I should be a lamb like Our Lord

"Lamb of God. The true Lamb that was stricken for our transgressions. God's only begotten Son came down from Heaven and by becoming the Son of David was made the Lamb of God. Innocent, gentle, guileless, as befits the Truth, He opened not His mouth when led to the slaughter. And on Calvary the Lamb was sacrificed. In a vague imperfect way the idea of sacrifice began to dawn on my childish mind. Our Lord showed His love for His Heavenly Father and for us, by laying down His life; then I should be a lamb also and do likewise... The 'I should like to be a nun' had taken a definite advance. From this time on the thought was 'I ought to be a nun.' But the will to be a nun was stiff far off. In His own sweet and gentle way God was leading me and preparing me for Carmel, though at the time the name Carmel would have been less likely to suggest a cloister than a candy or a pie!

-o-

It is possible that God permitted me during my high-school years to live my life fully in order that my body might grow strong and vigorous. Not that exceptional physical health is an absolute necessity for the contemplative life; I have seen delicate women experience little difficulty in living the life of Carmel. But they were women of great fervor. To a cloistered nun, strong nerves are far more important than a strong body. Under the austerities of the cloistered life - the fasts, the penances, the long hours of prayer, the unvarying routine - an athlete may give way, while a frail girl with a sound personality will thrive.

It is also possible that God allowed me to enjoy these years of my youth in order to demonstrate that the contemplative life is not a refuge for those not at home anywhere else. There would be little merit in leaving a world one was incapable of enjoying; there would be no sacrifice if one entered a cloister to escape the life outside, or if one had a natural distaste for the joys of life."

-- My Beloved: the Story of a Carmelite Nun by Mother Catherine Thomas, ocd