Listen to a small, very funny story: Once after my little cloud, Sister of St. Vincent de Paul saw me with our mother and exclaimed, “Oh, what a prosperous face! How strong this big girl is! How chubby she is!” I walked away very humbled by that compliment. Then Sister Magdalena stopped me before the kitchen and said to me, “But what is wrong with you, my poor little sister Therese of the Child Jesus! Clearly you are losing weight! If you continue with that face, which raises concerns, you won’t live long in the convent!”
I couldn't recover from hearing such contradictory evaluations right behind my back! From that moment on, I no longer attached any importance to the opinions of creatures, and this impression developed in me so much that nowadays both reprimands and compliments slide off me without leaving the slightest trace.
(Therese of the Child Jesus, Last Conversations, July 25, 1897)
