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Ulf Brefeld Jesse Davis Jan Van Haaren Albrecht Zimmermann (Eds.)

Communications in Computer and Information Science

Machine Learning and Data Mining for Sports Analytics 9th International Workshop, MLSA 2022 Grenoble, France, September 19, 2022 Revised Selected Papers

1783

Communications in Computer and Information Science Editorial Board Members Joaquim Filipe , Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, Setúbal, Portugal Ashish Ghosh , Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, India Raquel Oliveira Prates , Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil Lizhu Zhou, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

1783

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Ulf Brefeld · Jesse Davis · Jan Van Haaren · Albrecht Zimmermann Editors

Machine Learning and Data Mining for Sports Analytics 9th International Workshop, MLSA 2022 Grenoble, France, September 19, 2022 Revised Selected Papers

Editors Ulf Brefeld Leuphana University of Lüneburg Lüneburg, Germany

Jesse Davis KU Leuven Leuven, Belgium

Jan Van Haaren KU Leuven Leuven, Belgium

Albrecht Zimmermann University of Caen Normandy Caen, France

ISSN 1865-0929 ISSN 1865-0937 (electronic) Communications in Computer and Information Science ISBN 978-3-031-27526-5 ISBN 978-3-031-27527-2 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27527-2 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.

The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

Preface

The Machine Learning and Data Mining for Sports Analytics workshop aimed to bring together a diverse set of researchers working on Sports Analytics in a broad sense. In particular, it aimed to attract interest from researchers working on sports from outside of machine learning and data mining. The 9th edition of the workshop was co-located with the European Conference on Machine Learning and Principles and Practice of Knowledge Discovery 2022.

Sports Analytics has been a steadily growing and rapidly evolving area over the last decade, both in US professional sports leagues and in European football leagues. The recent implementation of strict financial fair-play regulations in European football will definitely increase the importance of Sports Analytics in the coming years. In addition, there is the popularity of sports betting. The developed techniques are being used for decision support in all aspects of professional sports, including but not limited to: – Match strategy, tactics, and analysis – Player acquisition, player valuation, and team spending – Training regimens and focus – Injury prediction and prevention – Performance management and prediction – Match outcome and league table prediction – Tournament design and scheduling – Betting odds calculation The interest in the topic has grown so much that there is now an annual conference on Sports Analytics at the MIT Sloan School of Management, which has been attended by representatives from over 70 professional sports teams in eminent leagues such as Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Football League, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, English Premier League, and the German Bundesliga. Furthermore, sports data providers such as Statsbomb, Stats Perform, and Wyscout have started making performance data publicly available to stimulate researchers who have the skills and vision to make a difference in the sports analytics community. Moreover, the National Football League has been sponsoring a Big Data Bowl where they release data and a concrete question to try to engage the analytics community.

There has been growing interest in the Machine Learning and Data Mining community about this topic, and the 2022 edition of MLSA built on the success of prior editions at ECML PKDD 2013 and ECML PKDD 2015 – ECML/PKDD 2021.

Both the community’s on-going interest in submitting to and participating in the MLSA workshop series, and the fact that you are reading the fourth volume of MLSA proceedings show that our workshop has become a vital venue for publishing and presenting sports analytics results. In fact, as participants, many of whom had submitted before, expressed during the workshop itself, venues for presenting machine learning

vi

Preface

and data mining-based sports analytics work remain rare, motivating us to continue to organize the workshop in future years.

In 2022, the workshop received 18 submissions of which 11 were selected after a single-blind reviewing process involving at least three program committee members per paper. One of the accepted papers was withdrawn from publication in the proceedings; a second one was an extended abstract based on a journal publication. In terms of the sports represented, 2022 saw a return to prior years with soccer making up the majority of submissions, and a slight majority of accepted papers. Topics included tactical analysis, outcome predictions, data acquisition, performance optimization, and player evaluation.

The workshop featured an invited presentation by Stephanie Kovalchik from Zelus Analytics on “Model-based methods for high-performance analysis in sports”: The how of what makes great athletes great is one of the major topics of sports analytics research. Value attribution is a fundamental tool for quantifying the specific actions and skills that improve outcomes in sport. With the growth in spatial temporal data in high-performance sport, methods for value attribution are becoming increasingly granular and sophisticated. In this talk, I will review several common types of model-based methods for value attribution and present applications in multiple pro sports.

Further information about the workshop can be found on the workshop’s website at https://dtai.cs.kuleuven.be/events/MLSA22/.

October 2022

Ulf Brefeld Jesse Davis Jan Van Haaren Albrecht Zimmermann

Organization

Workshop Co-chairs Ulf Brefeld Jesse Davis Jan Van Haaren Albrecht Zimmermann

Leuphana University, Lüneburg, Germany KU Leuven, Belgium Club Brugge, Belgium & KU Leuven, Belgium Université de Caen Normandie, France

Program Committee Michael Alcorn Gennady Andrienko Swarup Ranjan Behera Harish S. Bhat Lotte Bransen Paolo Cintia Arie-Willem de Leeuw Tom Decroos Wouter Duivesteijn Martin Eastwood Clément Gautrais Kilian Hendrickx Mehdi Kaytoue Leonid Kholkine Stephanie Kovalchik Patrick Lambrix Jan Lasek Laurentius Meerhoff Wannes Meert Luca Pappalardo Konstantinos Pelechrinis

Auburn University, USA Fraunhofer, Germany Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, India University of California, USA SciSports, The Netherlands University of Pisa, Italy Universiteit Leiden, Belgium Meta, USA Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands www.pena.lt/y, UK Brightclue, France KU Leuven/Siemens Digital Industries Software, Belgium Infologic, France University of Antwerp, Belgium Zelus Analytics, USA Linköping University, Sweden Systems Research Institute, Poland Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science, The Netherlands KU Leuven, Belgium University of Pisa, Italy University of Pittsburgh, USA

viii

Organization

François Rioult Pieter Robberechts Maaike Van Roy

GREYC CNRS UMR6072 - Université de Caen Normandie, France KU Leuven, Belgium KU Leuven, Belgium

Contents

Football Towards Expected Counter - Using Comprehensible Features to Predict Counterattacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Henrik Biermann, Franz-Georg Wieland, Jens Timmer, Daniel Memmert, and Ashwin Phatak Shot Analysis in Different Levels of German Football Using Expected Goals . . .

Laurynas Raudonius and Thomas Seidl Analyzing Passing Sequences for the Prediction of Goal-Scoring Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Conor McCarthy, Panagiotis Tampakis, Marco Chiarandini, Morten Bredsgaard Randers, Stefan Jänicke, and Arthur Zimek Let’s Penetrate the Defense: A Machine Learning Model for Prediction and Valuation of Penetrative Passes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Pegah Rahimian, Dayana Grayce da Silva Guerra Gomes, Fanni Berkovics, and Laszlo Toka Evaluation of Creating Scoring Opportunities for Teammates in Soccer via Trajectory Prediction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Masakiyo Teranishi, Kazushi Tsutsui, Kazuya Takeda, and Keisuke Fujii Cost-Efficient and Bias-Robust Sports Player Tracking by Integrating GPS and Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hyunsung Kim, Chang Jo Kim, Minchul Jeong, Jaechan Lee, Jinsung Yoon, and Sang-Ki Ko

3

14

27

41

53

74

Racket Sports Predicting Tennis Serve Directions with Machine Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ying Zhu and Ruthuparna Naikar

89

Discovering and Visualizing Tactics in a Table Tennis Game Based on Subgroup Discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Pierre Duluard, Xinqing Li, Marc Plantevit, Céline Robardet, and Romain Vuillemot

x

Contents

Cycling Athlete Monitoring in Professional Road Cycling Using Similarity Search on Time Series Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Arie-Willem de Leeuw, Tobias Oberkofler, Mathieu Heijboer, and Arno Knobbe Author Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Football

Towards Expected Counter - Using Comprehensible Features to Predict Counterattacks Henrik Biermann1(B) , Franz-Georg Wieland2,3 , Jens Timmer2,3,4 , Daniel Memmert1 , and Ashwin Phatak1 1

Institute of Exercise Training and Sport Informatics, German Sport University of Cologne, Cologne 50933, Germany h.biermann@dshs-koeln.de 2 Institute of Physics, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany 3 Freiburg Center for Data Analysis and Modelling (FDM), University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany 4 Germany Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling Studies (CIBSS), University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

Abstract. Soccer is a low-scoring game where one goal can make the difference. Thus, counterattacks have been recognized by modern strategy as an effective way to create scoring opportunities from a position of stable defense. This coincidentally requires teams on offense to be mindful of taking risks, i.e. losing the ball. To assess these risks, it is crucial to understand the involved mechanisms that turn ball losses into counterattacks. However, while the soccer analytics community has made progress predicting outcomes of single actions (shots or passes) [1, 2] up to entire matches [15], individual sequences like counterattacks have not been predicted with comparable success. In this paper, we give reasons for this and create a framework that allows understanding complex sequences through comprehensible features. We apply this framework to predict counterattacks before they happen. Therefore, we find turnovers in soccer matches and create transparent counterattack labels from spatiotemporal data. Subsequently, we construct comprehensible features from sportspecific assumptions and assess their influence on counterattacks. Finally, we use these features to create a simple binary logistic regression model that predicts counterattacks. Our results show that players behind the ball are the most important predictive factors. We find that if a team loses the ball in the center and more than two players are not behind the ball, they concede a counterattack in almost 30% of cases. This stresses the importance to avoid ball losses in build-up play. In the future, we plan to extend this approach to generate more differentiated insights.

Keywords: Soccer analytics · Spatiotemporal data · Event data · Interpretable features

c The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023

U. Brefeld et al. (Eds.): MLSA 2022, CCIS 1783, pp. 3–13, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27527-2_1

4

1

H. Biermann et al.

Introduction

As part of a universal language to describe soccer, the so-called moments of play have been introduced. This concept presents a way to organize the sometimes chaotic developments during matches into five phases: The two attacking phases for each team (where the other team defends), two transition phases between these attacking phases, and set pieces [8].

In performance analysis the transition phases have recently gained attention [13]. Counterattacks, i.e. fast attacks after winning the ball from the opposition have been determined as an important factor for goal scoring and chance creation [10,14]. Thus, it is essential for a team’s success to investigate potentially dangerous situations for counterattacks. However, existing work rather deals with single actions like passes [1,16] or shots [2] or long-term prediction, i.e. match [15] or competition [7] outcomes. In the mid-term, predictive studies are rare and usually use large feature sets and machine learning which makes it difficult to translate the results into sport-specific insights. Thus, there is a lack of interpretable models that can help to understand the mechanisms involved.

Thus, this study aims to predict counterattacks through comprehensible features. To achieve this, the study proposes a general framework for analyzing complex sequences by building comprehensible features (Sect. 2). It also describes methodological steps by finding turnovers and defining counterattacks (Sect. 3).

In Sect. 4 we build comprehensible features and assess their importance for counterattack success, before combining these features into a predictive model in Sect. 5. Section 6 concludes with a summary of our findings and an outlook on future research topics.

2

Framework for Understanding Complex Sequences

Soccer matches are difficult to predict due to the high number of degrees of freedom and lack of structure compared to other sports [11]. Prediction approaches are either done on very small or very large time scales. Short-term approaches aim to predict the outcome of a single event, e.g. expected goals model the success (goal) probability of a given shot [3] and expected passes model the completion probability of a pass [1]. The advantage of such approaches is that it is performed in an enclosed environment (e.g. a particular shot) with a small number of possible outcomes (e.g. goal yes/no). Long-term approaches forecast the outcome of a match [15] or an entire season/tournament [7]. These techniques benefit from compounding the aggregated complexity of individual processes into a small number of outcomes e.g. of the final score or outcome of a match.

Analysis on an intermediate time scale, however, is less frequently approached. This is mainly due to three reasons. (i) Defining clearly defined sequences is difficult. While many colloquial terms like attacking sequence, pressing moment, and counterattack exist, their translation into precise, rule-based definitions is non-trivial. (ii) Even when these situations are characterized, their meaning, importance, and impact in the broader context of the game are not

Using Comprehensible Features to Predict Counterattacks

5

quantified. Thus, defining success criteria is difficult as objectives vary, e.g. dependent on playing style or game situation. (iii) Lastly, even if both the sequence and the success criteria are clearly defined, individual sequences comprise a variety of individual (concrete and possible) inherently complex actions.

Fernandez et al. [6] have tackled this problem by developing a framework that estimates the value of a possession at any time using conditional probability and the expected outcome of different possible actions. Their general model can be used to evaluate actions during a sequence, however, it requires exact models for individual actions which may vary between game situations. Bauer et al. [2] have identified pressing situations after turnovers using an XGBoost model and a broad range of hand-crafted features. Their resulting model is highly predictive, however, while the presented relative importance of features offers some insights, this information is not easily translatable to sport-specific terms or guidelines.

Thus, we propose a novel framework to approach the prediction of specific sequences based on comprehensible features. This enables objective and transparent analysis and allows to create concrete questions and actual guidelines.

1. Define a precise, rule-based specification of sequences of interest.

2. Define precise, data-driven and sequence-specific success criteria.

3. Construct comprehensible features based on sequence-specific assumptions.

4. Assess the prediction capability of these features for the success of sequences.

5. Build a predictive model based on previously identified relevant features.

It is important to note, that the comprehensible features constructed in step three of the process are in general not unique in their ability to predict the sequence success. The complexity of football makes it highly likely, that many different features can be constructed with similar predictive capabilities. This holds especially true, since for any non-trivially constructed feature, many slightly altered features can be found. The choice of feature is thus an integral part of the analysis pipeline, with which the hypothesis space to be examined is already circumscribed. Thus, the feature construction itself already allows for a precise specification of different hypothesis, which also makes it possible to assess the importance of certain feature characteristics by using slightly altered feature subsets in the analysis.

3

Definition of Sequences of Interest and Success Criteria

In this section we introduce rules for identifying sequences of interest from turnovers (Sect. 3.1), define a set of sequence-specific success criteria for counterattacks (Sect. 3.2), and apply both to create our dataset from a provided number of matches (Sect. 3.3).

3.1

Rule-based Identification of Persistent Open-Play Turnovers

Our provided match data (see Sect. 3.3) contains position and event data of matches, however, lacks information about possession. Thus, we define a turnover

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The Project Gutenberg eBook of Thoughts of the servant of God, Thérèse of the Child Jesus

This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

Title: Thoughts of the servant of God, Thérèse of the Child Jesus The little flower of Jesus, Carmelite of the monastery of Lisieux, 1873-1897 Author: Saint de Lisieux Thérèse Release date: January 15, 2024 [eBook #72720] Language: English Original publication: USA: P. J. Kenedy & Sons, 1915 Credits: Carla Foust, Karina Schubert and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available

by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THOUGHTS OF THE SERVANT OF GOD, THÉRÈSE OF THE CHILD JESUS ***

THOUGHTS OF THE SERVANT OF GOD THÉRÈSE OF THE CHILD JESUS

Nihil Obstat REMIGIUS LAFORT, S. T. D. Censor Imprimatur ✠JOHN CARDINAL FARLEY Archbishop of New York NEW YORK, October 22, 1915

THE SERVANT OF GOD THÉRÈSE OF THE CHILD JESUS The Little Flower of Jesus

THOUGHTS OF THE SERVANT OF GOD THÉRÈSE of the CHILD JESUS THE LITTLE FLOWER OF JESUS CARMELITE OF THE MONASTERY OF LISIEUX, 1873-1897 TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH “PENSÉES” BY AN IRISH CARMELITE

NEW YORK · PUBLISHED BY P. J. KENEDY & SONS · 1915

COPYRIGHT, 1915

BY P. J. KENEDY & SONS THE · PLIMPTON · PRESS NORWOOD · MASS · U ·S ·A

TO

“PETITE THÉRÈSE” AND MÈRE AGNÈS DE JÉSUS a little tribute of reverent and loving gratitude from Carmel of Kilmacud

June 9, 1914

CONTENTS PAGE Love of God 3 Love of Our Neighbour 30 Faith 40 Hope 44 Humility 50 Detachment 71 Mortification 82 Obedience 95 Poverty 97 Confidence 100 Self-Abandonment 115 Gratitude 124 Zeal 130 Simplicity 136 Prayer 147 Holy Communion 157 Suffering 162 The Direction of Souls 180 The Blessed Virgin 188 Various Subjects 190 Prayer for the Beatification of the Servant of God 211

THOUGHTS OF THE SERVANT OF GOD THÉRÈSE OF THE CHILD JESUS

LOVE OF GOD Jesus!... I would so love Him! Love Him as never yet He has been loved.... iv letter to mère agnès de jésus

(Her sister Pauline.)

The science of love! Sweet is the echo of that word to the ear of my soul. I desire no other science. Having given all my substance for it, like the spouse in the Canticles, I think that I have given nothing.[1] histoire d’une ame, ch. viii

Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing. hist. d’une ame, ch. viii

One evening, at a loss for words to tell Jesus how I loved Him and how much I wished that He might be everywhere served and glorified, I reflected with pain that not one act of love would ever mount upwards from out of the depths of hell. Then I cried out that willingly would I consent to see myself plunged into that place of torment and blasphemy, in order that He might be loved there eternally. That could not really glorify Him since He desires only our happiness, but love makes one want to say a thousand foolish things. If I spoke thus, it was not that I did not long for heaven; but then, my heaven was none other than Love, and in my fervour I felt that nothing could separate me from the Divine object of my love.... hist. d’une ame, ch. v

Seeing the eternal recompense so disproportionate to the trifling sacrifices of this life, I longed to love Jesus, to love Him ardently, to give Him a thousand proofs of tenderness while yet I could do so.... hist. d’une ame, ch. v

The love of God reveals itself in the very simplest soul who resists His grace in nothing, as well as in the most sublime. Indeed, the characteristic of love being to humble itself, if all souls resembled those of the holy Doctors who have enlightened the Church, the good God would not seem to descend low enough in coming to them. But He has created the infant who knows nothing and can only wail; He has created the poor savage who has but the natural law for guidance, and it is even unto their hearts that He deigns to stoop. hist. d’une ame, ch. i

In order that Love may be fully satisfied it must needs stoop to very nothingness and transform that nothing into fire. hist. d’une ame, ch. xi

In times of aridity when I am incapable of praying, of practising virtue, I seek little opportunities, mere trifles, to give pleasure to Jesus; for instance a smile, a pleasant word when inclined to be silent and to show weariness. If I find no opportunities, I at least tell Him again and again that I love Him; that is not difficult and it keeps alive the fire in my heart. Even though this fire of love might seem to me extinct I would still throw little straws upon the embers and I am certain it would rekindle. xvi letter to her sister céline

On the day of my conversion Charity entered into my heart and with it a yearning to forget self always; thenceforward I was happy. hist. d’une ame, ch. v

I do not will that creatures should possess a single atom of my love; I wish to give all to Jesus, since He makes me understand that He alone is perfect happiness. All shall be for Him, all! And even when I have nothing to offer Him I will give Him that nothing. ii letter to mère agnès de jésus

Our Lord is more tender than a mother, and well do I know more than one maternal heart! I know a mother is ever ready to forgive the little involuntary failings of her child. hist. d’une ame, ch. viii

I know of one means only by which to attain to perfection: Love. Let us love, since our heart is made for nothing else. Sometimes I seek another word to express Love, but in this land of exile the word which begins and ends[2] is quite incapable of rendering the vibrations of the soul; we must then adhere to this simple and only word: To Love.

But on whom shall our poor heart lavish its love? Who shall be found that is great enough to be the recipient of its treasures? Will a human being know how to comprehend them, and above all will he be able to repay? There exists but one Being capable of comprehending love; it is Jesus; He alone can give us back infinitely more than we shall ever give to Him. letter to her cousin marie guérin

There is one only thing to do here below: to love Jesus, to win souls for Him so that He may be loved. Let us seize with jealous care every least opportunity of self-sacrifice. Let us refuse Him nothing— He does so want our love! vi letter to her sister céline

When we really love, we rejoice in the happiness of the loved one and make every sacrifice to procure it for him. counsels and reminiscences

True love is nourished by sacrifice, and the more the soul denies itself natural satisfactions, the stronger and the more disinterested becomes its tenderness. counsels and reminiscences

The good God does not need years to accomplish His work of love in a soul; one ray from His Heart can, in an instant, make His flower

bloom for eternity.... vi letter to her sister céline

Love can supply for length of years. Jesus, because He is Eternal, regards not the time but only the love. v letter to mère agnès de jésus

I desire no sensible consolation in loving; provided Jesus feel my love that is enough for me. Oh! to love Him and to make Him loved ... how sweet it is.... v letter to mère agnès de jésus

O Jesus, I ask of Thee only Peace!... Peace, and above all Love—love without bound or limit. Jesus, let me for Thy sake die a martyr; give me martyrdom of soul or body. Ah! rather give me both the one and the other! hist. d’une ame, ch. viii

I have no longer any desire unless it be to love Jesus even to folly!

Yes, Love it is that draws me. I can say these words of the canticle of our Father, St. John of the Cross: In the inmost cellar Of my Beloved have I drunk; and when I went forth Over all the plain I knew nothing, And lost the flock I followed before.

My soul is occupied And all my substance in His service; Now I guard no flock, Nor have I any other employment: My sole occupation is love.

(Spiritual Canticle, Trans. D. Lewis.) hist. d’une ame, ch. viii

Oh! if souls weak and imperfect as mine, felt what I feel, not one would despair of reaching the summit of the mountain of Love, since Jesus does not demand from us great deeds, but only self-surrender and gratitude.

I have no need, saith He, of the goats of thy flocks.... If I were hungry I would not tell thee.... Offer unto God the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.[3] See then, all that Jesus asks of us! He has not need of our works but only of our love. This very God who declares that He needs not to tell us if He were hungry, did not hesitate to beg of the Samaritan woman a little water.... He thirsted!!! But in saying: “Give me to drink,”[4] it was the love of His poor creature that the Creator of the universe besought. He thirsted for Love!

And now, more than ever is Jesus athirst. He meets with none but the ungrateful and the indifferent among the disciples of the world; and amongst His own disciples He finds, alas! very few hearts that surrender themselves without any reserve to the tenderness of His infinite Love. hist. d’une ame, ch. xi

Since ever I have known Love’s mighty power Thus hath it wrought its work within my soul— Whate’er it findeth there, or good or ill, It turneth all to gain; its living flame Transforms my soul into its very self.[5] How sweet is the way of Love! True, one may fall, one may not be always faithful, but Love, knowing how to draw profit from all, very quickly consumes whatsoever may displease Jesus, leaving naught but humble and profound peace in the innermost soul. hist. d’une ame, ch. viii

Thinking one day of those who offer themselves as victims to the Justice of God in order to turn aside the punishment reserved for sinners by taking it upon themselves, I felt this offering to be noble and generous, but I was far from feeling moved to make it.

“O my Divine Master,” I cried in the depths of my heart, “shall Thy Justice alone receive victims of holocaust? Has not Thy Merciful Love also need of them? On all sides it is ignored, rejected ... the hearts on which Thou wouldst lavish it turn to creatures, seeking happiness in miserable and fleeting affections instead of casting themselves into Thine arms, into the ineffable furnace of Thine Infinite Love.

“O my God, must Thy Love—disdained—remain within Thy Heart?

Methinks that if Thou shouldst find souls offering themselves as victims of holocaust to Thy Love, Thou wouldst consume them rapidly; that Thou wouldst be glad not to restrict the flames of infinite tenderness pent up within Thee.

“If Thy Justice—the Justice which Thou dost exercise on earth—be pleased to find voluntary victims on which to discharge its weight, how much the more must Thy Merciful Love also desire its victims, since Thy Mercy reacheth even to heaven.[6] “O Jesus, that happily I may be that holocaust consume Thy little victim in the fire of Divine Love.” hist. d’une ame, ch. viii

Ah! since that day love penetrates me and surrounds me; this Merciful Love each moment renews and purifies me, leaving in my heart no trace of sin. No, I cannot fear Purgatory; I know that I do not merit even to enter with the Holy Souls into that place of expiation, but I know too that the fire of Love is more sanctifying than the fire of Purgatory, I know that Jesus cannot will needless suffering for us, and that He would not inspire me with the desires I feel if He were unwilling to fulfil them. hist. d’une ame, ch. viii

To offer oneself as a Victim to Divine Love is not to offer oneself to sweetness—to consolation; but to every anguish, every bitterness, for Love lives only by sacrifice; and the more a soul wills to be surrendered to Love, the more must she be surrendered to suffering. hist. d’une ame, ch. xii

In order to love Jesus, to be His victim of love, the more weak and miserable we are, the more fitting are we for the operations of this consuming and transforming Love.... The sole desire to be victim suffices; but we must consent to remain always poor and without strength, and there lies the difficulty, for where shall be found the truly poor in spirit? He must be sought afar off,[7] saith the author of the Imitation.... He did not say that we must seek him amongst great souls, but afar off, that is to say in lowliness, in nothingness....

Oh! let us keep afar off from all that glitters, let us love our littleness, and be satisfied to feel nothing, then shall we be truly poor in spirit, and Jesus will come to seek us how far soever we may be; He will transform us into flames of Love!... vi letter to sœur marie du sacré-cœur

(Her sister Marie.)

To be truly a Victim of Love requires absolute self-surrender. The soul is consumed by Love only in so far as she surrenders herself to Love. counsels and reminiscences

It appears to me that for Victims of Love there will be no judgment, but rather, that the good God will hasten to recompense with eternal delights His own Love, which He will see burning in their hearts. counsels and reminiscences

At any cost I will cull the palm of Saint Agnes; if not by shedding my blood then it must be by Love.... iv letter to mère agnès de jésus

O my God, Thou knowest I have never desired but to love Thee alone. I seek no other glory. Thy Love has gone before me from my childhood, it has grown with my growth, and now it is an abyss the depths of which I cannot fathom. hist. d’une ame, ch. xi

Love attracts love, mine rushes forth unto Thee, it would fain fill up the abyss which attracts it; but alas! it is not even as one drop of dew lost in the Ocean. To love Thee as Thou lovest me I must borrow Thy very love—then only, can I find rest. hist. d’une ame, ch. xi

Just as a torrent sweeps along with it unto the depths of the sea whatsoever it encounters on its course, even so, my Jesus, does the soul which plunges into the boundless ocean of Thy Love draw after her all her treasures. Lord, Thou knowest that for me these treasures are the souls it has pleased Thee to unite to mine. hist. d’une ame, ch. xi

Charity gave me the key to my vocation. I understood that the Church being a body composed of different members, the most essential, the most noble of all the organs would not be wanting to her; I understood that the Church has a heart and that this heart is burning with love; that it is love alone which makes the members work, that if love were to die away apostles would no longer preach the Gospel, martyrs would refuse to shed their blood. I understood that love comprises all vocations, that love is everything, that it embraces all times and all places because it is eternal! hist. d’une ame, ch. xi

O my Well-Beloved! I understand to what combats Thou hast destined me; it is not on the battle field that I shall fight.... I am prisoner of Thy Love; freely have I riveted the chain which unites me to Thee and separates me for ever from the world. My sword is Love; with it I shall chase the stranger from the kingdom, I shall make Thee to be proclaimed King in the souls of men.

hist. d’une ame, appendix

Love!... that is what I ask.... I know but one thing now—to love Thee, O Jesus! Glorious deeds are not for me, I cannot preach the Gospel, shed my blood ... what does it matter? My brothers toil instead of me, and I, the little child, I keep quite close to the royal throne, I love for those who fight. hist. d’une ame, ch. xi

How shall I show my love since love is proved by deeds? Well,—the little child will strew flowers ... she will embalm the Divine Throne with their fragrance, will sing with silvery voice the canticle of love.

Yes, my Beloved, it is thus that my life’s brief day shall be spent before Thee. No other means have I of proving my love than to strew flowers; that is, to let no little sacrifice escape me, not a look, not a word, to avail of the very least actions and do them for Love. I wish to suffer for Love’s sake and for Love’s sake even to rejoice; thus shall I strew flowers. Not one shall I find without shedding its petals for Thee ... and then I will sing, I will always sing, even if I must gather my roses in the very midst of thorns—and the longer and sharper the thorns the sweeter shall be my song. hist. d’une ame, ch. xi

Sœur Thérèse de l’Enfant Jésus often spoke of a well-known toy with which in childhood’s days she had amused herself: a kaleidoscope; in form somewhat like a small telescope; on looking through, one sees an endless succession of pretty and manycoloured designs, varying at each turn of the kaleidoscope.

“This toy,” she said, “aroused my admiration and I used to wonder what could produce so pleasing a phenomenon; when one day, after serious examination, I saw there were simply a few tiny scraps of paper and of wool cut no matter how, and thrown here and there. I pursued my investigation and discovered three mirrors inside the tube: I had there the key to the problem.

“This was for me the image of a great mystery. As long as our actions, even the least of them, remain within the focus of Love, the Blessed Trinity, which is figured by the three mirrors, reflects them, and endows them with a wondrous beauty. Jesus, looking at us through the little lens, that is to say, as it were through Himself, finds all our actions pleasing to Him. But if we leave the ineffable centre of Love, what will He see? Mere straws ... actions sullied and nothing worth.” counsels and reminiscences

This little prayer which includes all my desires I ask you to say for me each day: “Merciful Father, in the name of Thy sweet Jesus, of the Blessed Virgin and of the Saints, I pray Thee that my sister be fired with Thy spirit of love, and that Thou wilt grant her the grace to make Thee greatly loved.”

If God should take me soon to Himself, I ask you to continue each day this same prayer, for in Heaven my desire will be the same as upon earth; to love Jesus and to make Him loved. iii letter to her missionary “brothers”

She was looking at the sky one day when some one remarked to her: “Very soon you will dwell beyond the blue sky; with what love you contemplate it!”

She merely smiled, but afterwards said to the Mother Prioress: “Mother, our Sisters little know what I suffer! Looking at the blue sky I was thinking only of the beauty of the material heavens; the other is more and more closed to me.... I was at first distressed by that remark, then an interior voice answered: ‘Yes, through love thou didst look at the heavens. Since thy soul is wholly consecrated to Love, all thy actions, even the most indifferent, bear the impress of this divine seal.’ I was instantly consoled.”

hist. d’une ame, ch. xii

Until two days before her death she wished to be alone at night, however, notwithstanding her entreaties, the Infirmarian used to rise several times to visit her. On one occasion she found our little invalid with hands clasped and eyes raised to Heaven.

“But what are you doing?” she asked; “you should try to sleep.”

“I cannot, dear Sister, I suffer too much! then I pray....”

“And what do you say to Jesus?”

“I say nothing, I love Him!” hist. d’une ame, ch. xii

A sister was speaking to her of the happiness of Heaven: Thérèse interrupted, saying: “It is not that which attracts me....”

“What is it then?”

“Oh! it is Love! To love, to be beloved, and to come back to earth to make Love loved.” hist. d’une ame, ch. xii

Love alone have I ever given to the good God, with love He will repay me. hist. d’une ame, ch. xii

All that I have written regarding my desire of suffering is most true; oh! I do not repent of having surrendered myself to Love. hist. d’une ame, ch. xii

Jesus! Jesus! if it be so sweet to desire Thy Love, what will it be to possess and to enjoy it for ever! hist. d’une ame, ch. xi

O Jesus! could I but tell all little souls of Thine ineffable condescension!... I feel that if it were possible to find one more

weak than mine Thou wouldst take delight in showering upon her greater favours still, provided that she abandoned herself with entire confidence to Thine Infinite Mercy.

But why these desires, O my Beloved, to impart the secrets of Thy Love? Is it not Thyself alone Who hast made them known to me and canst Thou not reveal them to others? Yes, I know it and I implore Thee to do so: I beseech Thee to let Thy divine gaze rest upon an immense number of little souls, I beseech Thee to choose in this world a Legion of little victims worthy of Thy Love! hist. d’une ame, ch. xi

Her last words—looking at her crucifix: “Oh!... I Love Him!... My God, I ... Love ... Thee!!!” hist. d’une ame, ch. xii

O my God, Most Blessed Trinity, I desire to love Thee and to make Thee loved, to labour for the glory of Holy Church by saving souls still on earth and by delivering those who suffer in purgatory. I desire to accomplish Thy Will perfectly, and to attain to the degree of glory which Thou hast prepared for me in Thy Kingdom, in one word, I desire to be a saint, but I know that I am powerless, and I implore Thee, O my God, to be Thyself my sanctity.

Since Thou hast so loved me as to give me Thine only Son to be my Saviour and my Spouse, the infinite treasures of His merits are mine, to Thee I offer them with joy, beseeching Thee to see me only as in the Face of Jesus and in His Heart burning with Love.

Again, I offer Thee all the merits of the Saints—in Heaven and on earth—their acts of love and those of the holy Angels; and finally I offer Thee, O Blessed Trinity, the love and the merits of the Holy Virgin, my most dear Mother; it is to her I entrust my oblation, begging her to present it to Thee.

Her Divine Son, my well-beloved Spouse, during His life on earth, told us: “If you ask the Father anything in My Name He will give it to

you.”[8] I am then certain that Thou wilt hearken to my desires....

My God, I know it, the more Thou willest to give the more dost Thou make us desire. Immense are the desires that I feel within my heart, and it is with confidence that I call upon Thee to come and take possession of my soul. I cannot receive Thee in Holy Communion as often as I would; but, Lord, art Thou not Almighty?... Remain in me as in the Tabernacle—never leave Thy little Victim.

I long to console Thee for the ingratitude of the wicked and I pray Thee take from me the liberty to displease Thee! If through frailty I fall sometimes, may Thy Divine glance purify my soul immediately, consuming every imperfection—like to fire which transforms all things into itself.

I thank Thee, O my God, for all the graces Thou hast bestowed on me, and particularly for making me pass through the crucible of suffering. It is with joy I shall behold Thee on the Last Day bearing Thy sceptre—the Cross; since Thou hast deigned to give me for my portion this most precious Cross, I have hope of resembling Thee in Heaven and seeing the sacred stigmata of Thy Passion shine in my glorified body.

After exile on earth I hope to enjoy the possession of Thee in our eternal Fatherland, but I have no wish to amass merits for Heaven, I will work for Thy Love alone, my sole aim being to give Thee pleasure, to console Thy Sacred Heart, and to save souls who will love Thee for ever.

At the close of life’s evening I shall appear before Thee with empty hands, for I ask not, Lord, that Thou wouldst count my works.... All our justice is tarnished in Thy sight. It is therefore my desire to be clothed with Thine own Justice and to receive from Thy Love the eternal possession of Thyself. I crave no other Throne nor other Crown but Thee, O my Beloved!...

In Thy sight time is nothing, one day is as a thousand years.[9] Thou canst in an instant prepare me to appear before Thee.

That I may live in one Act of perfect Love, I offer myself as a Victim of Holocaust to Thy Merciful Love, imploring Thee to consume me without ceasing, and to let the tide of infinite tenderness pent up in Thee, overflow into my soul, that so I may become a very martyr of Thy Love, O my God! May this martyrdom, having first prepared me to appear before Thee, break life’s thread at last, and may my soul take its flight, unretarded, into the eternal embrace of Thy Merciful Love.

I desire, O Well-Beloved, at every heart-beat to renew this Oblation an infinite number of times, till the shadows retire[10] and I can tell Thee my love eternally face to face!

[Signed] MARIE-FRANÇOISE-THÉRÈSE DE L’ENFANT JÉSUS ET DE LA SAINTE FACE

Rel. Carm. ind.

Feast of The Most Holy Trinity.

The 9th of June in the year of grace, 1895.

FOOTNOTES: [1] Cant., viii, 7.

[2] St. Augustine.

[3] Cf. Ps. xlix, 9, 12, 14.

[4] John, iv, 7.

[5] St. John of the Cross.

[6] Cf. Ps. xxxv, 6.

[7] Cf. Imit., II, xi, 4.

[8] John, xvi, 23.

[9] Cf. Ps. lxxxix, 4.

[10] Cant., iv, 6.