Posted on 10/01/2002 4:52:37 PM PDT by Lady In Blue
JESUS DEIGNED TO teach me this mystery. He set before me the book of nature; I understood how all the flowers He has created are beautiful, how the splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the Lily do not take away the perfume of the little violet or the delightful simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all flowers wanted to be roses, nature would lose her springtime beauty, and the fields would no longer be decked out with little wild flowers. And so it is in the world of souls, Jesus' garden. He willed to create great souls comparable to Lilies and roses, but He has 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. Perfection consists in doing His will, in being what He wills us to be. JUST AS THE sun shines simultaneously on the tall cedars and on each little flower as though it were alone on the earth, so Our Lord is occupied particularly with each soul as though there were no others like it. And just as in nature all the seasons are arranged in such a way as to make the humblest daisy bloom on a set day, in the same way, everything works out for the good of each soul. GOD REJOICES MORE in what He can do in a soul humbly resigned to its poverty than in the creation of millions of suns and the vast stretch of the heavens. 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! NEVER WILL I forget the impression the sea made upon me; I couldn't take my eyes off it since its majesty, the roaring of its waves, everything spoke to my soul of God's grandeur and power. WITH ENRAPTURED GAZE we beheld the white moon rising quietly behind the tall trees, the silvery rays it was casting upon sleeping nature, 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. I HAVE NOTICED in all the serious circumstances of my life that nature always reflected the image of my soul. On days filled with tears the heavens cried along with me; on days of joy the sun sent forth its joyful rays in profusion and the blue skies were not obscured by a single cloud. BEFORE REACHING...the goal of our pilgrimage, we were given the opportunity of contemplating many marvels. First there was Switzerland with its mountains whose summits were lost in the clouds, its graceful waterfalls gushing forth in a thousand different ways, its deep valleys literally covered with gigantic ferns and scarlet heather. Ah! Mother, how much good these beauties of nature, poured out in such profusion, did my soul. They raised it to heaven.... There was, farther on, a huge lake gilded by the sun's rays, its calm waters blending their azure tints with the fires of the setting sun. All this presented to our enraptured gaze the most poetic and enchanting spectacle one could possibly imagine. And at the end of the vast horizon, we perceived mountains whose indistinct contours would have escaped us had not their snowy summits made visible by the sun not come to add one more charm to the beautiful lake which thrilled us so. 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.... 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. I shall not have the misfortune of snatching after straws, now that "my HEART HAS AN IDEA of what Jesus has reserved for those who love him (1 Corinthians 2:9). I DREAM USUALLY about such things as woods, flowers, streams, and the sea; I see beautiful children almost all the time; I catch butterflies and birds the like of which I've never seen before. YOU KNOW, DEAR Mother, how much I love flowers; when making myself a prisoner at the age of fifteen [when Therese entered Carmel of Lisieux], I gave up forever the pleasure of running through the fields decked out in their springtime treasures. Well, never in my life did I possess so many flowers as after my entrance into Carmel. It is the custom for fiancés to often give their fiancées bouquets and Jesus didn't forget it. He sent me in great abundance sheaves of corn flowers, huge daisies, poppies, etc., all the flowers that delighted me the most. There was even a little flower called corn-cockle which I had never found since our stay at Lisieux; I wanted very much to see it again, that flower of my childhood which I had picked in the fields of Alencon. And at Carmel it came to smile at me again and show me that in the smallest things as well as the greatest, God gives the hundredfold in his life to those souls who leave everything for love of Him. I LOOK UPON myself as a weak little bird, with only a light down as covering. I am not an eagle, but I have only an eagle's EYES AND HEART. In spite of my extreme littleness I still dare to gaze upon the Divine Sun, the Sun of Love, and my heart feels within it all the aspirations of an Eagle.... O Divine Word! You are the Adored Eagle whom I love and who alone attracts me!... Eternal Eagle, You desire to nourish me with Your divine substance and yet I am but a poor little thing who would return to nothingness if Your divine glance did not give me life from one moment to the next. I WILL LET fall from heaven...a shower of roses. --From "Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux." Translation Copyright © by Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites, Inc. 1975, 1976. Therese Martin was born in Alençon, France, in 1873, the youngest of nine children. Therese entered the Lisieux Carmel at the age of fifteen. She took the religious name of Sister Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. Therese developed a simple spirituality based on the spirituality of childhood--a bold and confident trust in God. The spirituality of her "little way" was not about extraordinary things, but rather doing the simple things of life well and with extraordinary love. Therese loved flowers and trees, birds and butterflies, the sea and the stars. She often wrote about the "book of nature" and its ability to "raise our souls to heaven." Her poems and plays reflect her struggle to give all to God. Her love became surrender as she slowly died of tuberculosis. Therese's superior asked her to write down her reflections, which became the book, "Story of a Soul." She died at the age of twenty-four, believing that her life was really just beginning for God, resolving to spend her time in heaven doing good deeds on earth. Her promised "shower of roses" began and has since become a torrent in the Church. Pope Pius XI canonized Therese on May 17, 1925, twenty-eight years after her death. A canonization so soon after death was unprecedented. However, her qualities of love, kindness, and closeness to God were so apparent to those around her that the Church quickly bestowed the honor of sainthood upon her. On October 19, 1997, Pope John Paul II declared her a Doctor of the Church because of the impact that her spirituality has had on the lives of so many of God's children. --Adapted from the National Shrine of Saint Therese "Joy isn't found in the material objects surrounding us but in the inner recesses of the soul." -St. Therese Strewing Flowers, a poem by St. Therese Jesus, my only Love, how I love to strew Flowers Lord, my soul is in love with your beauty. The flower petals, caressing your Face, PN 34 To learn more about St. Therese, click here. Main Menu Introduction Ecological Crisis Ecological Conversion Declaration on Environment Hebrew Scripture Christian Scripture Catechism Pope John Paul II Bishops Saints Lay/Religious St.Francis Kateri Tekakwitha Population Creation Theology Get Involved Guest Book Prayers Resources Links About Us Donate Copyright © 2000-2002 Bill Jacobs. All Rights Reserved.
Excerpts about nature from the autobiography of St. Therese, Story of a Soul
AH! HOW QUICKLY those sunny years passed by, those years of my childhood, but what a sweet imprint they have left on my soul! I recall the days Papa used to bring us to the pavilion; the smallest details are impressed in my heart. I recall especially the Sunday walks when Mamma used to accompany us. I still feel the profound and poetic impressions which were born in my soul at the sight of fields enameled with corn-flowers and all types of wild flowers. Already I was in love with the wide-open spaces. Space and the gigantic fir trees, the branches sweeping down to the ground, left in my heart an impression similar to the one I experience still today at the sight of nature.
I WAS HAPPY to see Papa coming to fetch us. 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. Then desiring to look no longer at this dull earth, I asked him to guide my steps; and not looking where I placed my feet I threw back my head, giving myself over completely to the contemplation of the star-studded firmament!
St. Therese, the Little Flower
"St. Therese loved nature, and often used the imagery of nature to explain how the Divine Presence is everywhere, and how everything is connected in God's loving care and arms. Therese saw herself as 'the Little Flower of Jesus' because she was just like the simple wild flowers in forests and fields, unnoticed by the greater population, yet growing and giving glory to God. Therese did not see herself as a brilliant rose or an elegant lily, by simply as a small wild flower. This is how she understood herself before the Lord - simple and hidden, but blooming where God had planted her."
Each evening at the foot of your Crucifix !...
In unpetalling the springtime rose for you,
I would like to dry your tears...
Strewing Flowers is offering you as first fruits
My slightest sighs, my greatest sufferings.
My sorrows and my joys, my little sacrifices,
Those are my flowers !...
I want to squander my perfumes and my flowers on you.
In strewing them on the wings of the breeze,
I would like to inflame hearts !...
Strewing flowers, Jesus, is my weapon
When I want to fight for sinners.
The victory is mine... I always disarm you
With my flowers !...
Tell you that my heart is yours forever.
You understand the language of my unpetalled rose,
And you smile at my love.
Strewing Flowers, repeating your praise,
That is my only delight in this valley of tears.
Soon I shall go to Heaven with the little angels
To strew Flowers !... ,
Great to hear!
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Salvation: Thank you for taking the time to post this!
God Bless!
MMJ
BTTT on the Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, virgin and doctor of the Church, October 01, 2005!
October 1, 2005
 St. Thérèse of Lisieux
(1873-1897)
"I prefer the monotony of obscure sacrifice to all ecstasies. To pick up a pin for love can convert a soul." These are the words of Theresa of the Child Jesus, a Carmelite nun called the "Little Flower," who lived a cloistered life of obscurity in the convent of Lisieux, France. [In French-speaking areas, she is known as Thérèse of Lisieux.] And her preference for hidden sacrifice did indeed convert souls. Few saints of God are more popular than this young nun. Her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, is read and loved throughout the world. Thérèse Martin entered the convent at the age of 15 and died in 1897 at the age of 24. Life in a Carmelite convent is indeed uneventful and consists mainly of prayer and hard domestic work. But Thérèse possessed that holy insight that redeems the time, however dull that time may be. She saw in quiet suffering redemptive suffering, suffering that was indeed her apostolate. Thérèse said she came to the Carmel convent "to save souls and pray for priests." And shortly before she died, she wrote: "I want to spend my heaven doing good on earth." [On October 19, 1997, Pope John Paul II proclaimed her a Doctor of the Church, the third woman to be so recognized in light of her holiness and the influence of her teaching on spirituality in the Church.] Quote:
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"I prefer the monotony of obscure sacrifice to all ecstasies. To pick up a pin for love can convert a 
soul." These are the words of Theresa of the Child Jesus, a Carmelite nun called the "Little Flower," who lived a cloistered life of obscurity in the convent of Lisieux, France. [In French-speaking areas, she is known as Thérèse of Lisieux.] And her preference for hidden sacrifice did indeed convert souls. Few saints of God are more popular than this young nun. Her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, is read and loved throughout the world. Thérèse Martin entered the convent at the age of 15 and died in 1897 at the age of 24.
Life in a Carmelite convent is indeed uneventful and consists mainly of prayer and hard domestic work. But Thérèse possessed that holy insight that redeems the time, however dull that time may be. She saw in quiet suffering redemptive suffering, suffering that was indeed her apostolate. Thérèse said she came to the Carmel convent "to save souls and pray for priests." And shortly before she died, she wrote: "I want to spend my heaven doing good on earth."
October 19, 1997, Pope John Paul II proclaimed her a Doctor of the Church, the third woman to be so recognized in light of her holiness and the influence of her teaching on spirituality in the Church.
Comment:
Thérèse has much to teach our age of the image, the appearance, the "sell." We have become a dangerously self-conscious people, painfully aware of the need to be fulfilled, yet knowing we are not. Thérèse, like so many saints, sought to serve others, to do something outside herself, to forget herself in quiet acts of love. She is one of the great examples of the gospel paradox that we gain our life by losing it, and that the seed that falls to the ground must die in order to live (see John 12).
Preoccupation with self separates modern men and women from God, from their fellow human beings and ultimately from themselves. We must relearn to forget ourselves, to contemplate a God who draws us out of ourselves and to serve others as the ultimate expression of selfhood. These are the insights of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and they are more valid today than ever.
Quote:
All her life St. Thérèse suffered from illness. As a young girl she underwent a three-month malady characterized by violent crises, extended delirium and prolonged fainting spells. Afterwards she was ever frail and yet she worked hard in the laundry and refectory of the convent. Psychologically, she endured prolonged periods of darkness when the light of faith seemed all but extinguished. The last year of her life she slowly wasted away from tuberculosis. And yet shortly before her death on September 30 she murmured, "I would not suffer less."
Truly she was a valiant woman who did not whimper about her illnesses and anxieties. Here was a person who saw the power of love, that divine alchemy which can change everything, including weakness and illness, into service and redemptive power for others. Is it any wonder that she is patroness of the missions? Who else but those who embrace suffering with their love really convert the world?
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"Let us go forward in peace, our eyes upon heaven, the only one goal of our labors." |
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 Look into the life of St.Thérèse from her early years as a loving child to her achievement of heroic holiness. Programs about St. Thérèse in the  Pray the Little Flower Novena for nine consecutive days  Letters from and to St. Thérèse reveal her deepest thoughts, her charity, and her great Love of God.  Learn about St. Thérèse through her own writings, and from those who knew her.  Shows parents how an intimate knowledge & love of the saints can help form character and ideals. Shows how to make sanctity attractive to and the goal of their children.  Take a glimpse into the spirituality of St. Thérèse and how she came to perfection in the Carmel of Lisieux.  Prayers and quotes from St. Thérèse's writings, and prayers to the saint..  Learn more about St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face through these selected sources. |
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