Admonitions Useful for Purifying the Heart

The voice of Jesus—Learn of Me because I am meek and humble of Heart; and ye shall find rest for your souls.  The voice of the Disciple—These are the words of Jesus Christ, whereby we are commanded to learn and imitate the Virtues of His Heart, that we may be set free from all misery…

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The Desire to Become a Great Saint

IN WRITING about this visit to Carmel, my mind goes back to my first visit after you had entered. I had been wondering that morning what name they would give me when I got there; I could not bear to lose my lovely “Thérèse,” yet I knew you already had a Thérèse of Jesus. I…

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A Vivid Dream and the Beauty of Nature

I remember a dream I had at that age, which left a very deep impression: I was walking alone in the garden when suddenly I saw two horrible little devils near the arbor, dancing on a barrel of lime with amazing agility, in spite of having heavy irons on their feet. They looked at me…

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Four Means of Distrusting Oneself

DISTRUST of self is so absolutely requisite in the spiritual combat that without this virtue we cannot expect to defeat our weakest passions, much less gain a complete victory. This important truth should be deeply embedded in our hearts; for, although in ourselves we are nothing, we are too apt to overestimate our own abilities…

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Maxims for Perseverance in Piety

TO LIVE constantly in devotion, we have only to establish sound principles or maxims in our soul. The first which I desire you to adopt is that of St. Paul: “All things work together for good to those who love God.” And truly, since God is able and understands how to draw good from evil,…

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The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian

After all of these things had taken place, Sebastian himself was arrested by the imperial spies. Since he was a man of high rank in the Roman army and court, he was taken before the emperor Diocletian for a personal audience. Diocletian looked upon Sebastian with some sadness and disappointment. At last, he exclaimed, “Sebastian,…

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Ignorance and Neglect of the Interior Life

St. Gregory the Great, who was as skillful an administrator and as zealous an apostle as he was great in contemplation, sums up in two words, Secum vivebat (He lived with himself), the state of soul of St. Benedict, when, at Subiaco, he was saying the foundation for that Rule which was to become one…

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