Richard Rohr Quote

Thérèse (of Lisieux) told her sister, Celine, who was upset with her own faults, If you are willing to bear serenely the trial of being displeasing to yourself, then you will be a pleasant place of shelter for Jesus. If you observe yourself, you will see how hard it is to be displeasing to yourself, and that this is the initial emotional snag that sends you into terribly bad moods without even realizing the origins of these moods. So to resolve this common problem, both Francis and Thérèse teach you to let go of the very need to think well of yourself to begin with! That is your ego talking, not God, they would say. Only those who have surrendered their foundational egocentricity can do this, of course. Psychiatrist and writer Scott Peck once told me that Thérèse's quote was sheer religious genius because it made the usual posturing of religion well-nigh impossible.