less good and beautiful than the gifts made to others."
But abondonment meant no mere idle passivity, for she was ever alert, ever intensely yet calmly active: "I sleep, but my heart watcheth!"
"… sleeping on Thy Heart I smile forever more,
And tender words of love I whisper o'er and o'er."
If, in spite of all this, God seems to forget her entirely, she has no anxiety: "He is free to do so, since I am no longer my own but His. He will weary sooner of making me wait than I of waiting!" What a challenge! Meanwhile she continues peacefully to assure Him of her trustful love and surrender:
"Fear not, sweet Lord, my faithful watch I keep,
I wake Thee not till lowering skies are riven.
In peace my heart shall wait Thy coming from above,
And I shall charm Thy Heart with sweet refrains of love."
She gives as reason for this peace:
"Ever since I have given up ALL self-seeking,
I lead the happiest life possible!"
"Remember, Jesus, that Thy Holy Will
Is all my repose and my joy most blest;
In holy abandonment—nothing I fear—
In Thy sacred arms, my God, I rest!"
Hence she could say toward the end of her life: "Now the spirit of self-abandonment is my only guide. I have no other compass, and I know not how to ask anything with eagerness, save the perfect accomplishment of God's designs upon my soul…." How such a disposition must have delighted God! Would I not give Him a similar joy?
Novena Prayer
Dear St. Therese, with all my heart I thank God for making you such an invincible warrior by clothing you with His own divine armor of fortitude, confidence, and abandonment. But how truly you merited this favor by your singular fidelity to prayer and zealous correspondence with grace and the inspirations of the Holy Ghost.
