Good Friday Reflections from Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower of Jesus
Died 1897 / Canonized 1925 / Declared Doctor of the Church 1997
“As I closed my Missal after Mass one Sunday, a picture of the Crucifixion slipped out a little way and I could just see one of the wounds in Our Lord’s hands, with blood flowing from it. A strange new thrill passed over me. It pierced my heart with sorrow to see His Precious Blood falling, with no one bothering to catch it, and I made up my mind, there and then, to stay in spirit at the foot of the Cross, to gather up the dew of heavenly life and give it to others.”
“The cry of Jesus as He died, ‘I thirst,’ echoed every moment in my soul, inflaming my heart with a burning love. I longed to satisfy His thirst for souls; I was consumed myself with this same thirst, and yearned to save them from the everlasting fires of Hell, no matter what the cost.”
“We must do all that lies in our power; we must give without counting the cost; we must constantly renounce ourselves. In one word, we must prove our love by all the good works we can perform; but, since all that we can do is very little, it is of the greatest importance that we put our confidence in Him who alone sanctifies those works and that we recognize that we are indeed useless servants, hoping that the good Lord will give us through grace all that we desire.”
“I made the resolution never to consider whether the things commanded me appeared useful or not. It is love alone that counts. Forget about whether something is needed or useful; see it [e.g. the demand, obligation, etc.] as a whim of Jesus.”
“How happy I am to see myself imperfect and be in need of God’s mercy.”
“The goal of all our undertakings should be not so much a task perfectly completed as the accomplishment of the will of God.”
“What a joy to be able to suffer for Him whom we love!”
“Do not believe that you can love without suffering, without suffering a great deal.”
“Holiness does not consist in saying beautiful things, it does not even consist in thinking them, in feeling them! It consists in suffering and in suffering everything.
“To suffer and to be despised – what bitterness, but what glory!”
“Take heart, Jesus hears even the last echo of our pain.”
Her final moment this side of heaven while looking intently at her crucifix she exclaimed: “Oh! I love Him!” “My God, I love you.”
