Quote of the day, 10 January: Céline Martin

At the beginning of her journey to Rome, [Thérèse] entrusted her purity to Saint Joseph, and nothing ever disturbed it, despite all that we encountered in museums and elsewhere. She once told me that as a child she had been ashamed of her body (cf. Last Conversations), and that the one thing that consoled her in having one was knowing that Jesus Himself had chosen to take a body like ours.

From Carmel, she wrote me many letters praising the beautiful virtue of purity. She often spoke of the “white lily,” which symbolized virginity, and contrasted its spotless beauty with the “yellow lily” (cf. Letters, LT 57), which in our everyday language represented marriage.

When all my sisters had entered religious life, and I remained alone in the world with our father, she showed a deeply maternal concern for my soul and suffered greatly, knowing that I now faced dangers she herself had never known. At that time, simple social expectations required me to take part, at least occasionally, in the life of the world around me.

She was always worried about me, but especially one day when she learned that I was expected to attend an evening gathering where there would be dancing. She later told me that she wept as she had never wept before, and asked that I be called to the parlor so she could speak to me and give her advice.

When I thought she was overreacting—after all, it didn’t seem realistic to refuse every social expectation—she became indignant and said to me firmly: “You, the spouse of Jesus (I had made a vow of chastity), do you really wish to compromise with the world by giving yourself over to dangerous pleasures?” (cf. Conseils et Souvenirs).

I was stunned and conquered [by her reasoning]. I resolved to follow her advice and remained faithful to it, though it cost me many sacrifices.

The Servant of God cherished holy purity so deeply that at her clothing, when she was given a reliquary to wear from that day forward, she chose only relics of virgins, setting aside all others—even relics of saints she loved dearly. She herself pointed this out to me as she showed me her reliquary. She also confided to me one day that she had never experienced temptations against chastity.

Geneviève of St. Teresa, o.c.d. (Céline Martin)

Ordinary Process, Response to the twenty-first question

Note: On 10 January 1889, St. Thérèse was clothed in the holy habit of Carmel. Concerning that day, she wrote: “The wait had been long, but what a beautiful celebration it was! Nothing was missing, not even the snow!”

We always refer to the website of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux for the vast majority of our quotes concerning Saint Thérèse, Saint Zélie, and Saint Louis Martin. If you would like to purchase English translations for the collected works of St. Thérèse, please visit the website of our Discalced Carmelite friars at ICS Publications. 

Featured image: The lilium longiflorum is also known as the Easter lily. Image credit: Golden Age Photos / Adobe Stock (Stock photo)

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