Here's an aspiration for today;

In your laws I take delight.
I will never forget your word.

Picking right up on that previous post...sorry, I had to stop in the middle of it but here is the rest:

....so that if his youth has been virtuous, his old age will likewise be honorable. From these and similar indications to be found in the lives of the saints a man may humbly hope that God has numbered him among the elect, that his name is written in the Book of Life.

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What in fact can be a greater happiness than to have been from all eternity the object of God's love and choice; to have had a privileged place in His Heart throughout the eternal years; to have been chosen as the child of His adoption before the birth of His Son according to nature: and to have been always present to His Divine Mind, clothed in the splendor of the saints!

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The origin and antiquity of this election also merit special consideration. It did not begin with this world; it preceded the existence of the universe; it was coeval with the very existence of God.  From all eternity He loved His elect. They were ever present to Him, and His will to render them eternally happy was as fixed at His own Being.

You are so welcome, Therese!

Heres some more from "Story of A Soul":

"To me it seems that humility is truth. I do not know whether I am humble, but I do know that I see truth in all things."

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"Indeed you are a Saint!"

"No, I am not a Saint, I have never wrought the works of a Saint. I am but a tiny soul whom Almighty God has loaded with His favours."

"The truth of what I say will be made known to you in Heaven."

But have you not always been faithful to those favors?"

"Yes, from the age of three I have never refused our our Good God anything. Still I cannot glorify myself. See how this evening the tree-tops are gilded by the setting sun. So likewise my soul appears to you all shining and golden because it is exposed to the rays of Love. But should the Divine Sun no longer shine thereon, it would instantly be sunk in gloom."

How about the 5 wounds of Christ ? 
Although i have a crucifix from india that also shows His knees bloodied.

Therese, I wondered about that same passage when I was writing it!  It seems there are a lot of paradoxes in "The Story of A Soul"
I don't know the answers but I like the book.  I guess it's important to remember that although she is a Doctor of the Church, she was very young when she wrote these things.
Just think if she would have lived to be an old woman!  Who knows how different her writings would have been.
God Bless you, my sister in Christ 

Here's an aspiration for today;


" Come you nations and adore The Lord!"

Amen! Amen!

     This truth is still more clearly expressed by the Apostle: "For whom he foreknew, he also predestinated to be made conformable to the image of his Son; that he might be the firstborn amongst many brethren. And whom he predestinated, them he also justified.
And whom he justified, them he also glorified." (Rom 8:29-30) A father who destines his son for a special career in life prepares and educates him from his boyhood with a view to this career.  In like manner, when God has predestined a soul to eternal happiness, He directs her in the path of justice, that she may attain the end for which He has chosen her.

     All, therefore, who recognize in themselves any mark of election should bless God for this great and eternal benefit. Though it is a secret hidden from human eyes, yet there are certain signs of election, as there are of justification; and as the first mark of out justification is the conversion of our lives, so the surest mark of our predestination is our perseverance in the good thus begun. He who has lived for a number of years in the fear of God, carefully avoiding sin, may hope that God, in the words of the Apostle, "will confirm him unto the end without crime, in the day of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1Cor. 1:

No man, however, can be certain of his perseverance or election. Did not Solomon, the wisest of kings, after having lived virtuously for many years, fall into iniquity in his old age? Yet his example is one of the exceptions to the rule, which he himself teaches in these words: "It is a proverb: A young man according to his way, even when he is old he will not depart from it (Prov. 22:6)

More from "The Story of a Soul"

"I am not surprised at the failures of the little one; she forgets that in her role of missionary and warrior she ought to forgo all childish consolations. It is wrong to pass one's time in fretting, instead of sleeping on the Heart of Jesus.

Should the little one fear the dark of the night or complain at not seeing Him who carries her, let her shut her eyes. It is the one sacrifice God asks. By remaining thus, the dark will cease to terrify, because she will not see it, and before long, peace--if not joy--will re-enter her soul."

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To help me accept a humiliation she confided to me what follows:

"If I had not been received into the Carmel, I would have entered a Refuge, and lived there unknown and despised among the poor 'penitents'. My joy would have been to pass for one, and I would have become an apostle among my companions, telling them my thoughts on the Infinite Mercy of God."

"But how could you have hidden your innocence from your Confessor?"

"I would have told him that while still in the world I made a general confession, and that it was forbidden me to repeat it."

*****
"Oh! When I think of all I have to acquire!"

"Or rather to lose!  It is Jesus Who takes upon Himself to fill your soul according as you rid it of imperfections. I see clearly that you are mistaking the road, and that you will never arrive at the end of your journey. You want to climb the mountain, whereas God wishes you to descend it. He is awaiting you in the fruitful valley of humility."

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Thank you for posting these!
I love the O antiphons.

St. Joseph, pray for us!
Pray for all fathers.
amen.

[Chapter 6The Sixth Motive which obliges us to practice virtue;]

Chapter 6

The Sixth Motive which obliges us to practice virtue;

Gratitude for the Incomprehensible Benefit of Election

     To all the benefits which we have just enumerated we must add that of election, or predestination, which belongs to those whom God has chosen from all eternity to be partakers of His glory. The Apostle, in his Epistle to the Ephesians (Eph.1:3-5), thus gives thanks, in his own name and that of the elect, for this inestimable benefit:
 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with spiritual blessings in heavenly places, in Christ; as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and unspotted in his sight, in charity; who hath predestinated us unto the adoption of children through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the purpose of his will."
The Royal Prophet this extols this same benefit: "Blessed is he whom thou hast chosen and taken to thee: he shall dwell in thy courts." (Ps. 64:5)

     Election, therefore, may be justly called the grace of graces, since God, in His boundless liberality, bestows it upon us before we have merited it; for, while giving to each one what is necessary for his salvation, He wills, as absolute Master of His gifts, to bestow them in greater abundance upon certain souls, without any injury, however, to others less favored. It is also the grace of graces not only because it is the greatest, but because  it is the source of all the others. For in predestining man to glory, God determines to bestow upon him all the graces necessary to attain this happiness. This he has declared by the mouth of His prophet: "I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore have I drawn thee, taking pity on thee". (Jer. 31:3)

How nice to see these quotes and the responses! Thanks for posting them Therese!

Hi Shin!  so glad you made it home safe, hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

All is well here, I'll resume these excerpts from "Story of a Soul"  These are the recollections of St. Therese from the young women for whom she was a spiritual director.

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In imitation of our saintly Mistress i also wished never to grow up; she called me therefore "the little one," and during a retreat she wrote to me the following notes:

"Do not fear to tell Jesus that you love him, even though you may not feel that love, In this way you will compel Him to come to your aid, and to carry you like a little child who is too weak to walk.
   
"It is indeed a great source of trial, when everything looks black, but this does not depend entirely on yourself.  Do all in your power to detach your heart from earthly cares, especially from creatures; then be assured our Lord will  do the rest, He could not permit you to fall into the abyss. Be comforted, little one! In Heaven everything will no longer look black, but dazzling white, There all will be clothed in the Divine radiance of Our Spouse--the Lily of the Valley. Together we will follow Him whithersoever He goeth. Meantime we must make good use of this life's brief day. Let us give Our Lord pleasure, let us by self-sacrifice give Him souls! Above all, let us be little-so little that everyone might tread us underfoot without our even seeming to suffer pain.

Here's an aspiration for today;

Mother of Christ
Hear, Thou, Thy people's cry!

Here's an aspiration for today;

"O Lord, I have heard your renown,
And feared, O Lord, your work."

Here's a nice Advent hymn:

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
And with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly minded,
For with blessings in His hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
Our full homage to demand.

King of Kings. Yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth he stood,
Lord of lords, in human vesture,
In the body and the blood;
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heavenly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads it's vanguard on the way
As the Light of light descendeth
From the realms of endless day,
That the power of hell may vanish
As the darkness clears away.

At His feet the six winged seraph,
Cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the presence,
As with ceaseless voice they cry,

Alleluia, Alleluia,
Alleluia, Lord Most High!