Such a strange disease...
Therese's story
Manuscript A, 27 r° - 31 v°
October 2 (1882) was the day fixed for returning from the Abbey, so I had to go there despite my sadness... In the afternoon my Aunt came to fetch us to go to Carmel and I saw my dear Pauline behind the railings... Ah! how I suffered from this parlor at Carmel! Since I am writing the story of my soul, I must tell my dear Mother everything, and I confess that the sufferings which preceded her entry were nothing in comparison with those which followed... Every Thursday we went to family at the Carmel and I, accustomed to talking heart to heart with Pauline, I barely got two or three minutes at the end of the parlor, of course I spent them crying and left with a broken heart. .. I did not understand that it was out of delicacy for my Aunt that you preferably spoke to Jeanne and Marie instead of speaking to your granddaughters... I did not understand and I said in the bottom of my heart : “Pauline is lost for me!!!” It is amazing how much my spirit developed within the suffering; it developed to such a point that I soon fell ill.
The disease which I was reached certainly came from the devil, furious at your entry into Carmel, he wanted to avenge himself on me for the wrong that our family was to do to him in the future, but he did not know that the gentle Queen of Heaven was watching over her fragile little flower, that she smiled at him from the top of her throne and was about to put an end to the storm at the moment when her flower was to break without return...
Towards the end of the year I was seized with a continual headache but which hardly made me suffer, I could continue my studies and nobody worried about me, this lasted until Easter 1883. Dad having gone to Paris with Marie and Léonie, my aunt took me to her house with Céline. One evening my Uncle having taken me with him, he spoke to me of Mama, of past memories, with a kindness that touched me deeply and made me cry; so he said that I had too much heart, that I needed a lot of distraction and resolved with my aunt to give us pleasure during the Easter holidays. That evening we were to go to the Catholic club, but finding that I was too tired, my Aunt put me to bed; while undressing, I was seized with a strange trembling, believing that I was cold my Aunt surrounded me with blankets and hot bottles, but nothing could lessen my agitation which lasted almost all night. My Uncle, on returning from the Catholic circle with my cousins and Céline, was very surprised to find me in this state which he considered very serious, but he did not want to say so in order not to frighten my Aunt. The next day he went to see Doctor Notta, who agreed with my uncle that I had a very serious illness and had never affected a child so young. Everyone was appalled, my Aunt was forced to keep me at home and looked after me with truly maternal solicitude. When Papa came back from Paris with my big sisters, Aimée received them with such a sad face that Marie thought I was dead... But this illness was not for me to die, it was more like Lazare's so God be glorified... He was indeed, by the admirable resignation of my poor little Father who believed that "his little daughter was going to go mad or that she was going to die." It was also by that of Marie!... Ah! that she suffered because of me... how grateful I am to her for the care she lavished on me with such disinterestedness... her heart dictated to her what I needed and truly a Mother's heart is much more learned than that of a doctor, he knows how to guess what suits his child's illness...
Poor Marie had to come and live with my Uncle because it was impossible to take me to Les Buissonnets then. However, Pauline's taking of the habit was approaching; People avoided talking about it in front of me, knowing the pain I felt at not being able to go, but I often talked about it, saying that I would be well enough to go see my darling Pauline. Indeed the Good Lord did not want to refuse me this consolation or rather He wanted to console his dear Bride who had suffered so much from the illness of his little girl... I noticed that Jesus does not want to test his children on the day of their engagement, this party must be cloudless, a foretaste of the joys of Paradise, hasn't He already shown it 5 times?... So I could kiss my dear Mother, sit on her lap and shower her with caresses... I was able to contemplate her so ravishing, under the white adornment of Fiancée... Ah! it was a fine day, in the midst of my dark ordeal, but that day passed quickly... Soon I had to get into the car which took me far away from Pauline... far away from my darling Carmel. When I got to Les Buissonnets, they made me go to bed, despite myself, because I claimed to be completely cured and no longer needed treatment. Alas, I was still only at the beginning of my ordeal!... The next day I was taken back as I had been and the illness became so serious that I was not to recover from it according to human calculations... I don't know how to describe such a strange illness, I am now convinced that it was the work of the devil, but long after my recovery I thought that I had done it on purpose to be sick and it was a real martyrdom for me. my soul...
I said it to Marie who reassured me as best she could with her usual kindness, I said it to confess and there again my confessor tried to reassure me, saying that it was not possible to have pretended to be sick to the point where I had been. The Good Lord who undoubtedly wanted to purify me and above all to humiliate me left me this intimate martyrdom until my entry into Carmel where the Father of our souls took away all my doubts as if with his hand and since then I have been perfectly at peace.
It is not surprising that I feared that I had appeared ill without actually being so, for I said and did things that I did not mean, almost always appeared delirious, saying words that did not didn't make sense and yet I'm sure I wasn't deprived for a single moment of the use of my reason... that we would have liked, even to kill, yet I heard everything that was said around me and I still remember everything...
I once happened to be unable to open my eyes for a long time and to open them for a moment while I was alone...
I believe that the demon had received an external power over me but that he could not approach my soul or my spirit, except to inspire me with very great fears of certain things, for example for very simple that they tried in vain to make me accept. But if the Good Lord allowed the demon to approach me, he also sent me visible angels... Mary was always by my bed, caring for me and consoling me with the tenderness of a Mother, she never showed smallest annoyance and yet I gave her a lot of trouble, not allowing her to move away from me. However, she had to go to dinner with Papa, but I kept calling her all the time she was gone. Victoire, who looked after me, sometimes had to go and get my dear "Mama" as I called... When Marie wanted to go out, it had to be to go to mass or to see Pauline, so I said nothing...
My Uncle and Aunt were good to me as well; my dear little Aunt came to see me every day and brought me a thousand treats. Other friends of the family also came to visit me, but I begged Marie to tell them that I did not want to receive visitors; I disliked "seeing people sitting around my bed in a row of onions and looking at me like a curious animal." The only visit I liked was from my Uncle and Aunt.
Since this illness I cannot say how much my affection for them has increased, I understood better than ever that they were not ordinary parents for us. Ah! this poor little Father was quite right when he often repeated to us the words I have just written. Later he experienced that he was not mistaken and now he must protect and bless those who gave him such devoted care... I am still exiled and not knowing how to show my gratitude, I only have only one way to ease my heart: Pray for the parents I love, who were and still are so good to me!
Léonie was also very good to me, trying to amuse me as best she could, I sometimes hurt her because she saw clearly that Marie could not be replaced with me...
And my darling Céline, what hasn't she done for her Thérèse?... On Sundays, instead of going for a walk, she would shut herself up for whole hours with a poor little girl who looked like an idiot; really it needed love not to flee me... Ah! my dear little Sisters, how I have made you suffer!... no one has caused you as much pain as me and no one has received as much love as you lavished on me... Fortunately, I will have Heaven to avenge me, my Spouse is very rich and I will draw from his treasures of love in order to restore to you a hundredfold all that you have suffered because of me...
My greatest consolation while I was ill was to receive a letter from Pauline... I read it, re-read it until I knew it by heart... Once, my dear Mother, you told me sent an hourglass and one of my dolls dressed as Carmel, to say how happy I am is impossible... My Uncle was not happy, he said that instead of making me think of Carmel it should be taken away from my mind, but I felt on the contrary that it was the hope of one day being a Carmelite that made me live... My pleasure was to work for Pauline, I did little works for her on bristol paper and my greatest occupation was to wreaths of daisies and forget-me-nots for the Blessed Virgin, we were in the beautiful month of May, all of nature was adorned with flowers and breathed joy, only the "little flower" languished and seemed forever withered... However, she had a Sun beside her, this Sun was the miraculous Statue of the Blessed Virgin who had by Twice to Maman, and often, very often, the little flower turned its corolla towards this blessed Star... One day I saw Papa enter Marie's room where I was lying; he gave her several gold coins with an expression of great sadness and told her to write to Paris and have masses said at Notre-Dame des Victoires so that she would cure her poor little girl. Ah! How touched I was on seeing the Faith and Love of my dear King!
I would have liked to be able to tell him that I was cured, but I had already given him enough false joy, it was not my wishes that could work a miracle, because one needed one to cure me... a miracle and it was Our Lady of Victories who did it. One Sunday (during the novena of masses), Marie went out into the garden leaving me with Léonie who was reading by the window. After a few minutes I began to call almost softly: "Mama... Mama..." . Leonie, being used to always hearing me called that, paid no attention to me. This lasted a long time, so I called louder and finally Marie came back, I saw her enter perfectly, but I couldn't say that I recognized her and I continued to call ever louder: "Mama...". I suffered greatly from this forced and inexplicable struggle and Marie suffered perhaps even more than I did; after vain efforts to show me that she was with me, she knelt down by my bed with Léonie and Céline, then turned to the Blessed Virgin and prayed to her with the fervor of a Mother asking for the life of her child, Mary got what she wanted...
Finding no help on earth, poor little Thérèse also turned to her Heavenly Mother, she begged her with all her heart to finally have pity on her... Suddenly the Blessed Virgin seemed beautiful to me. , so beautiful that I had never seen anything so beautiful, her face exuded an ineffable kindness and tenderness, but what penetrated me to the bottom of my soul was the “ravishing smile of the Blessed Virgin”. Then all my sorrows vanished, two big tears sprang from my eyelids and flowed silently on my cheeks, but they were tears of unalloyed joy... Ah! I thought, the Blessed Virgin smiled at me, how happy I am... but I'll never tell anyone, because then my happiness would disappear. Without any effort I lowered my eyes, and I saw Marie who looked at me with love; she seemed moved and seemed to suspect the favor that the Blessed Virgin had granted me... Ah! it was indeed to her, to her touching prayers that I owed the grace of the Queen of Heaven's smile. Seeing my gaze fixed on the Blessed Virgin, she said to herself: “Thérèse is cured!” Yes, the little flower was going to be reborn to life, the luminous ray which had warmed it should not stop its benefits; it does not act suddenly, but gently, gently, it raises its flower and strengthens it so that five years later it blossoms on the fertile mountain of Carmel.
As I said, Mary had guessed that the Blessed Virgin had granted me some hidden grace, so when I was alone with her, wondering what I had seen, I could not resist her questions so tender and so pressing; surprised to see my secret discovered without my having revealed it, I confided it entirely to my dear Marie... Alas! as I had felt, my happiness was about to disappear and change into bitterness; for four years the memory of the ineffable grace that I had received was for me a real sorrow of soul, I was to find my happiness only at the feet of Notre-Dame des Victoires, but then it was returned to me in all its plenitude... I will speak again later of this second grace of the Blessed Virgin. Now I must tell you, dear Mother, how my joy turned to sadness. Marie after having heard the naive and sincere account of "my grace" asked me for permission to say it to Carmel, I could not say no... On my first visit to this beloved Carmel, I was filled with joy when I saw Pauline with the habit of the Blessed Virgin, it was a very sweet moment for both of us... There were so many things to say to each other that I couldn't say anything at all, my heart was too full... The good Mother M de Gonzague was there too, giving me a thousand tokens of affection; I still saw other sisters and in front of them, I was questioned about the grace I had received, asking me if the Blessed Virgin was carrying the baby Jesus, or if there was a lot of light, etc. All these questions troubled me and pained me, I could only say one thing: "The Blessed Virgin had seemed very beautiful to me... and I had seen her smile at me." It was his face alone that had struck me, also seeing that the Carmelites imagined something quite different (my heartbreak already beginning on the subject of my illness), I imagined myself having lied... No doubt, if I had kept my secret, I would also have kept my happiness, but the Blessed Virgin allowed this torment for the good of my soul, perhaps without it I would have had some thought of vanity, instead of humiliation becoming my share, I could not look at myself without a feeling of profound horror... Ah! what I have suffered, I will only be able to say it in Heaven!...
The stories of Mary
in his memories and testimonies
Autobiographical Memories p. 74-75:
Finally, my dear Mother, before and after you took the habit, came the great ordeal of Thérèse's illness. You will find the details in my deposition. Ah! my Mother, it seemed to me then that the story of the holy man Job was ours and that Satan, appearing before the Lord, had said to him as before: "It is not surprising if your servant praises you, you fill him with goods! Strike him then in his own person and you will see if he will not curse your name...” But the Name of the Lord was not cursed, he was always blessed in the midst of the most bitter trials.
Ordinary Trial Testimony, folios 311-312:
[311r] Around the age of ten, the Servant of God was stricken with a strange illness, an illness that certainly came from the devil who, as she herself says in her manuscript, had received an external power over her. She says that during this illness she never lost her reason. In fact, I never heard her say a word that didn't make sense, and she was never delirious for a moment. But she had terrifying visions that chilled all who heard her cries of distress. Certain nails, attached to the walls of the room, suddenly appeared to her in the form of large charred fingers, and she exclaimed: "I'm afraid, I'm afraid!" His eyes, so calm and gentle, had an expression of horror impossible to describe. Another time, my father came and sat by his bed; he held his hat in his hand. Thérèse looked at him without saying a single word, because she spoke very little during this illness. Then, as always, in the blink of an eye, her expression changed. Her eyes fixed on the hat and she uttered a mournful cry: “Oh! the big black beast!” Her cries had something supernatural about them; you have to have heard them to get an idea of them. One day when the doctor was present during one of these crises, he said to my father: “Science is powerless in the face of these phenomena: there is [311v] nothing to be done.” I can say that the demon even tried to kill our little sister. Her bed was placed in a large alcove, and at the head and the feet there was an empty space where she tried to rush. It's even happened to her several times, and I wonder how she didn't smash her head on the pavement; but she didn't even have a scratch. In the past she struck her head violently against the wood of the bed. Sometimes she still wanted to talk to me and no sound was heard. But the most terrible crisis of all was the one she recounts in her "Life." I thought she was going to succumb to it. Seeing her exhausted in this painful struggle, I wanted to give her a drink, but she cried out in terror: "They want to poison me." It was then that I threw myself with my sisters at the feet of the Blessed Virgin. Three times I repeated the same prayer. The third time, I saw Thérèse staring at the statue of the Blessed Virgin. His gaze was irradiated and as if in ecstasy. She confided to me that she had seen the Blessed Virgin herself. This vision lasted 4 to 5 minutes, then his gaze fixed on me with tenderness. From then on, he [312r] no longer appeared to have any trace of his illness. The next day she resumed her ordinary life, and apart from one or two falls which occurred without apparent cause, while walking in the garden during the week which followed her recovery, no more accident of this kind was seen in the whole of the continuation of his life.
Testimony at the Apostolic Process, folios 562-565:
[562] At the age of 10, Thérèse was stricken with a strange illness which, in my opinion, could only have come from the devil, because of the supernatural phenomena that were occurring. This illness broke out a few months after Mother Agnès of Jesus entered Carmel, towards the end of March 1883. From April 7 until May 10, the day on which the Blessed Virgin cured her, she remained in a heartbreaking state. Several times a week she had fits of terror so extraordinary that a learned doctor, Monsieur Motta (Notta), now deceased, said he had never encountered such a case. I heard him confess to my father his impotence. He even said these words: "Call it what you want, but for me it's not hysteria." [563] The most insignificant objects took on the form of horrible monsters in her eyes and she cried out in terror. Frequently she was driven by some unknown force to throw her head forward from her bed onto the pavement. Other times she would bang her head hard against the wood of the bed. Sometimes she wanted to talk to me: no sound was heard, she only articulated the words, without being able to pronounce them. A peculiarity which struck me very much was that, on various occasions, under this influence which I believe to be diabolical, she would suddenly get down on her knees, and, without the help of her hands, leaning her head on the bed, trying to bring his feet forward. Now, in this attitude which was bound to uncover her, she always remained modestly enveloped, to my great astonishment: unable to explain this to myself, I attributed it to a celestial intervention. In the interval of the crises, she remained in a state of exhaustion. The most terrible crisis of all was the one she talks about in her life. I thought she was going to succumb to it. Seeing her exhausted in this struggle, I wanted to give her a drink, but she cried out in terror: “They want to kill me; they want to poison me”. It was then that I threw myself with my sisters at the feet [564] of the Blessed Virgin imploring her to have pity on us. But the sky seemed deaf to our pleas. Three times I renewed the same prayer. The third time, I saw Thérèse staring at the statue of the Blessed Virgin; his gaze was irradiated, as if in ecstasy. I understood that she saw, not the statue, but the Blessed Virgin herself. This vision seemed to me to last four or five minutes, then two large tears fell from her eyes, and her soft, limpid gaze fixed itself on me with tenderness. I was not mistaken, Thérèse was cured. When I was alone with her, I asked her why she had cried. She hesitated to confide her secret to me, but realizing that I had guessed it, she said to me: "It's because I no longer saw her."
[Did some symptoms of this evil still appear during the Servant of God's life? ]: Never did any trace of this evil reappear, or even anything like it: she was neither impressionable nor nervous. My uncle, Monsieur Guérin, a pharmacist, told me after Thérèse was cured to take great care not to antagonize her, but I did not fail to antagonize her on occasion, and nothing untoward has ever happened. followed.
[During her crises, did the Servant of God retain the use of reason, for example when she cried: "They want to kill me, they want to poison me"?]: I am certain that , even at the height of her crises, the Servant of God maintained the healthy use [565] of her superior faculties; she was constrained in her senses, but did not lose consciousness of herself. I was perfectly aware of this by observing her, and she herself assured me later that, during crises, she heard and understood everything that was said around her, and that in particular, in the great final crisis which lasted about an hour, she had not ceased for a single moment to pray interiorly to the Blessed Virgin.
Pauline's comments
in correspondence
From sr Agnès to Thérèse - around April 2, 1883
My poor little patient,
How wicked it is to put me like that in penance and suffering for eight days already (Easter evening). I'm a little angry, almost a lot; and the proof is that if I held you in my arms, I would have to be watched to prevent me from suffocating you. Come on, Miss the bather (hydrotherapy is prescribed by Dr. Notta), Miss the trembler, Miss the feverish one, Miss the sleeper, Miss the drinker, you must not dare to wear Friday (taking of the habit of Sister Agnès ) all these titles of earthy and wormy nobility... you have to heal yourself very quickly to come and kiss the poor sulky and bring her back to joy because do you know that she is no longer laughing but all pensive and weeping since the beginning of your illness.
Yes, darling little Baby Doll, I want to see you fully recovered on my wedding day, and this wish I will obtain from the goodness of God, from the Blessed Virgin and from your goodwill too. Eat a lot, a lot, that's how you get better; your Mother Marie de Gonzague's little niece was ill like you, just like you, and the good slices of roast cured her and made her as fresh as a rose. Farewell little white rose, I pray the good Jesus to take his palette and his brush to color with a celestial and lasting carmine the pallor of your cute cheeks.
Your Agnès who embraces you with all her heart.
From Sr. Agnès to Céline. April 3 or 4, 1883. extract.
My darling little Célin,
I look forward to Friday to kiss you, I hope you will be happy too and that this day will pass without tears or regrets since our Thérèse is better. How kind of God to heal her for me these days.
Sr Agnès to Marie - April 1883. extract.
My darling little sister,
It seems that Thérèse is not better, that you are having a lot of trouble; I was very sad this morning thinking of you. Poor little Sister, if you knew how I never left you, how much I love you, you would feel even better than before supported and relieved by a heart incomparably united to yours. I have the idea that very often you suffer from my absence and then that discouragement is very close to this suffering. Oh ! my dear Marie, yet you cannot complain of the isolation of the heart if you look at mine. When you can come and see me, I'll be very happy, but you have to wait until Therese is much better. Poor little girl, it pains me to see her like that. Finally, one must resign oneself and love the good God very, very much in order to love the Cross a little.
From sr Agnès to Thérèse - April (?) 1883
My beloved little Theresita,
It's been a long time since I've heard from you, so quickly send Papa or Marie to me and tell them that you're cured, cured for good. Oh! How happy I would be!... Little darling darling, I am sending you a real means of giving me this happiness. Here is a very miraculous little scapular that you will wear with great confidence while we are doing a novena here. I propose to explain this to Marie at the next interview. But I want you to know right away, my little darling, that this scapular has already done many miracles, healed little girls as sick and even sicker than you... it gives hope, doesn't it? not? Yes, I want to believe that my poor Poupon will soon get out of his sleep, all of paradise is in turmoil, the powers from above, the Virtues of Heaven are shaken, we are nearing the big moment... A fine day , the good Angel of my Thérésita will give the last wing stroke and far, far away will flee her nasty illness forever. Farewell, darling little patient, the most beloved of all the little patients here below. There is always near you a little Agnes, the most loving of all Agnes, who covers you with kisses even more tender than silent... Do you know her? Go, it's always good from the heart. Your little Paulin, your poor little Mistress and a little Mother and a lot Sister, Agnès of Jesus
From sr Agnès to Thérèse - beginning of May (?) 1883
My darling little Thérèse
Since you have Marie scolding me for not writing to you at all, here's a big sheet of paper that I'm going to fill to the end to make up for my mistake. Poor little Benjamin of my heart; if you only knew how much I love you, with what tenderness I think of you every day, every moment of the day! Do you remember the little verses you used to recite for Father's Day two or three years ago? Well, I tell you today what you said to him then:
In the morning when I wake up
After God I think of you
And then in the evening when I sleep
In my dreams I see you again!
Oh yes, my little darling, your memory is very present to me. Every moment I send my good Angel to bring you my caresses, does he do all my errands well? Darling, send me yours from time to time after putting the sweet kisses of your little heart under her wings.
Mother Marie de Gonzague was very happy with the pretty bouquet the other day, she kisses her dear little daughter very much and keeps her close to little Paulin in her heart... In Carmel we love Thérèse as in Les Buissonnets, we pray for her, we take care of her, we talk about her constantly. Me, I am waiting with great impatience for the beautiful day of his recovery, I have already taken all my measures to really make it a day of celebration. Our Mother (Geneviève) promised me that I would see the little cured girl in the sweet parlor that she loves so much, the parlor of her confidences! We will both stay there as long as we want. Oh! it is I who will have to tell you about it, my poor darling! since the time we've said nothing to each other except from the heart... until then I'm going to stock up on all sorts of beautiful Carmelite stories so as not to find myself unprepared for a single moment. We will chatter, we will chatter, we will laugh at who better!....
Come on my good Saint Gourgon, let yourself be touched quickly and advance this sweet moment! What's it like to think like this for an infinite time without doing anything at all... Hurry up quickly or we won't remain good friends both... Here comes the spring, the coming summer with its fine days of blue sky, let my poor Thérésita enjoy it... And then the little birds have just built their nests, Papa even told me that he had seen several of them in the garden , I would very much like not a little bird to fly away from its little house without having you as its witness, my darling little girl! There are many in Carmel in the morning; every morning I hear them sing and I think of you, poor little bird buried up to my neck in the feather for so long. There are also beautiful flowers here, especially at this time: the silver basket, primroses, double daisies, wallflower and my darling flower, the forget-me-not which shows me its blue eye and seems to say: Think of the child of your heart, with the little blue eye that smiles at you from afar.
Well isn't it, little child, how lovely the flowers of Carmel are? We can clearly see, we can well feel that they blossom under the wing of the Angels, in the shade of the Tabernacle where Thérèse's little Jesus still lives and rests. Goodbye my darling, to you my most tender kisses, without you suspecting it I am always by your side, I take care of you with my heart, I see you, I kiss you, I love you... When I go see your Mother Marie de Gonzague, we both talk about you like a beloved, spoiled little girl... She also cherishes you very much, this sweet Mama of your soul... Little Benjamin, everyone love you, but above us still I know a heart which surpasses us in tenderness, it is that of the Holy child Jesus!... Oh! how lovingly he always looks at his little Thérèse! How he smiled at her, how he blessed her. Farewell Poupon, get well soon, I'm still
Your Agnès, your little Paulin.
From sr Agnès of Jesus to Thérèse - 14 or 15 May 1883
My little Theresita,
What a pleasure that you are better! How good is the Blessed Virgin! So I gave her your beautiful bouquet, she seemed all radiant in front of the flowers of her darling little girl... With the bouquet, I said a big thank you to her, as tender as big, I asked her to continue her work and to complete it soon. Poor darling, I can't wait to see your little face so dear to my heart. From here I can see it, it's true, but for some time now my telescope hasn't been good; while you were so sick i dropped a tear on the glass and suddenly it darkened. Finally, the Blessed Virgin holds us together under her mantle, she keeps us close to her heart, she blesses us, she loves us and caresses us with the same hand! How can one say after that that Thérésita is far from Agnès, and Agnès from Thérésita? How beautiful the weather is today! Look: Oh! the sky is blue! From time to time I see little swallows passing by, cheerful and light as a healthy little girl, and I think of my Benjamin, and I pray to the inhabitants of the Sky so blue to make a little pair of wings fall from above. for my own swallow. With that she would run through the fields, with that she would enjoy the beautiful sun, with that she would come to rest from time to time in the so sweet nest of her Agnès, up there on the mountain of Carmel, where the weather is so good, so good. ! where we breathe the air of Heaven, where we always see, even in winter, sun and flowers... Little child, let us ask our dear Mother that she does not let her month pass without reuniting us. Farewell! Let us love the Blessed Virgin well, let us love her, she is a Mother and under her gaze, under her hand, the little boat of her heart is always safe and is moving in peace towards Heaven.
I kiss your little boat my cherub, always keep the tenderness that I know you have for me. I need it like a little mother needs to be repaid in the love she has for her child.
Your Agnes
