A sister, greatly grieved at seeing her so ill often exclaimed: "Oh, how sad is life!" But Sœur Thérèse would at once correct her, saying:
"Life is not sad, but on the contrary most joyful. If you said 'How sad is our exile,' I should understand you. It is erroneous to give the name, 'life,' to that which must end. Only to the things of Heaven, to that which shall never know death, should the true name of life be given; and in this signification life is not sad but joyful—joyous exceedingly!. . ."
Her own gaiety was delightful to witness.
For several days she had been much better and the novices said to her: "We do not yet know of what malady you will die. . . ."
"But I shall die of death! Did not God tell Adam of what he would die, saying to him: Thou shalt die of death?" (In the French: "Tu mourras de mort.")[1]
COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES
- ↑ Cf. Gen., ii, 17.
