sinners and to make of them His friends, His chosen companions?
XX LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
Mary, breaking the fragile vase poured
out upon the Head of her Saviour a perfume
of great price[1] and the whole house was
filled with the fragrance thereof.[2]
The Apostles murmured against Magdalene; and this it is which still happens with regard to us: some, even of the most fervent Christians think we (Carmelites) are exaggerated, that like Martha we ought to serve Jesus, instead of consecrating to Him the vases of our lives with the perfumes which are hidden within. And yet what matters it—the breaking of these vases—since our Lord is consoled, and the world in spite of itself is made sensible of the fragrance they exhale. And oh! how necessary are these perfumes to purify the unhealthy atmosphere that it breathes.
XX LETTER TO HER SISTER CÉLINE
