Here on earth, where all changes, one sole thing changes not, the King of Heaven’s mode of acting as regards His friends. Ever since He uplifted the standard of the Cross, it is in its shadow that all must fight and gain the victory.
VI LETTER TO HER MISSIONARY “BROTHERS”
It is indeed more through suffering and persecution than through eloquent preaching, that God wills to establish His Kingdom in souls.
VI LETTER TO HER MISSIONARY “BROTHERS”
I want to forget this world; here below, all things weary me, I find no joy save one, that of suffering ... and this joy, though unfelt, is above every other.
V LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
When I suffer much, when things that are painful and disagreeable befall me, instead of assuming an air of sadness, I respond by a smile. At first I was not always successful, but now it is a habit which I am very happy to have acquired.
HIST. D’UNE AME, CH. XII
A novice was complaining of being more tired than her Sisters, for besides the common work, she had done another task, of which they knew nothing. Thérèse answered: “I want to see you always like a valiant soldier who does not complain of his pains; who thinks very seriously of the wounds of his brothers and regards his own as mere scratches. Why do you feel this fatigue to such a degree? It is because no one knows about it....
