Thérèse of Lisieux Quotes

I have not the courage to make myself search for wonderful prayers in books; there are so many of them, and it gives me a headache. In any case, each one seems more beautiful than the one before. As I cannot day all of them, and do not know which to choose, I just act like a child who can't read; I tell God, quite simply, all that I want to say, and He always understands.
Prayer, for me, is simply a raising of the heart, a simple glance towards Heaven, an expression of love and gratitude in the midst of trial, as well as in times of joy; in a word, it is something noble and supernatural expanding my soul and uniting it to God.

My only consolation lies in not having any here below.

is more profitable to leave everyone to his way of thinking than to give way to contentious discourses.

See how this evening the tree-tops are gilded by the setting sun. So likewise my soul appears to you all shining and golden because it is exposed to the rays of Love.

Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing.

You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.

I also understood that there are many degrees of holiness, that each soul is free to respond to the calls of Our Lord, to do much or little for His Love — in a word, to choose amongst the sacrifices He asks.

The large room filled with snow-white dresses in which each child was to be clothed in her turn! Above all, the procession into the chapel and the singing of the morning hymn: “O altar of God, where the angels are hovering!” I don’t want to enter into detail here. There are certain things that lose [5]their perfume as soon as they are exposed to the air; there are deep spiritual thoughts which cannot be expressed in human language without losing their intimate and heavenly meaning; they

Mi corazón, sensible y amante, se hubiera fácilmente entregado si hubiese encontrado un corazón capaz de comprenderlo... Intenté ligar amistad con algunas niñitas de mi edad, sobre todo, con dos de ellas, a quienes quería, y que por su parte también me querían en la medida en que eran capaces; pero, ¡ay!, ¡qué estrecho y versátil es el corazón de las criaturas!... Pronto me percaté de que mi cariño no era comprendido. Una de mis amigas había tenido que volver a su casa y regresó algunos meses más tarde; durante su ausencia había pensado en ella, conservando con aprecio un anillito que me había regalado. Al ver nuevamente a mi compañera mi alegría fue grande, pero ¡ay! sólo obtuve una mirada de indiferencia... Vi que mi cariño no era comprendido, y no mendigué un afecto que se me rehusaba. Sin embargo Dios me ha dado un corazón tan fiel que cuando ha amado sinceramente, ama siempre, por eso he continuado rezando por mi compañera y la amo todavía.

Ah! How contrary are the teachings of Jesus to the feelings of nature! Without the help of His grace it would be impossible not only to put them into practice, but to even understand them.

If we examine the poems of Thérèse of Lisieux at all, they reveal themselves richer than we first thought. And this is the problem with her poetry: We have to go beyond the simple style, which is naturally and deliberately artless — as is fitting for a “Carmelite poem” — to discover the treasures it conceals.

I have at last found my vocation; it is love!

unchanging truth, that unless we become as little children in the doing of our Heavenly Father's Will, we cannot enter into our Eternal Home.

My whole strength lies in prayer and sacrifice, these are my invincible arms; they can move hearts far better than words, I know it by experience.

Yo soy el pincelito que Jesús eligió para pintar su imagen en las almas que usted me ha confiado. Un artista no usa un solo pincel: necesita al menos, dos. El primero es el más útil, con él da los tonos generales, [20vº] cubre completamente la tela en muy poco tiempo. El otro, el más pequeño, le sirve para los detalles. Madre, a mi modo de ver, usted es el precioso pincel que la mano de Jesús toma con amor cuando quiere hacer un gran trabajo en el alma de sus hijas, y yo soy el pequeñito que él se digna usar luego para los detalles menores.