the Carmel

My joy ! - PN 45

(Tune: Dream, Perfume or Fresh Whisper)

1. There are souls on earth
Who search in vain for happiness
But for me it's just the opposite
Joy is in my heart
This joy is not fleeting
I own it without return
Like a spring rose
She smiles at me every day.

2. Really I am too happy,
I always do my will...
Could I not be happy
And not show my cheerfulness?...
My joy is to love suffering,
I smile while shedding tears
I gratefully accept
The thorns mingled with the flowers.

3. When the Blue Sky Turns Dark
And that it seems to abandon me,
My joy is to stay in the shadows
To hide, to lower myself.
My joy is the Holy Will
Of Jesus my only love
So I live without fear
I like the night as much as the day.

4. My joy is to stay small
Also when I fall on the way
I can get up quickly
And Jesus takes me by the hand
So the filling of caresses
I tell Him He's everything to me
And I redouble my tenderness
When He slips away from my faith.

5. If sometimes I shed tears
My joy is to hide them well
Oh ! that suffering has charms
When we know how to veil it with flowers!
I want to suffer without saying it
For Jesus to be comforted
My joy is to see him smile
When my heart is exiled...

6. My joy is to constantly struggle
To bring forth the elect.
It's the heart burning with tenderness
To often repeat to Jesus:
“For you, my Divine little Brother
I'm happy to suffer
My only joy on this earth
It is to be able to rejoice.”

7. “I want to live well for a long time.
Lord, if that's your desire
In Heaven I would like to follow you
If it made you happy.
Love, this fire of the Fatherland
Keep consuming me
What do death or life do to me?
Jesus, my joy is to love you!”

Dating: 21th January 1897
Recipient: for the feast of Agnes of Jesus, at her request.
Autobiographical poem, of which Thérèse said when giving it: "All my soul is there!"

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