I want to forget this world; here below, all things weary me, I find no joy save one, that of suffering . . . and this joy, though unfelt, is above every other.
V LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
When I suffer much, when things
that are painful and disagreeable befall
me, instead of assuming an air of sadness,
I respond by a smile. At first I was
not always successful, but now it is a
habit which I am very happy to have
acquired.
HIST. D'UNE AME, CH. XII
A novice was complaining of being
more tired than her Sisters, for besides
the common work, she had done another
task, of which they knew nothing.
Thérèse answered: "I want to see you
always like a valiant soldier who does
not complain of his pains; who thinks
very seriously of the wounds of his
brothers and regards his own as mere
scratches. Why do you feel this fatigue
