Day 8 of 80

The Land of Fog

Chapter IX·Manuscript C·Darkness & Faith
Context
Thérèse wrote this during her eighteen-month trial of faith — a darkness so profound that the thought of heaven became a source of torment rather than comfort. She used this allegory to describe what it felt like to lose the felt sense of God's presence.

Let me suppose that I had been born in a land of thick fogs, and had never seen the beauties of nature, or a single ray of sunshine, although I had heard of these wonders from my early youth, and knew that the country wherein I dwelt was not my real home — there was another land, unto which I should always look forward. Now this is not a fable, invented by an inhabitant of the land of fogs, it is the solemn truth, for the King of that sunlit country dwelt for three and thirty years in the land of darkness, and alas! — the darkness did not understand that He was the Light of the World.

But, dear Lord, Thy child has understood Thou art the Light Divine; she asks Thy pardon for her unbelieving brethren, and is willing to eat the bread of sorrow as long as Thou mayest wish. For love of Thee she will sit at that table of bitterness where these poor sinners take their food, and she will not stir from it until Thou givest the sign.

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