“God gave me the consolation of contemplating at close range the souls of little children. A poor woman [died when still very young] and left three very little children; during the woman’s illness, we took care of the two little girls; the older one was not yet six.
“I spent the whole day with them, and it was a great pleasure for me to see with what simplicity they believed everything I said. Holy baptism must implant a very deep seed of the theological virtues in souls since from childhood these virtues are already evident…
“Seeing innocent souls at such close range, I understood what a misfortune it was when they were not formed in their early years, when they are soft as wax upon which one can imprint either virtue or vice. Ah! How many souls would have reached sanctity had they been well directed!”
–from Story of a Soul
by St. Thérèse of Lisieux (the Study Edition)
by St. Thérèse of Lisieux (the Study Edition)
Nothing we do as mothers is insignificant.
Nothing.
Have a beautiful Friday! Happy feast of St. Thomas Aquinas!
So true. And we have to be careful not to antagonize…one of my biggest faults.
I love the photo. Lumpy LOVES the Noah's Ark toy!
Beautiful.
It's easier to see in our babies, much harder to see in our older ones.
They are the ones I constantlly need to pray for and about, for me and how I am with them.
My husband's favorite saint is Terese. This quote is a wonderful inspiration for me, as I am expecting my first in May. It also deeply saddens me – I was not raised Catholic (I converted when I was 22) and if I think of myself at your son's age, I shudder at what I heard and saw.
I love your blog. I just found you a month ago, but I am a daily reader.
When I hold my littlest boy I marvel at what Mary felt holding and loving her God the way she did. A mother's love is so intense. Imagine a mother's love wrapped up with love for God by a perfect soul. Just thinking along these lines blows my mind.