Source for Quotation

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butasforme

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Can you please help me find a source for this quotation? I have “found” it via Google under Mother Theresa, St. Therese, and St.Teresa, but, shooting from the hip, Therese seems most plausible?? If you know where it comes from, please let me know. The name of the text, letter, etc. would be ideal. Thanks!

“May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.”
 
The Mother Theresa of Calcutta Center (an organization created by the Missionaries of Charity) actually lists this on a page titled, “Quotes Falsely Attributed to Mother Theresa,” as you can see in this link.

Unfortunately, the actual source for this quote is not listed.

As a side note, I think it is pretty cool that my brother (who lives on the other side of the country) and I responded to this same thread almost simultaneously, posting the exact same link.
 
Ok, I just found this with a little Google detective work…

According to this article from the National Catholic Register, Keepin the Faith Amid Suffering, the quote is from St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Unfortunately, the exact source concerning St. Thérèse’s works is not mentioned.
 
EricFilmer said:
According to this article from the National Catholic Register, Keepin the Faith Amid Suffering, the quote is from St. Thérèse of Lisieux.
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That article is an interview with a rape victim who said she read that quote in “a book” - she did not identify it as a book by St. Thérèse. The author of that book could have also been mistaken about the source of the text (as there is great confusion about authorship - which, in itself, strongly suggests that the work cannot be legitimately attributed to an actual Catholic Saint).

My Carmelite wife of 20 years (OCDS - and Eric’s sister-in-law) is quite certain that this is not the work of St. Thérèse - she came to this conclusion before finishing the second sentence, as the text is completely out of character. St. Thérèse never wrote anything with the intent that it be published or circulated - the only writings we have are her private diaries and letters, which were gathered and published after her death. She certainly did not write “inspirational messages” such as this.
 
DavidFilmer said:
That article is an interview with a rape victim who said she read that quote in “a book” - she did not identify it as a book by St. Thérèse. The author of that book could have also been mistaken about the source of the text (as there is great confusion about authorship - which, in itself, strongly suggests that the work cannot be legitimately attributed to an actual Catholic Saint).
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Good point. I have since found a handful of devotional websites that credit St. Thérèse with this quote, but none of these are official Carmelite websites, and none of them state the exact source of the quotation. Out of curiosity, I went through Servant Publications’ Mornings with St. Thérèse of Lisieux which contains 120 daily devotional readings either written by or about St. Thérèse. The quote in question is not there. Had she actually written it, then its absence in this book is, IMO, a strange oversight. After all, the quote we are examining is just the sort of thing that would be selected for a book designed to provide inspirational, daily meditations.

All this, of course, leads me to believe that the quote is erroneously attributed to St. Thérèse, just as it has been erroneously attributed to Mother Theresa. It is an intriguing mystery, though, so maybe someone else can shed more light on this in this thread.
 
EricFilmer said:
I have since found a handful of devotional websites that credit St. Thérèse with this quote, but none of these are official Carmelite websites, and none of them state the exact source of the quotation.
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The site which we both cited, which disavows Mother Theresa as the source of this (and many other) quotes, does cite the source of those other quotes when the source is known - and most of these sources I had never heard of. Oddly enough, they do not cite
Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius.
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It is from William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. I only remember this because it is such a peculiar statement.
 
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