Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition Quotes

“I understood how all the flowers He has created are beautiful, how the splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the Lily do not take away from the perfume of the little violet or the simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all flowers wanted to be roses, nature would lose her springtime beauty, and the fields would no longer be decked out with little wild flowers. And so it is in the world of souls, Jesus’ garden. He willed to create great souls comparable to Lilies and roses, but He has created smaller ones and these must be content to be daisies or violets destined to give joy to God’s glances when He looks down at His feet. Perfection consists in doing His will, in being what He wills us to be” (S,”
― Foley OCD, Marc, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“So often, the issues that we are so quick to defend or take offense at too readily are indicative of either a wounded or inflated ego.”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“He is therefore free to use me to give a good thought to a soul; and if I think this inspiration belongs to me, I would be like “the donkey carrying  the relics”313 who believed the reverence paid to the saints was being directed to him.”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“What Thérèse is proposing is more difficult than it seems, for when we are filled with guilt and a sense of our own wretchedness, it is hard to believe in the mercy of God, for guilt tends to project upon the face of God a stern grimace. Our sins do not alter God’s merciful love toward us; they simply make it more difficult for us to believe in it.”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“God is love. Thus when we love with the love of charity, our actions are the actions of God.”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“Well, that shoots the morning.” As I heard myself saying these familiar words, I was struck by their strangeness. Why would an act of charity shoot my morning? Isn’t growing in love what life is all about? Yes, but the purpose of life often gets in the way of my agenda!”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“a soul in the state of grace has nothing to fear from demons who are cowards, capable of fleeing before the gaze of a little child!”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“St. Teresa of Ávila writes: “The devil gives us great desires so that we will avoid setting ourselves to the task at hand, serving our Lord in possible things, and instead be content with having desired the impossible.”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“new peace and strength in my heart: “Life is your barque not your home!”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“only the day of the first, the unique, [36r°] the eternal Communion of Heaven will be endless!”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“And I see that all is vanity and vexation of spirit under the sun,64 that the only good is to love God with all one’s heart and to be poor in spirit here on earth.”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“God alone, content with my weak efforts, [20]will raise me to Himself and make me a saint, clothing me in His infinite merits.”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“God made me [32r°] feel that true glory is that which will last eternally, and to reach it, it isn’t necessary to perform striking works but to hide oneself and practice virtue in such a way that the left hand knows not what the right is doing.62”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“I made the resolution never to wander far away from the glance of Jesus in order to travel peacefully toward the eternal shore!”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“I longed for the everlasting repose of heaven, that never-ending Sunday of the fatherland!”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“Earth again seemed a sad place and I understood that in heaven alone joy will be without any clouds.”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“I had no need to raise my head to see and, in fact, no longer raised it but to contemplate heaven which to me was filled with joy. All my trials had come to an end and the winter of my soul had passed on [20]forever.”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“From Thérèse’s perspective, “they didn’t think about death enough, and yet death had paid its visit to a great number of those whom I knew, the young, the rich, the happy”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“Thérèse wrote to her sister Léonie, “this thought of the brevity of life gives me courage, it helps me bear the weariness of the road . . . the hour of rest is approaching”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“Never have I heard Him speak, but I feel that He is within me at each moment; He is guiding and inspiring me with what I must say and do” (S 276).”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“He set before me the book of nature; I understood how all the flowers He has created are beautiful, how the splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not take away from the perfume of the little violet or the delightful simplicity of the daisy”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“soul in the state of grace has nothing to fear from demons who are cowards, capable of fleeing before the gaze of a little child!”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“My God ‘I choose all!’ I don’t want to be a saint by halves, I’m not [5]afraid to suffer for You, I fear only one thing: to keep my own will; so take it, for ‘I choose all that You will!”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“It seems to me that if a little flower could speak, it would tell simply what God has done for it without trying to hide its blessings”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“understood how [10]all the flowers He has created are beautiful, how the splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the Lily do not take away the perfume of the little violet or the delightful simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all flowers wanted to be roses, nature would lose her springtime beauty, and the fields would no longer be decked out with little wild flowers.”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“Then, in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: O Jesus, my Love . . . my vocation, at last I have found it . . . MY VOCATION IS LOVE! Yes, I have found my place in the Church, and it is You. O my God, who have given me this place; in the heart of the Church, my Mother, I shall be Love. Thus I shall be everything, and thus my dream will be realized.”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“Amen, I say to you, unless you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3).”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“It is the way of spiritual childhood, the way of trust and absolute surrender.”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“feel that my mission is about to begin, my mission to make God loved as I love Him, to teach souls my little way.”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition

“How often have I thought that I may owe all the graces I’ve received to the prayers of a person who begged them from God for me, and whom I shall only know in heaven.”
― Marc Foley, Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition