Was the cure nothing but the result of a psychological process? Or was the psyche rather the instrument through which God operated? Were the memories that were triggered in Thérèse’s mind nothing but an instance of “free association”? Or was there a Presence that was guiding the process? St. Augustine, in pondering the mysterious regions of the mind where God’s providence operates, writes, “God acts upon us . . . where no man has in his own control what shall enter into his thoughts.” 86 Not a bad description of free association! Also, is it only by accident that the instrument of Thérèse’s
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