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 also felt this attraction, but she resisted it courageously. "True," she said, "these trifles are a species of martyrdom; but we must be careful not to alleviate the pain of the martyrdom by permitting ourselves or securing permission for a thousand and one things which would make the religious life both comfortable and agreeable." Accordingly, she would not only not seek or presume a dispensation from any community exercise, even in her extreme illness, but finally only used such favors when obedience obliged her to do so. Her maxim was: "I can still stand on my feet, and so I must be about my duty." And mine…?

Dear St. Therese, I thank God for the spirit of sacrifice with which He so greatly inflamed you. Alas, how far I am from being inspired with a similar fervor, for I not only let slip countless little crosses, but positively reject them in my blindness and folly. How this must grieve God! Each hour He, in His love, gives me so many opportunities to give up my own views, etc., and I stubbornly refuse. What a loss for God, for souls, and my own joy in eternity! Henceforth I wish to be ever on the alert, I wish to refuse Him nothing. Help me to realize that fidelity to trifles requires just as great, yes, even greater, heroism than the doing of grander things; that the least act of pure love of God is worth more than many a brilliant exterior work done through an inferior motive though it calls forth the praise of men the world over. Obtain for me the strength to hide my suffering from human eyes, lest I lose my hard-earned merit by seeking the consolation of men, like a person who works unto exhaustion and then takes his wages and throws them into the fire. Above all, St. Therese, I desire to fulfil perfectly the duties of my state, to seek no exemption on account of personal sacrifices of inconveniences, but to do my duty "as long as I can stand on my feet," to live as if the perfection of the entire Church depended on my personal conduct. I also recommend to you my special intentions in this Novena…. God will refuse you nothing.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.

Other Novena Prayers on page 46.