THE SCIENCE OF LOVE  
A Study in the Teachings of Therese of Lisieux
by John C. H. Wu

7. God as a Lover

I sometimes think of God as a Lover who knows how to tease. For it frequently happens that if you want a thing, He will purposely hold it back from you, and if you do not want a thing, He will purposely give it to you. Like all true lovers, He wants to know whether your love for Him is genuine and pure. But unlike other lovers, He can never be deceived by any insincere manifestations of love. The slightest intention of self-seeking will estrange Him. If He really seeks you out, He will send trial after trial until you are completely emancipated from all earthly ties and worldly desires.

But Therese was such a teachable child that for her a whispered hint was enough where for others God would have had to send thunderous warnings, if not hailstorms. She turned every little experience of her brief life to good account. Her mind was like an extremely sensitive film that records the slightest movement of grace. No lesson was lost on her. She was so thoroughly saturated with the Holy Spirit that everything became for her a parable of the Truth and a symbol of Love. In twenty-four years she learned more about God than mankind has been able to do in twenty centuries. Indeed, as she says, "Love can take the place of a long life."[24]

"It seems to me that the good God has no need of years to accomplish His work of love in a soul; one ray from His Heart can, in an instant, cause His flower to blossom for eternity."[25]

How many of us, for instance, have been emancipated from the dominion of that hydra-headed monster called Public Opinion? But little Therese killed the monster at the very first encounter when she was sixteen. Here is what a Sister records about her:

It often happened that painful remedies had to be applied to her side, and one day, having suffered from them more than usual, she was resting in her cell during recreation, when she overheard a Sister in the kitchen saying: "Soeur Therese will not live long, and really I wonder sometimes what our Mother Prioress will find to say about her when she dies. She will be greatly puzzled, for though the little Sister is very good she has certainly never done anything worth speaking about."

The infirmarian, who had also overheard what was said, turned to the Saint and remarked: "If you relied on the opinion of creatures you would certainly be disillusioned to-day."

"The opinion of creatures!" she replied "happily God has given me the grace to be absolutely indifferent to it. Let me tell you something that showed me once and for all how much it is worth. A few days after my clothing I went to our Mother's room. 'Mother', remarked a lay-sister who happened to be there, 'this novice certainly does you credit. How well she looks! I hope she may long be able to observe the Rule.'

I was feeling really pleased at the compliment when another Sister came in, and looking at me, said: 'Poor Soeur Therese, how very tired you look, you quite alarm me. If you continue like this I am afraid you will not be able to keep the Rule very long.' I was then only sixteen, but the incident made such an impression on me, that I never again set store on the variable opinion of creatures."[26]

Confucius once said, "He who feels no irritation when others misunderstand him,--is he not a gentleman?"[27] But this is easier said than done. Only when one is completely attached to God can one achieve a complete detachment from the world and from one's self. Little Therese, whose great passion was the love of God, could afford to disregard all other things. All her virtues are streamlets flowing from one living Fountain. Happy soul who could say, "Our Lord's will fills my heart to the brim, and if anything else be added it cannot penetrate to any depth, but, like oil on the surface of limpid waters, glides easily across. If my heart were not already brimming over, if it needed to be filled by the feelings of joy and sadness that follow each other so rapidly, then indeed it would be flooded by bitter sorrow; but these quick-succeeding changes scarcely ruffle the surface of my soul, and in its depths there reigns a peace that nothing can disturb."[28]

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