St. Therese of Lisieux

"The loveliest masterpiece of the heart of God is the heart of a mother."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"Perfect love means putting up with other people’s shortcomings, feeling no surprise at their weaknesses, finding encouragement even in the slightest evidence of good qualities in them."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"It is true that Love knows no such word as ‘impossible,’ for it deems ‘all things possible, all things allowed.’"

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"Jesus, it seems to me you could not have overwhelmed a soul with more love than you have poured out on mine."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"Even if the fire of love seemed to have gone out, I would keep on throwing fuel in it and Jesus would take care to light it up again."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"When one loves, one does not calculate."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"Trust and trust alone should lead us to love."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"Love proves itself by deeds, so how am I to show my love? Great deeds are forbidden me. The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, or even at their difficulty, as at the love with which we do them."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"What matters in life is not great deeds, but great love."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"Love can supply for length of years. Jesus, because He is eternal, regards not the time but only love."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"Oh Jesus, how little known is the merciful love or your heart!"

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"There is one ONLY THING to do here below: to love Jesus, to win souls for Him so that He may be loved. Let us seize with jealous care every least opportunity of self-sacrifice. Let us refuse Him nothing — He does so want our love!"

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"I can nourish myself on nothing but truth"

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"True charity consists in bearing all our neighbour’s defects – not being surprised at their weakness, but edified at their smallest virtues."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"A word or a smile is often enough to put fresh life in a despondent soul."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"I understood that every flower created by Him is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would lose its loveliness. And so it is in the world of souls, where each one has its own mission and is different from the others in its qualities and sanctity."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"God gives me courage in proportion to my sufferings. I feel at this moment I couldn’t suffer any more, but I’m not afraid, since if they increase, He will increase my courage at the same time."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"We must abandon the future into the hands of God."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"Time is but a shadow, a dream; already God sees us in glory and takes joy in our eternal beatitude. How this thought helps my soul! I understand then why He lets us suffer."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"We can never have too much confidence in the good God… As we hope in Him so shall we receive."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"Jesus points out to me the only way which leads to Love’s furnace – that way is self-surrender – it is the confidence of the little child who sleeps without fear in its father’s arms."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"The good God does not need years to accomplish His work of love in a soul; one ray from His Heart can, in an instant, make His flower bloom for eternity…"

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"My whole strength lies in prayer and sacrifice; these are my invincible arms; they can move hearts far better than words."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"A soul in a state of grace has nothing to fear of demons who are cowards."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"Everything is a grace, everything is the direct effect of our Father's love. Difficulties, contradictions, humiliations, all the souls misunderstandings, sufferings, everything, is a grace."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"The good God would not inspire unattainable desires."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"O Jesus, it is true that I am not always faithful, but I never become discouraged, I cast myself into Your arms, and like a little dewdrop, I sink deeper and deeper into Your chalice, O divine Flower of the field, and there I find all I have lost and much more besides."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"The good God does not need years to accomplish His work of love in a soul; one ray from His heart can, in an instant, make His flower bloom for eternity."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"O my God, you have surpassed all my expectations."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"We love Him when we want to love Him, and when we keep trying in spite of our failures."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"If every flower wanted to be a rose, nature would lose her springtime beauty."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"The splendour of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of its scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"Prayer is a surge of the heart, it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"For me, prayer is an upward leap of the heart, an untroubled glance towards heaven, a cry of gratitude and love which I utter from the depths of sorrow as well as from the heights of joy."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"For me, prayer is an aspiration of the heart, it is a simple glance directed to heaven, it is a cry of gratitude and love in the midst of trial as well as joy; finally it is something great, supernatural, which expands my soul and unites me to Jesus."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"I am convinced that one should tell one's spiritual director if one has a great desire for Communion, for Our Lord does not come from Heaven every day to stay in a golden ciborium; He comes to find another heaven, the heaven of our soul in which He loves to dwell."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"Prayer is an aspiration of the heart. It is a simple glance directed to heaven. It is a cry of gratitude and love in the midst of trial as well as joy."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

"Sometimes, when I’m in such a state of spiritual dryness that I can’t find a single thought in my mind which will bring me close to God, I say an Our Father and a Hail Mary very slowly indeed. How they take me out of myself then; what solid satisfaction they give me then! Much more than if I’d hurried through them a hundred times over."

- St. Therese of Lisieux