Day 42 of 80

Nothing Worth Speaking About

Chapter XII·Manuscript C·Littleness & Humility
Context
A sister said Thérèse had 'never done anything worth speaking about.' Within a few years, her autobiography would transform millions of lives and she would be declared a Doctor of the Church. The hiddenness was not failure — it was the Little Way working exactly as designed.

One day, when she had suffered more than usual, she was resting in her cell during recreation, and overheard a Sister in the kitchen speaking of her thus: "Soeur Thérèse will not live long, and really sometimes I wonder what our Mother Prioress will find to say about her when she dies. She will be sorely puzzled, for this little Sister, amiable as she is, has certainly never done anything worth speaking about."

The Infirmarian turned to Thérèse and said: "If you relied upon the opinion of creatures you would indeed be disillusioned today." "The opinion of creatures!" she replied; "happily God has given me the grace to be absolutely indifferent to that."

St. Thérèse of Lisieux — Story of a Soul, Chapter XII (Manuscript C). Taylor translation, 1912 (public domain).
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