The good God does not need years to accomplish His work of love in a soul; one ray from His Heart can, in an instant, make His flower bloom for etern… - Thérèse of Lisieux

"I am now at a time of life when I can look back on the past, for my soul has been refined in the crucible of interior and exterior trials. Now, like a flower after the storm, I can raise my head and see that the words of the Psalm are realised in me: "The Lord is my Shepherd and I shall want nothing. He hath set me in a place of pasture. He hath brought me up on the water of refreshment. He hath converted my soul. He hath led me on the paths of justice for His own Name's sake. For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils for Thou are with me."[6]"

If my little acts of virtue can be mistaken for imperfections, imperfections can just as easily be mistaken for virtue.

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.