Adolph Alexander Noser

“ But love does not find its full contentment in similarity—it seeks for oneness, for identity. "Love," says St. Albert the Great, "desires to be one with the beloved, and if it could, it would form but one being with the beloved.... Love has the power of uniting and transforming; it transforms the one who loves into him who is loved, and him who is loved into him who loves. Each passes into the other, as far as this is possible." Such was the one great longing of St. Therese: "to become myself divine," "to live the very life of God." ”

“ Why did she succeed? "I have always forced myself to love suffering and to give it a glad welcome." Here again it is true: "He that is faithful in little things, is faithful in that which is greater," for "in this path it is only the first step that is hard; yet God never refuses the first grace—courage for self-conquest.... In the onset we must act with courage. By this means the heart gains strength, and victory follows victory." And what gave her this strength? "It is such a joy to think that for each little pain cheerfully borne we shall love the good God more for all eternity." ”

“ So great was the darkness that I no longer knew if God loved me." Nay more, "When my heart, weary of the surrounding darkness, tries to find rest in the thought of a life to come, my anguish increases. It seems to me that out of the darkness I hear the mocking cry of the unbeliever: 'You dream of a land of light and fragrance; you dream that the Creator of these wonders will be yours forever....' Nay, rejoice in death, which will give you not what you hope for, but a still darker night, the night of utter nothingness!" A fearful trial indeed for one who loves God most ardently. ”

“ Therese, ever happy, smiling, and joyous in the midst of pain, in spite of your extreme sensitiveness to suffering, I rejoice with you in the glorious triumph which you have won over self through your tender love of God. Obtain for me the grace to walk in your footsteps, that I may always find a sincere delight in that which gives joy to God, even though it be the very fact of my being utterly deprived of all sensible joy. ”

“ Therese replied: "It is quite a mistake to trouble ourselves as to what I may still have to suffer. It is like meddling with God's work. We who run in the way of love must never allow ourselves to be disturbed by anything. If I did not simply live from one moment to the next, it would be impossible for me to be patient; but I look only at the present. I forget the past, and take good care not to forestall the future. When we yield to discouragement or despair, it is usually because we think too much about the past and the future." ”

“ Let us save souls! Souls are falling into hell innumerable as the flakes of snow on a winter's day, and Jesus weeps; and we are brooding over our own sorrow, instead of thinking of consoling Him." And still more clearly: "There is only one thing to do during the brief day, or rather night, of this life: it is to love, to love Jesus with all the strength of our heart and to save souls for Him, so that He may be loved." ”

“ Just as the food that I eat must be dead before it can be transformed into my body and live my life, be animated by my soul, so must I be wholly dead before I can be, as it were, assimilated by Jesus and animated by His Spirit, the Holy Ghost, and so live His life, for "unless the grain of wheat falling to the ground die, it remaineth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." St. Therese, obtain for me light to understand fully this beautiful truth, and to give myself courageously to death to self, that I may live the life of God, the life of love. ”

“ Paul bids us "give thanks in ALL things," and daily throughout the year the Church makes the priest pray in the name of every one of the faithful: "It is truly meet and just, right and salutary, that we should at ALL times and in ALL places give thanks to Thee, O Holy Lord, Almighty Father, Eternal God." O St. Therese, pray for me, that these words may sink deep into my soul and that I may truly give thanks and rejoice in ALL things, that thus my joy, like yours, may attain to the heroic, the very refinement of all joy, a joy pure and wholly unselfish. ”

“ Therese replied: "Tears for God! that must not be. Far less to Him than to creatures ought you to show a mournful face.... Our Divine Master comes to us in search of rest—to forget the unceasing complaints of His friends in the world, who, instead of appreciating the value of the cross, receive it far more often with groans and tears. Would you be as the mediocre souls? Frankly, this is not disinterested love.... It is for us to console our Lord, and not for Him to console us. His Heart is so tender that if you cry, He will dry your tears ”

“ Just why this special love for hidden crosses? "My God, what joy can he greater than to suffer for Thy love? The more the suffering is and the less it appears before men, the more it is to Thy honor and glory." ”

“ Above all she was heartbroken at seeing God's generously proffered love utterly neglected, nay, even openly rejected, by so many millions, and even by consecrated souls, and lamented sadly: "Oh, how little is the good God loved on earth! No, the good God is not much loved...! More than ever is Jesus athirst for love ... and even among His disciples He finds, alas! but few hearts that surrender themselves WITHOUT RESERVE to the tenderness of His infinite love." ”

“ Nothing gives me such 'little joys' as 'little crosses.' I know of no ecstasy to which I do not prefer sacrifice. There I find my happiness, and there alone.... When we expect nothing but suffering, then the least joy is a surprise, and later the suffering itself becomes the greatest of all joys, when we seek it as a precious treasure. ”

“ Each hour He, in His love, gives me so many opportunities to give up my own views, etc., and I stubbornly refuse. What a loss for God, for souls, and my own joy in eternity! Henceforth I wish to be ever on the alert, I wish to refuse Him nothing. Help me to realize that fidelity to trifles requires just as great, yes, even greater, heroism than the doing of grander things; that the least act of pure love of God is worth more than many a brilliant exterior work done through an inferior motive though it calls forth the praise of men the world over. ”

“ With this lever they have raised the world—with this lever the saints of the Church Militant still raise it and will raise it till the end of time." Enlightened as she was, she understood that "the Creator of the Universe awaits the prayer of a poor little soul to save a multitude of other souls, ransomed, like herself, at the price of His Blood." Hence her boundless confidence in the power of prayer: "How wonderful is the power of prayer! It is like unto a queen who, having free access to the king, obtains all that she asks for." ”

“ Seeing man so unmindful of this love, she wrote: "My heart was torn with grief to see the Precious Blood falling to the ground with no one caring to treasure It as It fell, and I resolved to remain in spirit at the foot of the Cross, that I might receive the divine dew of salvation and pour it out upon souls." ”

“ Obtain for me the grace to live with God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost in my heart, to take trustful refuge to Him in instant prayer, to find my joy and strength in dwelling ever with Him as the Sweet Guest of my soul. ”

“ Obtain for me the strength to hide my suffering from human eyes, lest I lose my hard-earned merit by seeking the consolation of men, like a person who works unto exhaustion and then takes his wages and throws them into the fire. Above all, St. Therese, I desire to fulfil perfectly the duties of my state, to seek no exemption on account of personal sacrifices of inconveniences, but to do my duty "as long as I can stand on my feet," to live as if the perfection of the entire Church depended on my personal conduct. ”

“ Intercede for me with the loving Hearts of Jesus and Mary, that the Holy Spirit may assist me to understand your teaching on "Joy in Suffering" and may grant me the gift of fortitude, that fired with a burning love of God and souls, I may eagerly follow you in joyous suffering and one day share in your glorious triumph. I promise to show my heartfelt gratitude by doing whatever I can to promote your honor and to make you ever more widely known and loved throughout the world for the greater glory of the most Holy Trinity. ”

“ Love of God.—Love, and love alone, love at white heat, can give the only adequate solution of the paradox of St. Therese's joy in suffering, for "love is strong as death." As she herself wrote: "Love can do ALL things; even the most impossible tasks seem to it sweet and easy." She reflected long and deeply on the immensity and tenderness of God's fatherly love for her, a love so great that she thought it was not possible for God to love a creature more than He loved her, a love, wholly unmerited on her part and which for that reason she delighted to call "the mercies of the Lord." ”

“ Abandonment complete, this is my only law." Even when it is a question of life and death her only guide is still abandonment: "I have no greater desire to live than to die; if Jesus offered me my choice, I would choose nothing. I want only what He wills; it is what He does that I love." For the same reason she could say: "Whatever has come from God's hands has always pleased me, even those things which have seemed less good and beautiful than the gifts made to others." ”

“ Living in the Present.—The presence of God and the seeing of His gentle hand in all suffering did not in the least lessen the exquisite physical pain or mental anguish of St. Therese. She suffered most intensely just the same, but it was in deep peace, for she had made it her rule to live only in the present moment, realizing that the cross of the present is ever accompanied by its measure of grace, and thus rendered bearable, while grace is not at hand for the anticipated crosses of the future. ”

“ Her joy is utterly selfless, for she rejoices in the very fact of being without joy if this state gives joy to God: "My joy it is that joy is past and gone my Lord's consoling smile." "There are people who make the worst of everything. As for me, I do just the contrary. I always see the good side of things, and even if my portion be suffering without a glimmer of solace, well, I make IT my joy." ”

“ But God sends us suffering also because "He longs to give us a magnificent reward." What is this reward? "He knows that suffering is the only means of preparing us to know Him as He knows Himself, and to become ourselves divine." ”

“ I say bitterness, yet my life has not been a bitter one, for I have learned to find joy and sweetness in all that is bitter." A slow and thoughtful reading of her autobiography, letters, and poems will fully convince one of the truth of these words—yes, even of that seemingly incredible and exaggerated cry of her anguished soul: "I could never have believed it was possible to suffer so intensely!" ”

“ Therese I begin to understand more and more the source of your surprising strength in pain, and suffering, for what can be impossible to one who leans on God Almighty's power, living in the loving consciousness of His abiding presence in the soul? ”

“ I assure you that it costs Him dearly to fill us with bitterness." From this her sensitive heart draws the loving conclusion: "The good God, who so loves us, has pain enough in being obliged to leave us on earth to fulfil our time of trial, without our constantly telling Him of our discomfort; we must appear not to notice it." It was the same delicate feeling that made her reprove a weeping novice, who said to her: "Henceforward my tears will be for God alone. ”

“ How many sinners she has led back to God, how many pagans have received the grace of Baptism through her, how many children have been privileged to receive their First Holy Communion at an early age, and how many souls have been fired with an ardent love of their Eucharistic Lord! Only the very slightest portion of what she is accomplishing is visible to mortal eyes ”

“ Martyrdom or the Soul.—This is the severest of all suffering. It comes directly from God, and apparently without reason, without warning. St. Therese ate the hard and dry bread of spiritual aridity, of want of consolation in prayer daily throughout her religious life. "For me it is always night, always dark, black night." ”

“ She herself said that she expected this aid from God because of her efforts in cooperating with His grace: "If you faithfully continue to give pleasure to Him in small things, Jesus will feel bound to help you in the greater." Speaking of the day of her Confirmation, she said: "On that day I received the gift of fortitude in suffering—a gift I needed sorely." When others marveled at her heroic patience, she exclaimed: "I have not yet had a moment's patience! It is not MY patience. People do not understand. It is Jesus who does all, and I—I do nothing but be weak and little." ”

“ Love of Self:—To Attain to Oneness with Jesus.—St. Therese's love of self was unselfish; she loved herself for the sake of God; her love of self was but a special form of the love of God. True love finds its own happiness in the closest resemblance to the beloved. ”

“ It is fitting, then, to consider good and most beautiful this same portion which has become our own." "Yes, let us be one with God even in this life; and for this we should be more than resigned, we should embrace the Cross with joy." ”

“ When the way of perfection was opened out before me, I realized that, in order to become a saint, one must suffer much ... always seek the most perfect path, and forget oneself. I also understood that there are many degrees of holiness, that each soul is free to respond to the calls of our Lord, to do much or little for His love—in a word, to choose among the sacrifices He asks. ”

“ Therese used to gain such a triumph over suffering? In the first place, she shut herself up in the impregnable fortress of prayer. From her earliest years she was filled with a high esteem and deep love of prayer. She knew that the saints had obtained from prayer that wonderful science which enthralls the world and irresistible power over the minds and hearts of men. For they "lean on God Almighty's power itself and their lever is the prayer that inflames with the fire of love. ”

“ I tell you, when one is suffering like this, one is but a step removed from going out of one's mind." Dare I still ask: "Did St Therese really suffer much?" Yet there was always a sweet smile on her lips. And I cannot even bear trifling pains with a smile for the love of God?
(2) Martyrdom of the Heart.—This is even more painful than martyrdom of the body. Even as a child the heart of St. Therese craved for love and affection. "My heart," she wrote, "is naturally sensitive, and because of this, is a cause of much suffering. I wish to offer Jesus all that it can bear." ”