"What joy for those whose strength comes from the LORD." Psalm 84:5 (NLT)

Meditation: "Happy is the one who leans on me. She has in her heart a ladder by which she can climb to heaven... I am not saying that you have to separate yourself completely from creatures... but regard them as rungs on a ladder. To climb spiritually, you have to depend on them somewhat for support and only cling to me."^†

"When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings." Psalm 84:6 (NLT)

Meditation: "Jesus wanted me to taste joy as perfect as it is possible in this valley of tears... but perfect happiness is not found in the valley of tears."

"It is you (Jesus) who remains in the valley of tears, hidden under the appearance of a white host." (In the Eucharist)

"To the contrary, suffering is the only thing that appears to me to be desirable in the valley of tears...  I often wonder how it will ever be possible for me to be happy without suffering. Jesus without a doubt will reward me in heaven, otherwise I would regret suffering and the valley of tears." (Jesus preached the redemptive value of suffering. Gold and silver are purified in the fire.)

"In order to endure the exile of the valley of tears, I need to see my Savior's face." (Thérèse had a picture of the face of the suffering Lord in her room)

"Ah! if the God of love in the valley of tears

Had not come looking for betrayal, death

Suffering for us would have had no appeal

Now we love it, it is our treasure."^†

"A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else!" Psalm 84:10 (NLT)

Meditation: "When my incomparable father proposed to take me to Jerusalem if I would delay my entry (into the Carmelite order)  by two or three months, I did not hesitate. I understood that truly one day spent in the house of the Lord is worth more than a thousand anywhere else."^†

A note from John:

1 day in our time = 1,000 years in God's time. That means that the average person is here on earth about 2 1/2 hours in God's time. And I'm sure at the end of my life God will say that I whined almost the entire 2 1/2 hours! :)

^†de Lisieux, St. Thérèse. La Bible avec Thérèse de Lisieux. Paris, France: Les Éditions du Cerf et Desclée De Brouwer, 1979. 78-79. Print. Trans. John P. Gross.

Copyright © 2010 by John P. Gross. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this material must be done in its entirety with the copyright notice intact. This book is not for sale, but is offered to the public free of charge in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary and for the glory of God.