St. Therese of Lisieux
ST. THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS and THE HOLY FACE (Therese Martin), Doctor of the Church, was born in Alencon, France on January 2, 1873. The death of her Mother when she was three and a half deeply traumatized her and brought about an acute sensitivity and sadness which lasted for eight years. When she was ten, she began to experience a mysterious illness, which caused convulsions, hallucinations, and comas so severe that it was feared she would die. After three months, Therese was cured almost instantly by the Blessed Virgin, whose statue, Therese said, smiled at her at the moment of her cure. This experience of Mary’s maternal love flowered fully in Carmel. “How I love the Blessed Virgin,” she wrote. “She is described as unapproachable, whereas she should be pointed to as a model.” “I do not tremble when I see my weakness, for the treasures of a mother belong also to her child and I am thy child, O dear Mother Mary.” “Do not be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her enough, and Jesus will be very happy because the Blessed Virgin is His Mother.”
From 1877 to 1886, she went through a spiritual trial of sensitivity and scruples. Healed of these at Christmas 1886, she began to attain psychological and spiritual maturity and developed a thirst to save souls and to pray for priests. Therese grew into a tall, blonde, blue-eyed girl. She was pretty, quiet, and somewhat reserved, but she could also be daring, vivacious, and entertaining.
Although she possessed a missionary heart, she realized she could be more effective in a cloistered life of prayer and sacrifice. On April 9, 1888, at fifteen, Therese entered the Carmel of Lisieux, where she spent the remaining nine and a half years of her life. Her appointment as Assistant Novice Mistress in 1893 gave her an opportunity to share her spiritual insights, particularly the “Little Way of Spiritual Childhood”—a rediscovery of the Fatherhood of God and the depths of His merciful love. Her memoirs, Story of a Soul, written under obedience, enshrine her teaching and her personal spiritual journey. Pope Benedict XV declared that it “contained the secret of sanctity for the entire world.”
After months of agonizing sufferings and temptations against faith, she died of tuberculosis on September 30, 1897, at the age of twenty-four. Therese was canonized in 1925 and named co-patron of the missions in 1927. St. John Paul II declared her a Doctor of the Church in 1997. Her feast day is observed on October 1.
The Little Way
What is the unique gift of St. Therese to the Church of today? St. Therese was indeed a spiritual genius. Formed as she was in a family atmosphere of faith and religious fervor, from childhood St. Therese’s one dream and ideal was that of holiness. But she faced one problem: when she looked at the lives of the saints, she saw herself as a mere “grain of sand” compared to mighty mountains!
“I have always wanted to be a saint. Alas! I have always noticed that when I compared myself to the saints, there is between them and me the same difference that exists between a mountain whose summit is lost in the clouds and the obscure grain of sand trampled underfoot by passers-by. Instead of becoming discouraged, I said to myself: God cannot inspire unrealizable desires.”
Therese sought to find a way, “a little way, a way that is very straight, very short, and totally new.” As she prayed for light, she came across a passage from Scripture with the answer: “As one whom a mother caresses, so will I comfort you; you shall be carried at the breasts and upon the knees they will caress you” (Is. 66:12-13). St. Therese’s Way was to be the path of Spiritual Childhood, the Little Way of Confidence and Love.
Merciful Love in a Jansenistic Age
It is surprising that in a religious environment and culture engrossed in Jansenistic thought–i.e. with the one-sided emphasis on God’s Justice and severity–that St. Therese had the discernment and light to pierce through these faulty conceptions. Although Jansenism was condemned as heresy by the Church in 1653, its effects were to impact the lives of Catholics for centuries to come.
For St. Therese, God was a loving Father whose compassion was infinite and who revealed Himself to her through His merciful love.
“It seems to me that if all creatures had received the same graces I received, God would be feared by none but would be loved to the point of folly; and through love, not through fear, no one would ever consent to cause him any pain… To me He has granted his infinite Mercy, and through it I contemplate and adore the other divine perfections! All of these perfections appear to be resplendent with love, even His Justice (and perhaps even more so than the others) seems to me clothed in love. What a sweet joy it is to think that God is Just, i.e., that He takes into account our weakness, that He is perfectly aware of our fragile nature. What should I fear then?”
It is amazing to read in these lines the spiritual insight of Therese and the undaunted trust she has in the merciful love of God. St. Therese extends this same message to us today: our God is a God of love and mercy; this love has the power to transform our lives!
Devotion to the Child Jesus & the Holy Face
St. Therese’s official name in religion was “Sr. Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face.” These two specific devotions played a vital role in her spiritual life.
Therese had an instinctive love for the Child Jesus which disclosed his littleness, humility and approachable presence. Devotion to the Child Jesus taught her to remain “little” and imitate his “childlike” simplicity.
Devotion to the Holy Face began around the time of her father’s illness. Therese contemplated in the Holy Face of Jesus the depths of His love that is stronger than death. Here, hidden in His Face, St. Therese found her rest, her “homeland”. In August of 1895, she composed a poem entitled “My Heaven on Earth”, which is a canticle to the Holy Face. Quoted below are a few striking lines from St. Therese’s pen:
“Jesus, your ineffable image
Is the star that guides my steps.
Ah! you know, your sweet Face
Is for me Heaven on earth…“Your Face is my only Homeland.
It is my Kingdom of love…“It’s my Rest, my Sweetness
And my melodious Lyre…“Your Face is my only wealth.
I ask for nothing more.
Hiding myself in it unceasingly,
I will resemble you, Jesus…”
Whether it be the Infant Christ or the Suffering Christ, St. Therese drew strength and inspiration from discovering hidden riches for her spiritual life.
Doctor of the Church
The Church has recognized 36 “Doctors of the Church” over the last two millennia. She reserves this distinction to saints who have made a significant contribution to the theology, doctrine or thought of the faith. St. Therese’s unique gift to the Church of all times was her radical Gospel simplicity and spiritual insight into the “Little Way” of holiness, open to all. She reminds us that sanctity consists in doing “little things with great love” and living the ordinary in an extraordinary way.
Why I love you, O Mary
Shortly before her death, St. Therese confided to her sister Celine: “There is one thing I have to do before I die. I have always dreamed of saying in a song to the Blessed Virgin everything I think about her.” A few months before her death she composed a poem to the Blessed Virgin entitled “Why I love you, O Mary.” With the love of a child for its mother, St. Therese expresses her admiration and love of the simple, hidden life of Mary revealed in the Gospels. In 25 stanzas, she sings of her love for Mary, who is more Mother than Queen in her own eyes. Here are a few sample verses that express her tender love of the Virgin:
“Oh! I would like to sing, Mary, why I love you,
Why your sweet name thrills my heart …” (Stz. 1)“The treasures of a mother belong to her child,
And I am your child, O my dearest Mother.
Aren’t your virtues and your love mine too?…” (Stz. 5)“While waiting for Heaven, O my dear Mother,
I want to live with you, to follow you each day.
Mother, contemplating you, I joyfully immerse myself,
Discovering in your heart abysses of love.
Your motherly gaze banishes all my fears…” (Stz. 18)
Have you ever wondered why St. Therese is always depicted as holding roses or rose petals? In the Last Conversations–a book containing the last sayings or conversations she had with Therese on her deathbed– Mother Agnes records these remarkable words of St. Therese on July 17, 1897:
“I feel that my mission is about to begin, my mission of making others love God as I love Him, my mission of teaching my little way to souls. If God answers my request, my heaven will be spent on earth up until the end of the world. Yes, I want to spend my heaven in doing good on earth.”
Earlier on June 9th, Sr. Marie of the Sacred Heart told Therese: “What sorrow we’ll experience when you leave us!” St. Therese responded:
“Oh, no, you will see; it will be like a shower of roses.”
And she added:
“After my death, you will go to the mail box, and you will find many consolations.”
She was right! After her death, mail began pouring into the Carmel of Lisieux testifying to the abundant graces obtained through Therese’s intercession. Some of these were from soldiers of World War I, who experienced Therese with them in the trenches, sparing them from imminent danger. These letters are still preserved today in the archives of the Carmel.
The shower of roses continues today…