Praying brings Therese into communion with her mother, her father and her sisters. For part of her experience in prayer is condltíoned by the presence of beloved persons: the presence of human love is a sort of token for the hidden presence of God. How otherwise can a child be trained in prayer, in realizing the hidden presence, except by the sacrament of visible, tangible love? Therese is taken into their prayer and nestles there.
There is a way to smile through your eyes: to see the beauty behind the appearance of things.Imagine looking at a person who is forlorn and broken and has a bad self-image, and seeing the hidden beauty in that person.When you smile, that person sees their beauty through your eyes.Imagine the gift you are offering that person... A silent, gentle gift of love.