! Let me be
that happy victim--consume Thy holocaust with the Fire of Divine
Love!"

Dear Mother, you know the love, or rather the oceans of grace
which flooded my soul immediately after I made that Act of
Oblation on June 9, 1895. From that day I have been penetrated and
surrounded with love. Every moment this Merciful Love renews me
and purifies me, leaving in my soul no trace of sin. I cannot fear
Purgatory; I know I do not merit to enter, even, into that place
of expiation with the Holy Souls, but I also know that the fire of
Love is more sanctifying than the fire of Purgatory. I know that
Jesus could not wish useless suffering for us, and He would not
inspire me with the desires I feel, were He not willing to fulfill
them.
______________________________

[1] Psalm 102[103]:14.

[2] Phil. 4:7.

[3] This letter, the style of which may seem strange to English
ears, is modelled closely on the formal and quaint letters whereby
French parents of the better class announce to their friends the
marriage of their children. Such letters of _"faire-part"_ are
issued in the name of relatives to the third or fourth degree.
[Ed.]

[4] Therese had kept this wish hidden in her heart from the days
of her childhood, and later in life she made the following
confidence: "I was ten the day Papa told Celine that she was to
begin painting lessons. I felt quite envious. Then he turned to me
and said: 'Well, little Queen, would you like to learn painting
too?' I was going to say: 'Yes, indeed I should,' when Marie
remarked that I had not the same taste for it as Celine. She
carried her point, and I said nothing, thinking it was a splendid
opportunity to make a big sacrifice for Our Lord; I was so anxious
to learn, that even now I wonder how I was able to keep silence."

[5] Eccl. 2:11.

[6] Celine entered the Convent on September 14, 1894, and took the
name of Sister Genevieve of St. Teresa.

[7] Spiritual Canticle: Stanzas 18 and 20.

[8] Hymn to the Deity.

[9] Luke 17:21.

[10] Revelation of Our Lord to Bd. Margaret Mary.

[11] Cant. 8:7.

[12] Psalm 103[104]:1.

[13] Luke 15:31.

[14] Cf. Psalm 35[36]:6.

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CHAPTER IX
THE NIGHT OF THE SOUL

Dear Mother, I thought I had written enough, and now you wish for
more details of my religious life. I will not argue, but I cannot
help smiling when I have to tell you things that you know quite as
well as I do. Nevertheless, I will obey