St. Bernadette Soubirous, the young shepherdess who saw Our Lady at Lourdes, after the apparitions, spent the remainder of her life in the convent of the Sisters of Charity. As a nun, she was charged with duties in the infirmary. In addition to caring for the sick, the infirmary itself needed to be kept in order. Postulants and novices were generally sent to help with simple cleaning tasks.

One day, a little incident occurred that left a deep impression - not only on the postulant involved, but on the other novices, who liked to repeat the story. The young woman, (later known as Sister Justine), tells it in her own words:

I was still a postulant, and I had been given a job in the infirmary. Well, one day when we were giving the place a thorough cleaning, I had spent the whole morning dusting, rubbing and polishing. Then the bell rang and I was getting ready to leave when Bernadette said: ‘The work is not finished. There’s still this and that, but you haven’t time now. It will do some other day.’

Then I foolishly said with a certain satisfaction: ‘I’ve rubbed the copper knobs with polishing powder.’ This referred to the knobs on the iron bedsteads.

Bernadette replied: ‘Yes, they are shining brightly. You’ve polished them well and thoroughly. You have taken great pains with this work because it catches the eye.’

She delivered me this reprimand so nicely that I wasn’t hurt, but I felt the little pinprick to my vanity all the same and I carried the lesson away with me, saying to myself: ‘You understand? You have taken great pains over the knobs because they show, but the work that doesn’t show, the work that remains hidden and which God alone sees, did you do that so carefully?’

Indeed, the lesson stayed with the young postulant for the rest of her life. Many years later, when she told the story as an old nun, Sr. Justine remarked thoughtfully:

I have always remembered those copper knobs.