Today is the commemoration for St. Therese of the Child Jesus of the Holy Face, also known as Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church. From The Story of a Soul, Chapter 1:
For a long time I wondered why God showed partiality, why all souls don't receive the same amount of graces....
Jesus consented to teach me this mystery. He placed before my eyes the book of nature; I understood that all the flowers that he created are beautiful. The brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily don't take away the perfume of the lowly violet or the delightful simplicity of the daisy.... I understood that if all the little flowers wanted to be roses, nature would lose its springtime adornment, and the fields would not longer be sprinkled with little flowers....
So it is in the world of souls, which is Jesus' garden. He wanted to create great saints who would be compared to lilies and roses. But He also created little ones, and these ought to be content to be daisies or violets destined to gladden God's eyes when He looks down at His feet. Perfection consists in doing His will, in being what He wants us to be....
I understood that Our Lord's love is revealed as well in the simplest soul who doesn't resist His grace in anything, as in the most sublime of souls....
[St. Therese of Lisieux, The Story of a Soul, Robert J. Edmonson, tr., Paraclete Press (Brewster, MA: 2006), pp. 2-3.]
