Therese of Lisieux (1873 – 1897), “The Little Flower of Jesus,” entered a Carmelite convent at the age of fifteen. Pope John Paul II declared her a Doctor of the Church in 1997. Therese is one of the four saints I count on as friends when I pray. My petition to God was granted because of her intercession. The following is from her book, Poetry.
Living on Love is not setting up one’s tent
At the top of Tabor.
It’s climbing Calvary with Jesus,
It’s looking at the Cross as a treasure!…
In Heaven I am to live on joy.
Then trials would have fled forever.
But in exile, in suffering I want
To live on Love.
“Living on Love, what strange folly!”
The world says to me, “Ah! stop your singing,
Don’t waste your perfumes, your life.
Learn to use them well…”
Loving you, Jesus, is such a fruitful loss!…
All my perfumes are yours forever.
I want to sing on leaving this world:
“I’m dying of Love!”
Dying of Love is what I hope for,
When I shall see my bonds broken,
My God will be my Great Reward.
I don’t desire to possess other goods.
I want to be on fire with his Love.
I want to see Him, to unite myself to Him forever.
That is my Heaven… that is my destiny:
Living on Love!