, "the flower of the field and the lily of the valley."

When evening came that lovely day, Father led his little queen by the hand to Carmel, and there I saw you made the bride of Christ⁶. I saw your veil, all white like mine, and your crown of roses. There was no bitterness in all my joy, for I hoped to join you⁷ and wait for Heaven at your side.

I was very moved by the family feast prepared at Les Buissonets⁸ and delighted with the little watch which Father gave me. Yet my happiness was very tranquil, with an inward peace no earthly thing could touch. Night came at last to end my lovely evening, for darkness falls even on the brightest day. Only the first day of Communion in Eternity will never end.

1. The day of St. Thérèse's First Communion, 8^th May 1884.

2. In preparation for their First Communion, St. Thérèse and her classmates spent the final days before the great day in retreat at the Benedictine school where they studied. By "mistresses" is meant the teaching nuns, by "older girls," her fellow communicants.

3. St. Thérèse's mother had died in 1777, when Thérèse was four years old.

4. Pauline, who was a Carmelite at the Carmel of Lisieux.

5. This portion of St. Thérèse's autobiography was written at the request of her sister, Pauline (Mother Agnes of Jesus) who was Prioress of the Carmel of Lisieux at that time. Thus the "you" refers to Pauline.

6. On that same day, Pauline took her religious vows, making her Profession as a Discalced Carmelite nun.

7. Meaning, to enter Carmel herself.

8. The home of the Martin family -- Thérèse's home.

Found at: http://www.ewtn.com/therese/readings/readng1.htm

My Song of Today - A Poem by St. Therese of Lisieux

My Song of Today 

 

Oh! how I love Thee, Jesus! my soul aspires to Thee -
And yet for one day only my simple prayer I pray!
Come reign within my heart, smile
tenderly on me,

 

Today, dear Lord, today.

But if I dare take thought of what the morrow brings -
That fills my fickle heart with dreary, dull dismay;
I crave, indeed, my God, trials and sufferings,

But only for today!

O sweetest Star of heaven!
O Virgin, spotless, blest,
Shining with Jesus' light, guiding to Him my way!
O Mother! 'neath thy veil let my tired spirit rest,

For this brief passing day!

Soon shall I fly afar among the holy choirs,
Then shall be mine the joy that never knows decay;
And then my lips shall sing, to heaven's angelic lyres,

The eternal, glad today!

-Saint Teresa of Lisieux
June 1894
translated by S L Emery

St. Therese of Lisieux Quotation - January 15, 2006.

I no longer have any great desires, beyond that of loving til I die of love.

 

~St. Therese

 

St. Therese of Lisieux Quotation - January 14, 2006.

Very often God is satisfied with our wish to labour for his glory, and how immense are my desires to do so.

 

~St. Therese

Bonus St. Therese of Lisieux Quotation for Sunday, January 15, 2006.

Our Lord needs from us neither great deeds nor profound thoughts. Neither intelligence nor talents. He cherishes simplicity.

~Saint Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese of Lisieux Quotation - January 9, 2006.

Whenever my enemy provokes me to combat, I try to behave like a soldier.

 

~St. Therese, the Little Flower

t. Therese of Lisieux Quotation - January 5, 2005.

May I not say in my own name and in the name of unbelieving people: 'O God, be merciful to us sinners'?

 

~St. Therese

St. Therese of Lisieux Quotation - January 3, 2006.

"The smallest actions done for His love are those which charm His Heart."

 

~St. Therese, The Little Flower

St. Therese of Lisieux Quotation - January 2, 2006.

The greatest of all is that he has shown me my littleness and how, of myself, I am incapable of anything good.

 

~St. Therese, the Little Flower

St. Therese of Lisieux Quotation - January 1, 2006.

My God, you have gone beyond my desire and I will sing your mercies!

 

~St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese of Lisieux Quotation - December 31, 2005.

My God, by how many different ways you lead souls!

 

~St. Therese, the Little Flower

St. Therese of Lisieux Quotation - December 30, 2005.

I am not dying, I am entering into Life...

 

~St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese of Lisieux Quotation - December 29, 2005.

"Let us give pleasure to Jesus; let us save souls for Him by our sacrifices."

 

~St. Therese, The Little Flower

St. Therese of Lisieux Quotation - December 28, 2005.

The Lord is a rock upon which I stand; He teaches my hands to fight and my fingers to war. He is my protector and I have hoped in Him.

 

~St. Therese of Lisieux