"My Beloved, this is how my life will be consumed. I have no other means of proving my love for You other than that of strewing flowers, that is, not allowing one little sacrifice to escape, not one look, one word, profiting by all the smallest things and doing them through love; and in this way I shall strew flowers before Your throne.
"I shall not come upon a flower without unpetalling it for You. While I am strewing my flowers, I shall sing, for could one cry while doing such a joyous action? I shall sing even when I must gather my flowers in the midst of thorns, and my song will be all the more melodious in proportion to the length and the sharpness of the thorns.
"O Jesus, of what use will my flowers be to You? Ah! I know very well that this fragrant shower, these fragile, worthless petals, these songs of love from the littlest of hearts will charm You. Yes, these nothings will please You. They will bring a smile to the Church Triumphant. She will gather up my flowers unpetalled through love and have them pass through Your own divine hands, O Jesus.
"And this Church of Heaven... will cast these flowers, which are infinitely valuable because of Your divine touch, upon the Church Suffering in order to extinguish its flames, and upon the Church Militant in order to gain the victory for it." St. Therese of Lisieux
Painting: Knaus, Ludwig; Girl in a Field, 1857
Painting: Knaus, Ludwig; Girl in a Field, 1857
Nancy, what a precious picture! I'd love a print to hang where I'd see it all day long. So perfect for the passage you chose. Happy Feast Day! I'd be lost without Therese and her simple wisdom. She gives me so much hope, because I certainly cannot do big things, and I stumble constantly. I just got caught up on your posts at The Cloistered Heart. Am praying for you! May Therese obtain great favors for you tomorrow on her feast day. Love to you, dearest Nancy.
ReplyDeleteThank you, and happy feast day to you as well, my friend! I just saw a copy of this painting today, in a catalog from 'Victorian Papers.' I've seen it elsewhere, too. If I had unlimited funds (and unlimited walls), I'd have my house lined with so many paintings that it would look like an art gallery!
DeleteSt. Therese affects me the same way... and these quotes I found today sum up why. The littleness! No wonder she is so greatly loved.
Have a blessed day. A rose to you :)!
What a beautiful passage from St Therese and painting! She is amazing. The more I read of her the more beautiful she grows in my heart. Thank you for posting and Happy Feast Day tomorrow. God Bless.
ReplyDeleteHappy Feast day to you also, and may you have roses :)!
DeleteYou've written about this before, Nancy...the idea of getting in touch with, and getting comfortable with, our nothingness. And the idea of getting over the desire to make a big splash in this world! Little Flower is a such a patroness of us dime-a-dozen middled-aged mothers, who are looking back on their youth, realizing that they've long passed the top of their game, and are only just noticing. It can be heart-breaking, or it can be glorious!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jamie. For me, the difference between heart breaking and glorious is in my relationship with God. As I've passed youth, and even middle age (yes, I technically have), I definitely see the 'top of my game" fading in the distance. But guess what! God calls me closer and closer to Himself, and one day He'll call me to meet Him face to Face!
DeleteIn reply to the comment above: I'm 20, so I guess I shouldn't talk, but it really does depend on what you mean by "the top of your game". You really shouldn't ever pass the top of the only one that matters before you die. (I think everyone here knows what I'm referring to.)
ReplyDeleteThe reason I'm not replying to that comment, meaning that I have a comment of my own to make: Saint Therese is my confirmation saint. I love her littleness. (I also find it interesting that all of the saints I love the most wanted to be very little. St. Therese (the Little Flower), St. Clare (she called herself the little plant of St. Francis), St. Francis (the Poverello, or the little poor man of Assisi), St. Colette (she called herself only the daughter of Sir St. Francis and Madame St. Clare).... All of them thought of themselves as little.)
Hmmm. Maybe I used the term "top of my game" incorrectly, or not as younger people use it (happens to me all the time; my (grown) kids correct me!!!). Anyway, I think I know what you mean... and thus we're saying the same thing, and I thank you!
DeleteWhat? No, I was intentionally perverting the phrase. I know what you meant.... I just also know what I wanted it to mean.
DeleteThank you!
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