the Carmel
Therese's correspondence LT 202 – To Mrs. Guérin – November 16, 1896

DE  
MARTIN Thérèse, Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus
À 
GUERIN Celine born FOURNET

16/11/1896

JMJT

Jesus

November 16, 1896

                My dear Aunt,

                It is very sad for your little girl to be obliged to entrust to a cold pen the task of translating the feelings of her heart to you... Perhaps you will say to me with a smile: "But my little Thérèse, would you translate it more easily into words?...» My darling aunt, I have to admit, no, it's true, I can't find expressions that satisfy the aspirations of my heart.
                The poet who dared to say:
"What we conceive well is clearly stated                         
And the words to say it come easily”
this poet certainly did not feel what I feel in the depths of my soul!!!...
                Fortunately, I have to console me the profound Father Faber, he understood well that the words and sentences here below are not capable of expressing the feelings of the heart and that full hearts are those which contain themselves the most. in themselves.
                My dear Aunt, I am going to bore you with my quotations, especially since the letters of my four kind sisters are there to give the lie to my words. Well ! my darling Aunt, be sure that despite all their eloquence, they do not cherish you any more than I, who cannot tell you in chosen terms... If you don't believe me now, one day when we will all be together in the beautiful Heaven you will be obliged to note that the smallest of your children was not so in tenderness and in gratitude, that she was the smallest only in age and in wisdom.
                Please, my dear Aunt, pray to God that I grow in wisdom, like the Divine Child Jesus, that's not what I'm doing, I assure you, ask our dear little Marie to Eucharist, she will tell you that I am not lying; day by day I am growing more cunning, and yet I have been in the house of the Lord for nearly nine years. I should therefore already be advanced in the ways of perfection, but I am still at the bottom of the ladder; that does not discourage me and I am as cheerful as the cicada, like her I always sing, hoping at the end of my life to participate in the riches of my sisters who are much more generous than the ant. I also hope, my dear Aunt, to have a nice place at the Celestial banquet, here is why: when the Saints and the Angels know that I have the honor to be your little girl, they will not want to cause me the grief of place me far from you... Thus I will enjoy eternal goods because of your virtues. Ah! truly I was born under a happy star and my heart melts with gratitude to the Good Lord who gave me parents like you don't find on earth anymore.
                Since, my dear little Aunt, I am a poor cicada who has nothing but her songs (still she can only sing from the bottom of her heart, her voice not being very melodious) I will sing my most beautiful air on the day of your birthday and I will try to have such a touching accent that all the Saints taking pity on my misery will give me treasures of graces that I will be delighted to offer you. I will also not forget to celebrate with the riches of the Saints my dear Grandmother, they will be so generous that my heart will have nothing more to desire and I assure you, my Aunt, that it is not little say, because my desires are very great.
                I beg my dear Uncle to embrace you very tenderly for me. If Francis, Jeanne and Léonie want to do the same, I will sing a little tune to thank them (it goes without saying that my uncle will not be forgotten in my cheerful song).
                Forgive me, dear Aunt, for saying so many things to you that have neither rhyme nor reason and believe that I love you with all my heart.

Thérèse of the Child Jesus rel.carm.ind.

back to the list