Thou, Jesu! on this day my earthly bonds hast broken.
In Mary’s Order old, my soul true goods shall find;
And if today: “farewell” my quivering lips have spoken
To those who loved me best, so dear, so true, so kind,
Thou, Lord, wilt be to them far more than I could be;
And Thou wilt deign to win some sinful souls through me.
Jesu! on Carmel I shall dwell –
Thy love has called Thy child to that oasis fair;
There I desire to serve Thee well,
To love Thee there, and then to die,
There! yes, my Jesu, there!
O Jesu! on this day, Thy loe my prayer has granted;
Before Thy altar throne hereafter ’tis my part
Calmly to wait for heaven, – all pain to bear undaunted, –
And, lifting to the rays of Thy white Host my heart,
Within that fire of love all self to burn away,
And, like a seraph blest, to serve Thee night and day.
Ah, Jesu! ’twill be mine to dwell,
One day, with Thee on high, in heaven’s bright mansions fair
There evermore to love Thee well,
To love Thee, and no more to die,
There! yes, my Jesu, there!
–Saint Teresa of Lisieux
15 August 1895
translated by S L Emery