December 1:
When an angel from Heaven bids you be the Mother
of the God who is to reign for all eternity,
I see you prefer, O Mary, what a mystery!The ineffable treasure of virginity.
O immaculate Virgin, I understand how your soulIs dearer to the Lord than his heavenly dwellling.I understand how your soul, Humble and Sweet Valley,
Can contain Jesus, the Ocean of Love!...
from "Why I Love You, O Mary!" in The Poetry of Saint Therese of Lisieux, tr. Donald Kinney, O.C.D. Washington, D.C.: ICS Publications, 1995, p. 215.