Program of the love games of the Child Jesus with his little sister Marie de la Trinité
The composition of these "games" can go back to the year 1897, in any case to a period very close to the death of Thérèse, because Sister Marie of the Eucharist communicates to her parents, in 1897‑1900, a small notebook in the identical text.
Walking.
On Monday we go for a walk. There we find a field (my soul) whose flowers excite the envy of the baby Jesus. He insistently demands them but doesn't dare to pick them because they belong to an owner (my nature) who is nasty, rough and miserly who receives him very badly and doesn't want to give him anything. So, without being disconcerted, he implores with a pleading look his little sister who, unable to resist his great desire, uses all her finesse to steal as many flowers as possible from this wicked owner and, despite the insults and often the blows she receives from them brings them triumphantly to her dear little Jesus who, all joyful, makes a beautiful sheaf of them which he will offer to his Father, on his return from the walk, for the redemption of souls.
Spinning top.
On Tuesday we play La Toupie. This is very fun. The poor top (my nature) wants to let it go, so we don't spare it. The baby Jesus especially gets along very well with adroitly whipping him without missing the game. Sometimes there are small mounds of sand or stone for him to climb. Hey!... it's not always easy to do it without missing... But if this little setback happens to us, it is the rule in all our games to have a lot of joy when we win but it is forbidden to get sad when we lose. In the latter case we start the game again with new enthusiasm, and each well-supported whiplash receives a soul as a reward. The more the spinning top spins, the more my soul becomes intoxicated with love and becomes insensitive to all that is earthly... This is how it travels over hill and dale towards the good God, place of its rest. for ever.
The keels.
On Wednesday we play bowling! Oh ! that there are! The games are so interesting that in the evening, before going to sleep, I hear my baby Jesus cry out: “Again! more!...” And with a heart full of joy and love, I fell asleep, promising to amuse him again the next day with new games... Skittles are souls; that's why he loves them so much! In the rules of this game all pins are knocked down for him. There are some of all sizes and all colors to personify the different souls that we want to reach: great sinners, priests, religious, children, etc... To fully satisfy little Jesus, the ball of my love would have to be constantly moving. Sometimes I pout, telling him that I'm tired of playing, but he's so upset that I'm forced to continue at all costs and the happiness I bring him makes me forget my fatigue.
The Peach.
On Thursday we go fishing. It is the little Jesus who casts the line and it is I who prepare it for him each time by putting the bait (my little sacrifices) on the hook, on which the fish (the souls) come to bite. This game is very interesting because we take a fish with each bait. Sometimes the fish caught is very big and both of us have to pull the line hard to get it to come. So, our cries of joy are heard from all the celestial court! And in the evening we bring our catch to the Virgin Mary in triumph so that she can prepare a delicious dish which is served with delight at the eternal feast of Heaven!...
Jump stones.
On Fridays, I have fun jumping with both feet over small stones, without touching them. It is sometimes very difficult! The role of little Jesus is to keep a good lookout to make sure the stone has not been touched. Skipping a stone without touching it is, for example, depriving myself of a useless word, so I skipped my little stone which is silence without touching it. The same for charity, regularity, etc. The game is lost when the stone has been touched. Sometimes the stone is bigger and therefore the jump more dangerous. In the latter case I lean my hand on the shoulder of my beloved little Jesus who lends himself to it with love and I win the game! As always, the price of each stone jump is a soul.
Hide and seek.
On Saturday we play hide-and-seek. It is the little Jesus who hides and I who seek him. I find it in every little act of virtue and renunciation; so there are cries of joy on both sides, nothing equals our happiness! However, it is sometimes very difficult to find and to achieve this I must not allow any part of the house to escape my surveillance, that is to say, no act of fidelity, however small it seems to me, because if I On the way, I will no doubt also pass the dwelling where he is hiding and, having passed it, I will not be able to find him elsewhere and all my troubles will become useless.
The privileged hiding place of baby Jesus is among the thorns. It is there above all that I find it... Also, when difficulties come to hinder my path, when I hurt myself on the thorns of the road, I hear the voice of my Angel Thérèse crying out to me: “Attention! you are burning!...” So, instead of being saddened by the suffering, I feel my courage reborn and I advance at all costs in the midst of the thorns where I have the hope of soon embracing my Beloved. . My weakness no longer discourages me. If I didn't feel the thorns, I wouldn't feel myself burning and I would lose hope of finding the One my heart loves. Yes, I can well say that I have found it when I rejoice in my misery and the humiliations that my weakness brings upon me, for Jesus is himself the intimate and completely supernatural joy that my soul experiences then.
The Checkerboard.
On Sunday we play Checkerboard. Jesus plays the white pawns which represent grace and I play the black pawns which represent my nature. Each failure that I subject my nature to makes Jesus conqueror of myself, it is so many black pawns conquered by grace. At the evening exam we see together the victories and the defeats. If Jesus won everything, our happiness has no equal! If I rejoice with him it is because my gain consists in being won by him. You have to know how to lose yourself to be won, didn't Jesus say: “Whoever wants to save his soul will lose it and whoever loses it for me will find it again.
But unfortunately ! when I have won, we are both sad, because the captive grace of my nature has been lost in vain!...
The greasy pole.
There is another game which we often indulge in, it is difficult to perform but it delights my beloved little King. It's the greasy pole game. To conquer self-love, my dominant fault, is to climb this arduous mast to carry Jesus by storm the incomparable treasure which is at the top. The ascent is painful, the slope is so slippery!... At this critical moment what excites and encourages me is the thought that I am a spectacle to the whole celestial court which anxiously awaits the result for applaud me and give glory to God with joy if I reach the goal, but above all it is the sight of my Jesus who stretches out his little arms to me from above with love... I admit that I do not succeed not always to reach him but when finally, exhausted, bloodied I can reach him, what a triumph! what an intoxicating rest on his heart!... Also, when I go back down to the plain of combat, I am completely renewed, completely fortified, nothing costs me more and it is by playing myself that I defeat my other enemies...
The conversation.
At intervals, Jesus and I, we rest from our games while having a conversation. We talk about the parties made and we plan new pleasures. In return for amusing him so much here below, baby Jesus promises to take me soon to our beautiful homeland where we can play all Eternity without fatigue and without suffering in indescribable delights of love... This promise expand my heart with hope and love and give me new courage to console and please my beloved little Jesus, the sweet Companion of my exile......
