The Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of the Little Flower (with Supplemental Reading: Classics Made Simple) [Illustrated]

by Thérèse of Lisieux

During my postulancy, our Mistress used to send me out to weed the garden at half-past four every afternoon. It cost me a lot, all the more because I was almost sure to meet Mother Mary Gonzaga on the way. On one such occasion she remarked: “Really, this child does nothing at all. There must be something wrong with a novice that has to be sent for a walk every day.” She always treated me like this. How I thank God, my darling Mother, for such a virile and valuable training. What a priceless grace! I do not know what would have happened to me if I had become the pet of the Community, as those outside seemed to think! I would probably have thought of my Superiors merely as human beings, instead of seeing Our Lord in them, and the heart that had been so well guarded in the world would have fallen prey to human attachments in the cloister. Luckily I escaped such a fate. I can honestly say that, from the moment I entered, suffering opened her arms to me, not only in the trials I have already told you about, but in others keener still; and I embraced her lovingly.