A beloved child! Saint Thérèse knows she is loved by God. Since childhood, she has divined the height, the depth, the grandeur of divine love by looking at the tireless tenderness of her father, Louis Martin. Saint Thérèse knows for certain that she is loved by God whether she is sleeping or awake, whether she gets up after a fall or by grace is preserved from falling. Sure of God’s goodness, SaintThérèse reads all the events of her life as gifts of divine love.The great joys and the difficult trials: she receives themalike from the hands of theHeavenly Father, certain that he loves her, that he takes care of her, that he takes care of everything. God is Father, he loves us as we freely and unconditionally cherish little children: this is the certainty that allows Saint Thérèse to go through life. Louis affectionately called her his little queen. And for SaintThérèse this is quite natural: She is the beloved queen of her Heavenly Father, and she dares to ask for everything, to hope for everything! She is not a saint, she asserts, no, no… she is merely a child who knows she is loved! Psalm 131 O Lord, my heart is not proud nor haughty my eyes. I have not gone after things too great nor marvels beyond me. Truly I have set my soul in silence and peace. As a child has rest in its mother’s arms, even so my soul. O Israel, hope in the Lord both now and for ever. 7
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