The following is a true story from the Life of Saint Bernadette. The account is given to us by Sister Louise Brusson who participated in the event along with our Saint.

"Bernadette was very sharp, alert, and quick in a reparte. Few details escaped her notice.

One day, in the linen-room, a rather plain looking postulant was looking at herself in the mirror of a little needlework box. At that moment I walked into the linen-room and Sister Marie-Bernard winked at me, and looking at the postulant said, 'Put something on that looking-glass for her.'

I took a piece of paper and a pencil and wrote: Suppose you look at your soul.

Then I placed the paper over the looking glass and closed the needlework-box. That evening, or, on the following day, the postulant opened the box again to look at herself, but on seeing the piece of paper stuck over the glass she uttered a cry of surprise, 'Oh! Who did that?'

Nobody answered. Sister Marie-Bernard and I were not there. However, the Sisters who were present had a good laugh over it. I had quite forgotten the incident when at the next recreation Sister Marie-Bernard very gently said to me, 'Our Novice Mistress wants to know who did it.'

'But I did it and I shall tell her so; and you, Sister Marie-Bernard?'

She smiled at me and made a sign that she had already owned up. That same day, together, we both acknowledged what we had done."

So we see that when we die it is not how beautiful our face or body is that determines whether we go to Heaven or hell forever. No, it will be determined by how beautiful our soul is to God. We should follow Saint Bernadette's good advice and spend much less time looking into mirrors and much more time looking into our soul. This is something we should do every day. Our good God, in His mercy, has given us the holy and penitential Season of Lent especially for this purpose.