Saint Thérèse of Lisieux - "The Little Flower".

[Bernard]

 

[Bernard]

 

[Bernard]

 

[Bernard]

[Bernard]

 

[Bernard]

 

[Bernard]

 

[Bernard]

[Bernard]

Razumem... vse duše ne morejo biti podobne med seboj. Iz razlčnih družin so, da vsaka na svoj poseben način daje hvalnico Božji popolnosti. Meni je Bog dal svoje neskončno usmiljenje in samo s pomočjo tega zrem in častim druge vidike Božje polnosti in popolnosti! Kajti vsi se mi zdijo kakor žareči od ljubezni, celo njegova pravičnost.

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux 

[Bernard]

                                                           

[Bernard]

Jesus Only, by Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

Oh, how my heart would spend itself, to bless;
It hath such need to prove its tenderness!
And yet what heart can my heart comprehend?
What heart shall always love me without end?
All—all in vain for such return seek I;
Jesus alone my soul can satisfy.
Naught else contents or charms me here below;
Created things no lasting joy bestow.

My peace, my joy, my love, O Christ!
Tis Thou alone! Thou hast sufficed.

Thou didst know how to make a mother’s heart;
Tenderest of fathers, Lord! to me Thou art.
My only Love, Jesus, Divinest Word!
More than maternal is Thy heart, dear Lord!
Each moment Thou my way dost guard and guide;
I call – at once I find Thee at my side –
And if, sometimes, Thou hid’st Thy face from me,
Thou com’st Thyself to help me seek for Thee.

Thee, Thee alone I choose: I am Thy bride.
Unto Thy arms I hasten, there to hide.
Thee would I love, as little children love;
For Thee, like warrior bold, my love I’d prove.
Now, like to children full of joy and glee,
So come I, Lord! to show my love to Thee;
Yet, like a warrior bold, with high elation,
Rush I to combats in my loved vocation.

Thy Heart is Guardian of our innocence;
Not once shall It deceive my confidence.
Wholly my hopes are placed in Thee, dear Lord!
After long exile, I Thy face adored
In heaven shall see. When clouds the skies o’erspread.
To Thee, my Jesus! I lift up my head;
For, in Thy tender glance, these words I see:
“O child! I made my radiant heaven for thee.”

I know it well – my burning tears and sighs
Are full of charm for Thy benignant eyes.
Strong seraphs form in heaven Thy court divine,
Yet Thou dost seek this poor weak heart of mine.
Ah! take my heart! Jesus, ’tis Thine alone;
All my desires I yield to Thee, my Own!
And all my friends that are so loved by me.
No longer will I love them, save in Thee!

– written for a novice by Soeur Theresa I’Enfant Jesus, translated by S L Emery

 

 

On Prayer, by Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

How great is the power of Prayer! One could call it a Queen who has at each instant free access to the King and who is able to obtain whatever she asks. To be heard it is not necessary to read from a book some beautiful formula composed for the occasion. If this were the case, alas, I would have to be pitied! Outside the Divine Office which I am very unworthy to recite, 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! and each prayer is more beautiful than the others. I cannot recite them all and not knowing which to choose, I do like children who do not know how to read, I say very simply to God what I wish to say, without composing beautiful sentences, and He always understands me. For me, prayer is an aspiration of the heart, it is a simple glance directed to heaven, it is a cry of gratitude and love in the midst of trial as well as joy; finally, it is something great, supernatural, which expands my soul and unites me to Jesus.

However, I would not want you to believe, dear Mother, that I recite without devotion the prayers said in common in the choir or the hermitages. On the contrary, I love very much these prayers in common, for Jesus has promised to be in the midst of those who gather together in His name. I feel then that the fervor of my Sisters makes up for my lack of fervor; but when alone (I am ashamed to admit it) the recitation of the rosary is more difficult for me than the wearing of an instrument of penance. I feel I have said this so poorly! I force myself in vain to meditate on the mysteries of the rosary; I don’t succeed in fixing my mind on them. For a long time I was desolate about this lack of devotion which astonished me, for I love the Blessed Virgin so much that it should be easy for me to recite in her honor prayers which are so pleasing to her. Now I am less desolate; I think that the Queen of heaven, since she is my MOTHER, must see my good will and she is satisfied with it. Sometimes when my mind is in such aridity 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 [“Hail Mary, full of grace, etc.]; then these prayers give me great delight; they nourish my soul much more than if I had recited them precipitately a hundred times.

The Blessed Virgin shows me she is not displeased with me, for she never fails to protect me as soon as I invoke her. If some disturbance overtakes me, some embarrassment, I turn very quickly to her and as the most tender of Mothers she always takes care of my interests. How many times, when speaking to the novices, has it happened that I invoked her and felt the benefits of her motherly protection!

– from Story of a Soul

 

 

My Song of Today, by Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

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

 

 

The Eternal Canticle, by Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

sung in banishment

Exiled afar from heaven, I still, dear Lord, can sing, –
I, Thy betrothed, can sing the eternal hymn of love;
For, spite of exile comes to me, on dove-like wing,
Thy Holy Spirit’s fire of rapture from above.

Beauty supreme! my Love Thou art;
Thyself Thou givest all to me.
Oh, take my heart, my yearning heart, –
Make of my life one act of love to Thee!

Canst Thou my worthlessness efface?
In heart like mine canst make Thy home?
Yes, love wins love, -O wondrous grace!
I love Thee, love Thee! Jesu, come I

Love that enkindleth me,
Pierce and inflame me;
Come, for I cry to Thee!
Come and be mine!

Thy love it urgeth me;
Fain would I ever be
Sunken and lost in Thee,
Furnace divine!

All pain borne for Thee
Changes to joy for me,
When my love flies to Thee,
Winged like the dove.

Heavenly Completeness,
Infinite Sweetness,
My soul possesseth Thee
Here, as above.

Heavenly Completeness,
Infinite sweetness,
Naught else art Thou but Love!

– Saint Teresa of Lisieux, 19 March 1896, translated by S L Emery; the swiftly varying metres of this rapturous “Canticle” evidently are meant to indicate the ever increasing ecstasy of the singer; unless, indeed, Sister Theresa had no explicit intention, but was simply carried on by the force of a quasi-inspiration.

 

 

I Thirst for Love, by Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

In wondrous love Thou didst come down from heaven
To immolate Thyself, O Christ, for me;
So, in my turn, my love to Thee is given,
I wish to suffer and to die for Thee.

Thou, Lord, hast spoken this truth benign:
“To die for one loved tenderly
Of greatest love on earth is sign;”
And now, such love is mine, –
Such love for Thee!

Abide, abide with me, 0 Pilgrim blest!
Behind the hill fast sinks the dying day.
Helped by Thy cross I mount the rocky crest;
Oh, come, to guide me on my heavenward way.

To be like Thee is my desire;
Thy voice finds echo in my soul.
Suffering I crave! Thy words of fire
Lift me above earth’s mire,
And sin’s control.

Chanting Thy victories, gloriously sublime,
The Seraphim – all heaven – cry to me,
That even Thou, to conquer sin and crime,
Upon this earth a sufferer needs must be.

For me, upon life’s dreary way,
What scorn, what anguish, Thou didst bear
Let me grow humble every day,
Be least of all, alway,
Thy lot to share!

Ah, Christ! Thy great example teaches me
Myself to humble, honors to despise.
Little and low like Thee I choose to be,
Forgetting self, so I may charm Thine eyes.

My peace I find in solitude,
Nor ask I more, dear Lord, than this:
Be Thou my sole beatitude,-
Ever, in Thee, renewed
My joy, my bliss!

Thou, the great God Whom earth and heaven adore,
Thou dwellest a prisoner for me night and day;
And every hour I hear Thy voice implore:
” I thirst – I thirst – I thirst – for love alway!

I, too, Thy prisoner am I;
I, too, cry ever unto Thee
Thine own divine and tender cry:
“I thirst! Oh, let me die
Of love for Thee!”

For love of Thee I thirst! Fulfil my hope;
Augment in me Thine own celestial flame!
For love of Thee I thirst! Too scant earth’s scope.
The glorious Vision of Thy Face I claim!

My long slow martyrdom of fire
Still more and more consumeth me.
Thou art my joy, my one desire.
Jesu! may I expire
Of love for Thee!

– Saint Teresa of Lisieux, 30 April 1896, translated by S L Emery

 

My Heaven on Earth, by Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

To bear my exile now, within this world of tears,
The holy tender glance of Christ, my Lord, I need.
That glance, surcharged with love, consoles me through the years;
His loveliness displays foretaste of heaven indeed.
On me my Jesus smiles, when toward Him I aspire-,
The trial of my faith then weighs no more on me.
That love-glance of my God, that smile of holy fire,
Oh, this is heaven for me!

‘Tis heaven to have the power, great grace from Christ to win
For Holy Mother Church, for all my Sisters dear, –
For every soul on earth that He may enter in,
Enflame our sinful hearts, and grant us joy and cheer.
All things my love can gain when, heart to heart, I pray,
Alone with Jesus Christ in speechless ecstasy.
Beside His altar blest with Him I gladly stay, –
Oh, this is heaven for me!

My heaven within the Host safe hid and peaceful, lies,
Where Jesus Christ abides, divinest, fairest Fair.
From that great fount of love doth endless life arise;
There, day and night, my Lord doth hearken to my prayer.
When, in Thy perfect love (O moment blest and bright!)
Thou comest, Spouse most pure, me to transform in Thee,
That union of our hearts, that rapture of delight, –
Oh, this is heaven for me!

My heaven it is to feel in me some likeness blest
To Him Who made me and my soul hath reconciled;
My heaven it is always beneath His eye to rest.
To call Him Father dear, and be His loving child.
Safe shielded in His arms, no storm my soul can fear;
Complete abandonment my only law shall be.
To sleep upon His Heart, with His blest Face so near, –
Oh, this is heaven for me!

My heaven is God alone, the Trinity Divine,
Who dwells within my heart, the Prisoner of my love.
There, contemplating Thee, I tell Thee Thou art mine;
Thee will I love and serve until we meet above.
My heaven it is to smile on Thee whom I adore,
E’en when, to try my faith, from me Thou hidest Thee;
Calmly on Thee to smile, until Thou smil’st once more, –
Oh, this is heaven to me!

-Saint Teresa of Lisieux, 7 June 1896, translated by S L Emery

 

 

To The Sacred Heart, by Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

Beside the tomb wept Magdalen at dawn, –
She sought to find the dead and buried Christ;
Nothing could fill the void now He was gone,
No one to soothe her burning grief sufficed.

Not even you, Archangels heaven-assigned!
To her could bring content that dreary day.
Your buried King, alone, she longed to find,
And bear His lifeless body far away.

Beside His tomb she there the last remained,
And there again was she before the sun;
There, too, to come to her the Saviour deigned, –
He would not be, by her, in love outdone.

Gently He showed her then His blessed Face,
And one word sprang from His deep Heart’s recess:
Mary! His voice she knew, she knew its grace;
It came with perfect peace her heart to bless.

One day, my God! I, too, like Magdalen,
Desired to find Thee, to draw near to Thee;
So, over earth’s immense, wide-stretching plain,
I sought its Master and its King to see.

Then cried I, though I saw the flowers bloom
In beauty ‘neath green trees and azure skies:
O brilliant Naturel thou art one vast tomb,
Unless God’s Face shall greet my longing eyes.”

A heart I need, to soothe me and to bless, –
A strong support that can not pass away, –
To love me wholly, e’en my feebleness,
And never leave me through the night or day.

There is not one created thing below,
Can love me truly, and can never die.
God become man – none else’ my needs can know;
He, He alone, can understand my cry.

Thou comprehendest all I need, dear Lord!
To win my heart, from heaven Thou didst come;
For me Thy blood didst shed, O King adored!
And on our altars makest Thy home.

So, if I may not here behold Thy Face,
Or catch the heaenly music of Thy Voice,
I still can live, each moment, by Thy grace,
And in Thy Sacred Heart I can rejoice.

O Heart of Jesus, wealth of tenderness!
My joy Thou art, in Thee I safely hide.
Thou, Who my earliest youth didst charm and bless,
Till my last evening, oh! with me abide,

All that I had, to Thee I wholly gave,
To Thee each deep desire of mine is known.
Whoso his life shall lose, that life shall save; –
Let mine be ever lost in Thine alone!

I know it well, no righteousness of mine
Hath any value in Thy searching eyes;
Its every breath my heart must draw from Thine,
To make of worth my life’s long sacrifice.

Thou hast not found Thine angels without taint;
Thy Law amid the thunderbolts was given;
And yet, my Jesus! I nor fear nor faint.
For me, on Calvary, Thy Heart was riven.

To see Thee in Thy glory face to face, –
I know it well, – the soul must pass through fires.
Choose I on earth/i> my purgatorial place, –
The flaming love of Thy great Heart’s desires!

So shall my exiled soul, to death’s command,
Make answer with one cry of perfect love;
Then flying straight to heaven its Fatherland,
Shall reach with no delay that home above.

-Saint Teresa of Lisieux, October 1895, translated by S L Emery

[Bernard]

                                               

[Bernard]