Читать книгу Thoughts of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus - Thérèse Martinof Lisieux - Страница 6

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TIME is but a shadow, a dream; already God sees us in glory and takes joy in our eternal beatitude. How this thought helps my soul! I understand then why He lets us suffer . . .

VIII LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE

A DAY . . . an hour . . . and we shall have reached the port! My God, what shall we see then? What is that life which will never have an end? . . . Jesus will be the soul of our soul. Unfathomable mystery! "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man what great things God hath prepared for them that love Him." [1] And this will all come soon—yes, very soon, if we ardently love Jesus.

VI LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE

LIFE is passing, Eternity draws nigh; soon shall we live the very life of God. After having drunk deep at the fount of bitterness, our thirst will be quenched at the very source of all sweetness.

Yes, the figure of this world passeth away, [2] soon shall we see new heavens; a more radiant sun will brighten with its splendours, ethereal seas and infinite horizons . . . We shall no longer be prisoners in a land of exile, all will be at an end and with our Heavenly Spouse we shall sail o'er boundless waters: now our harps are hung upon the willows that border the rivers of Babylon, [3] but in the day of our deliverance what harmonies will then be heard! With what joy shall we not make every chord of our instruments to vibrate! Today, we weep remembering Sion . . . how shall we sing the songs of the Lord in a strange land? [4]

V LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE

HOW I thirst for Heaven—that blessed habitation where our love for Jesus will have no limit! But to get there we must suffer . . . we must weep . . . Well, I wish to suffer all that shall please my Beloved, I wish to let Him do just as He wills with His "little ball."

V LETTER TO SR. MARIE DU SACRÉ-CŒUR

OH! What mysteries will be revealed to us later . . . How often have I thought that I perhaps owe all the graces showered upon me to the earnest prayer of a little soul whom I shall know only in Heaven. It is God's will that in this world by means of prayer Heavenly treasures should be imparted by souls one to another, so that when they reach the Fatherland they may love one another with a love born of gratitude, with an affection far, far exceeding the most ideal family affection upon earth.

There, we shall meet with no indifferent looks, because all the Saints will be indebted to each other.

No envious glances will be seen; the happiness of every one of the elect will be the happiness of all. With the Martyrs we shall be like to the Martyrs; with the Doctors we shall be as the Doctors; with the Virgins, as the Virgins; and just as the members of a family are proud of one another, so shall we be of our brethren, without the least jealousy.

Who knows even if the joy we shall experience in beholding the glory of the great Saints, and knowing that by a secret dispensation of Providence we have contributed thereunto, who knows if this joy will not be as intense and sweeter perhaps, than the happiness they will themselves possess.

And do you not think that on their side the great Saints, seeing what they owe to quite little souls, will love them with an incomparable love? Delightful and surprising will be the friendships found there—I am sure of it. The favoured companion of an Apostle or a great Doctor of the Church, will perhaps be a young shepherd lad; and a simple little child may be the intimate friend of a Patriarch. Oh! how I long to dwell in that Kingdom of Love . . .

COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES

A SISTER showed her a photograph representing Joan of Arc consoled in the prison by her Voices. Sœur Thérèse said: "I too am consoled by an interior voice. The Saints encourage me from above, they say to me: 'So long as thou art in fetters thou canst not fulfil thy mission; but later, after thy death—then will be the time of thy conquests.'"

COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES

IN Heaven the good God will do all I wish, because I have never done my own will upon earth.

COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES

EVEN now I know it; yes, all my hopes will be fulfilled . . . yes . . . the Lord will work wonders for me which will surpass infinitely my immeasurable desires.

VIII LETTER TO MÈRE AGNÈS DE JÉSUS

[1] I Cor., ii, 9. Cf. Is., lxiv, 4.

[2] I Cor., vii, 31.

[3] Cf. Ps. cxxxvi, 2.

[4] Cf. Ps., cxxxvi, 1, 4.