Page:Thoughts of the servant of God, Thérèse of the Child Jesus; the Little flower of Jesus, Carmelite of the monastery of Lisieux, 1873-1897 (IA thoughtsofservan00thrs).pdf/49

 please me least. I ought to fulfil in their regard the office of the Good Samaritan. A word, a kindly smile, will often suffice to gladden a wounded and sorrowful heart.

Oh! what peace inundates the soul when she rises above natural sentiment. No joy can compare with that known to one who is truly poor in spirit. If he ask with detachment for some necessary thing, and it is not only refused him, but an attempt made besides to deprive him of what he already has, he follows the counsel of our Lord: "And if a man will contend with thee in judgment and take away thy coat, let go thy cloak also unto him."

To yield up our cloak means, I think, to renounce our last rights, to consider oneself as the servant, the slave of others. When we have abandoned our mantle it is easier to walk, to run; therefore Jesus adds: "And whosoever will force thee one mile, go with him other two."