IN my soul's intercourse with Jesus--nothing . . . dryness! sleep! Since my Beloved wills to sleep I shall not hinder Him; I am too happy in seeing that He does not treat me like a stranger, that He is not constrained with me. He pierces His little ball through and through with pin-pricks sore indeed . . . When it is this tender Friend who Himself pierces His ball, the pain is naught but sweetness--so gentle is His Hand. How different when creatures pierce it! Yet I am happy, yes, truly happy to suffer. If Jesus does not Himself directly pierce His little ball, it is certainly He who guides the hand that wounds! II LETTER TO MÈRE AGNÈS DE JÉSUS YES, I desire them, those heart-thrusts, those pin-pricks that give so much pain . . . Sacrifice I prefer to all ecstacies: therein lies happiness for me, I find it nowhere else. _The little reed_ has no fear of breaking, for it is planted on the shore of the waters of Love; and so, when it bends, that beneficent wave invigorates it, and makes it long for another storm to come and bow down its head anew. My weakness it is, that makes my whole strength. Whatever happens I cannot get broken; I see only the gentle hand of Jesus. To win the palm no suffering is too great. III LETTER TO MÈRE AGNÈS DE JÉSUS THE drop of gall must be mingled in every cup, but I find that trials greatly help to detach us from earth; they make us look higher than this world. Nothing here below can satisfy us; we can enjoy a little repose only by being ready to do God's Will. I LETTER TO MÈRE AGNÈS DE JÉSUS MY soul has known many kinds of trials, greatly have I suffered here on earth. In my childhood I suffered with sadness; now, it is with peace and joy that I taste of all the bitter fruits. HIST. D'UNE AME, CH. IX SUFFERING united to love is the only thing that appears to me desirable in this vale of tears. IX LETTER TO HER MISSIONARY "BROTHERS" WHEN we are expecting only suffering the least joy surprises us: suffering itself becomes the greatest of joys when we seek it as a precious treasure. HIST. D'UNE AME, CH. IX THERE are people who take everything in the way that gives them the most pain; with me it is the reverse; I see always the good side of things. If I have naught but pure suffering, without any break, well! I make of it my joy. COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES JOY is not in the things that surround us, it resides in the interior of the soul. One may possess it in the depths of a gloomy prison, as well as in a royal palace. Thus am I happier in Carmel, even in the midst of interior and exterior trials, than in the world, where nothing was wanting to me. HIST. D'UNE AME, CH. VI