"Story of a Soul" : Top Favorite Quotes

By Miss K -

 J.M.J. 

Hello, my friends! 

Do you ever keep track of quote-worthy lines in books you read? I've had a notebook since I was 12 where I've recorded "Important Things to Remember from ...". It's an easy way to sort of reread books from my past spiritual reading (and see how my handwriting has changed!). One of my favorite books is Story of a Soul: Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite quotes from her writing. I also highly recommend it to everyone, no matter your stage in life! 

(credit)
*Emphasis is my addition*

  • "He wants me to love Him because He has forgiven me, not much, but everything. He did not wait for me to love Him with a great love, like Magdalene's, but made me see that He had loved me first, with an infinite providence, so that now I may love Him in return even unto folly" (57-58). 
  • " 'The world is but a ship, and not thy home' " (61). 
  • "...Our Lord does not come from heaven every day to stay in a golden ciborium; He comes to find another heaven, the heaven of our soul in which He loves to dwell" (71). 
  • " '...The closer we come to God, the more simple we become' " (108). 
  • "I have never heard Him speak, and yet I know He is within my soul. Every moment He is guiding and inspiring me, and just at the moment I need them, 'lights' till then unseen are granted me" (135). 
  • " 'That is what I must find, an elevator to take me straight up to Jesus, because I am too little to climb the steep stairway of perfection...Your arms, My Jesus, are the elevator which will take me up to Heaven. There is no need for me to grow up; on the contrary, I must stay little, and become more and more so' " (140-141). 
  • "I see now that true charity consists in bearing with the fault of those about us, never being surprised at their weaknesses, but edified at the least sign of virtue" (152).
  • Prayer, for me, is simply a raising of the heart, a simple glance toward Heaven, an expression of love and gratitude in the midst of a trail, as well as in times of joy; in a word, it is something noble and supernatural expanding my soul and uniting it to God" (173)
  • "I know I am no more than a helpless little child, yet, my Jesus, it is my very helplessness which makes me dare to offer myself as a victim to Your Love!" (200). 
  • " 'I desire neither death nor life. I would not choose even if Our Lord were to give me the choice. I will only what He wills, and it is what He does that pleases me. I do not fear the last struggle nor any pain involved in my illness, however severe' " (212). 

Let us run into the arms of Our Lord with the littleness of a child, become simple, and use His Elevator to reach Heaven! 

Do you have a favorite quote from St. Therese? Have you ever read her autobiography? 

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