Therese of Lisieux
Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face or, simply, Saint Therese (Alençon, Normandy, January 2, 1873-Lisieux, Normandy, September 30 1897), was a French Discalced Carmelite nun. She was declared a saint in 1925 and proclaimed a doctor of the Church in 1997 by John Paul II. Pope Pius X considered her "the greatest saint of modern times."
Biography
Birth, family and early years
Maria Francisca Teresa Martin Guérin was born on the rue Saint-Blaise in Alençon, Normandy, northwestern France, on January 2, 1873, the daughter of Luis Martin and Maria Celia Guérin (canonized on Sunday, October 18, 2015).. From this union nine children were born, of whom four died at an early age; Only five girls survived: María (1860-1940), Paulina (1861-1951), Leonia (1863-1941), Celina (1869-1959) and Teresa, who was the youngest. All of them would later embrace religious life.
She was baptized two days after her birth, on January 4, 1873, in the church of Nuestra Señora de Alenzón. Her godparents were Paul Boul, son of a family friend, and her older sister, Maria. In March of that year, at two months of age, she nearly died and had to be entrusted to a nurse, Rosa Taillé, who had already been caring for two of the Martin couple's children. She quickly got better and grew up in the Normandy countryside, on the Semallé farm, a distance of almost five miles. On her return to Alençon on April 2, 1874, her family surrounded her with affection. Her mother says that she is more intelligent than Celina, but much less sweet, and above all she is almost invincible stubbornness. When she says no, nothing can make her change. She is playful and mischievous, but she is also emotional and often cries. Teresa always referred to this first period of her life as her happiest.
The home of the Martin spouses was a veritable garden of virtues and holiness. They sincerely loved each of their daughters, although they did not tolerate any kind of bad behavior and corrected it instantly. The Christian faith was the family livelihood. When they were not at church as a family, they celebrated religious holidays or prayed the rosary at home as a family. Already at an early age, she and her family attended mass every day at 5:30 in the morning. The Martin family strictly adheres to fasting and prayer, to the rhythm of the liturgical year. The Martins also practiced charity and occasionally welcome the poor to their table; They visited the sick and the elderly. The girls grew up seeing in their parents two great models of holiness.
Since 1865 Celia Martin complains of pain inside. In December 1876, a doctor revealed a serious "fibrous tumor". It's too late to attempt an operation. On February 24, 1877, Celia lost her sister María Luisa, who died of tuberculosis in the Convent of the Visitation in Le Mans, under the name of Sister María Dositea. After her death, her suffering worsens, but she hides everything from her family. In July 1877 Celia participates in a pilgrimage to the Lourdes sanctuary asking for the grace of her healing, but she does not receive such grace.
Finally, Celia Martin died on August 28, 1877 from breast cancer, when Teresa was just four years old. In November 1877 Luis Martin decided to move to the city of Lisieux, where his wife's family resided, who promised Celia to take care of her daughters after her death.
Move to Lisieux and first stage of his life
The Guerin family helped them settle into a house surrounded by bushes, the Buissonnets. There she would live Teresa the following years until her entry into the Carmel of Lisieux.
Teresa deeply felt the great change she undergoes in her life without her mother. She misses her mother even more and about this she wrote: & # 34;Since mom died, my characteristic joy completely changed; I, who was so lively, so expansive, became shy and sweet, sensitive to excess”. Despite the love lavished on his father and on Paulina, whom after his mother's death he adopted as his 'second mother', life was austere at the Buissonnets and he would later note that this was & #34;the second period of his existence, the most painful of the three".
At the age of seven, in 1880, Teresa confessed for the first time. On this occasion she ignores the fear and scruples that bothered her so much; She says, "Since I got back from confession for all the big parties it's been a real treat for me every time I've gone." On May 13, 1880, he was present at Celina's first communion, which she joyfully shared: "I think I received great graces from that day and I consider it one of the most beautiful of my life". She, too, is waiting to receive Holy Communion and decides to take advantage of the remaining three years to prepare for the event.
At the age of eight and a half, on October 3, 1881, Teresa entered the Benedictine College in Lisieux. She returned to her house at night, since her family lived very close to her. Having previously received lessons from Paulina and Maria she gave her a good foundation and she quickly rose to the head of her class. However, she finds herself with a community life that she is not used to. She is chased by older classmates who are jealous of her. She cries but doesn't dare to complain. She doesn't like recess, so busy and noisy. Her teacher describes her as an obedient student, calm and peaceful, sometimes thoughtful or even sad. Teresa later said that these five years were the saddest of her life, and she found solace in the presence of her "dear Celina."
During this time he developed his taste for reading, especially the one that satisfied his needs for calm; chivalrous and passionate stories. He also begins to feel a great admiration for Joan of Arc. She thinks that she was born for a hidden glory: The Good Lord made me understand that if my glory does not appear to mortal eyes, I could become a great saint!...
During the summer of 1882, when Teresa was nine years old, she accidentally learned of her sister Paulina's desire to become a Carmelite nun. The thought of her losing her second mother causes her great sadness and despair. Paulina, trying to comfort her, explains to her what life is like inside Carmel, and then Teresa also feels called to Carmel. Later he wrote: "I felt that Carmel was the desert where God wanted me to hide... I felt so strongly called that there was no doubt in my heart, it was not a childhood dream that travels far, but the certainty of a divine call; I wanted to go to Carmel not for Paulina, but only for Jesus..."
One Sunday, Teresa manages to go to Carmel in Lisieux and meet with the Mother Superior, Maria de Gonzaga, who told her, without Teresa having mentioned her wishes: "when you come to live with us, my dear daughter, you will be called Teresa of the Child Jesus", which the Saint interpreted as "a delicacy of my beloved Child Jesus". But she also told her that they could not accept applicants under sixteen years of age.
On Monday, October 2, 1882, Pauline entered Carmel in Lisieux, where she took the name “Sister Agnes of Jesus”. It was an even sadder day for Teresa, who had gone back to school for another year, as she could not skip a grade since she was in the third year, where First Communion preparation is done. Religious education will be one of the important subjects, in which Teresa excels. The prospect of communion, as expected, is a ray of sunshine.
The strange disease and the smile of the Virgin
In December 1882, Teresa's health began to take a strange turn for the worse: she continually suffered from headaches, pain in her side, ate little, and slept poorly. Her character also changes: she sometimes gets angry with María and even fights with Celina, with whom she had always been very good friends. In the Carmelo booth, Paulina is worried about her younger sister, to whom she offers advice and affectionate reprimands.
In that same year, the doctor Alfonso H. Notta diagnosed Teresita's disease as a reaction to an emotional frustration with a neurotic attack, undoubtedly caused by the departure of her sister Paulina to the Carmelite monastery of Lisieux on October 2, that same year.
During the Easter holidays of 1883, Luis Martin organized a trip to Paris with María and Leonia. Uncle Guérin welcomes Celina and Teresa into his home. On the afternoon of March 25, while they were having dinner with Celina, Teresa collapses in tears. They take her to her bed; she spent a very restless night. Concerned, her uncle called a doctor the next day, who diagnosed " a very serious disease that never attacked children ." Given the seriousness of his condition, they send a telegram to Luis, who rushes back to Lisieux.
Several times a day, Teresa suffers from nervous tremors, hallucinations, and fits of terror. She is going through a great weakness and, despite the fact that she retains all her lucidity, they cannot leave her alone. However, the patient repeats that she wants to attend Paulina's inauguration, scheduled for April 6. On the morning of the fateful day, after a strong crisis, Teresa gets up, and apparently miraculously cured, goes with her family to Carmel. She goes on all day, full of joy and enthusiasm. But the next day she has a sudden relapse: she is filled with delusions that seem to deprive her of reason. The doctor, very concerned, still can't find a cure for her illness. Luis Martin feared that his & # 34; poor girl & # 34; She was going to die or go a little crazy.
For months he suffered from headaches and hallucinations. All her family was desperate thinking that death could come soon. Her father even had several masses celebrated for her cure in the sanctuary of Our Lady of Victories in Paris. On May 13, 1883, the day of Pentecost, Luis Martin, Leonia, Celina and María, who remain next to Teresa's bed, feel impotent to be able to relieve her, kneel at the foot of the bed and go to a image of the Virgin. Later, Teresa would recount: & # 34; Finding no help on earth, poor Teresa also turns to her Heavenly Mother, praying with all her heart that she would finally have mercy on her ... & # 34;. At that moment Teresa feels overwhelmed by the beauty of the Virgin, and especially by her smile: “ The Blessed Virgin smiled at me. How happy I am!". At that moment, the patient stabilizes in front of her sisters and her father who are stunned. The next day, all traces of her illness disappear, except for two small alerts in the following months. Teresa is still fragile, but she will not suffer from any new manifestation of these disorders in the future.
First communion, confirmation and suffering with scruples
In 1883, Teresa returns to school and immediately takes the lead in catechism classes. She is also prepared at the Buissonnets. Every week, Paulina writes from Carmel advising her sisters to make daily sacrifices and prayers to offer to Jesus. Teresa takes these lists seriously and is determined to follow each one scrupulously.
On May 8, 1884, Teresa made her First Communion in the church of the College of the Benedictines in Lisieux.
During mass, Teresa cries profusely with joy and not sadness. She would perfectly describe the intensity of this first mystical encounter: & # 34; Ah! That was the first kiss of Jesus in my soul... It was a kiss of love, I felt loved, and I also told him: 'I love you, I give myself to you forever. There were no demands, no fights, no sacrifices; A long time ago, Jesus and Teresita had seen each other poor and had understood each other.” The spiritual depth of this day does not prevent it from being an opportunity to enjoy the celebration with the family and the many gifts they receive.
On June 14, 1884, she was confirmed by Bishop Abel Antoine-Flavien Hugonin, Bishop of Lisieux. Her confirmation godmother is her sister Leonia de ella. Upon receiving the Holy Spirit, the confirmed young woman is amazed by this "Sacrament of Love", which, she is sure, will give her the “strength to suffer".
In 1885, after listening to a sermon by Father Domin on mortal sins and the final judgment, the 'sorrows of the soul,' which had tormented Teresa and seemed to have disappeared, suddenly awakened. The girl, so fragile, will fall back into the "terrible disease of scruples." Teresa is convinced of her sin and develops a strong feeling of guilt for everything. "The simplest actions and thoughts become a reason for disorder. & # 34; she does not dare to tell her sorrows to Paulina, who seems so far away in her Carmelo. Luckily she still has Maria, her "last mother of hers", to whom she now tells everything, including her most extravagant thoughts of hers.;. This helps him prepare her confessions, putting aside all fears. Docile, Teresa obeys him. This has the consequence that she hides her 'ugly disease of hers'. to her confessors, thus depriving himself of her advice.
In October of that same year, Teresa returns to school, but she has to continue facing the insults of some of her classmates and this time alone, since her sister Celina would soon graduate. In October 1886, her older sister, Maria, also entered the Carmel of Lisieux, where she would become Sister Mary of the Sacred Heart, while Leonia entered the convent of the Benedictines of Lisieux as a religious, from where she left after Little time. Surprised and saddened, Luis Martin keeps his two youngest daughters with him at the Buissonnets. After Maria's departure from her "third mother", Teresa goes through a period of depression and cries frequently.
Her attacks of scruples reached their climax and she no longer knows whom to trust now that Maria has entered Carmel. The solution would come when she spontaneously began to pray to her four siblings who died when they were still very young ( María Helena, José Luis, José Juan Bautista and María Melania Teresa ); She speaks to them simply, to ask them to intercede for peace for her soul. The response was immediate and she definitely feels calm, she would later say: "I realized that if she was loved on earth, she was also loved in heaven."
The conversion at Christmas 1886 and the beginning of the third period of his life
One of the most remembered episodes in his life was that of the great conversion of Christmas 1886. When he arrived from the Christmas Eve mass together with his father and his sister Celina, as was customary, he would run to see the shoes that she left there for the Child Jesus and discover them full of toys. Her father told her to go upstairs to change for dinner and, somewhat tired, told Celina: Fortunately this is the last year that these things happen .
She explains the mystery of this wonderful conversion in her writings. She, speaking of Jesus, said: "That night was when He became weak and suffering for my love, and he made me strong and courageous." She then discovers the joy of forgetting herself and adds: "I felt, in a word, that charity entered my heart, the need for me to forget to seek to please, and since then I have been happy. & # 34; Suddenly, she is free of her childhood flaws and imperfections, such as her tremendous sensitivity. With this grace of the Child Jesus, who was born that night, she found "the strength that she had lost"; when her mother died.
Many things will change after this Christmas Eve in 1886, which marks the beginning of the third part of his life, "the most beautiful". What she calls the "night of my conversion" and she wrote: & # 34; Since that blessed night, I was no longer defeated in any combat, instead I went from victory to victory and began, as it were, a career of giants. & # 3. 4;
The adoption of her "first child" and the beginning of the struggles for his vocation
Shortly after the “great grace of Christmas”, he heard about a man who had murdered three women in Paris, whose name was Enrique Pranzini. Teresa decided to adopt him as her first spiritual son and offered sacrifices and several masses, which she had done with the help of her sister Celina, to obtain from God the conversion of this sinner before his execution, or at least some sign of repentance.. Pranzini had been sentenced to death and was executed on August 31, 1887, but a few days later the Catholic newspaper La Croix (in Spanish 'La Cruz') arrived at his home reporting that, although Pranzini did not want to confess, before going up to the guillotine he asked for a crucifix and then kissed it repeatedly. Thus, she felt that his sacrifices and prayers had been heard.
God's merciful response to her prayers for Pranzini's conversion deeply marked Teresa and strengthened her vocation, it would also be seen later that this would greatly influence her doctrine regarding divine mercy that characterizes her so much. And she completely decides to become a Carmelite nun, to pray for all sinners.
When she was 14 years old, she had already made the decision to become a Carmelite nun, she knows that she will have to overcome many obstacles and thinking perhaps of Joan of Arc, she tells herself that "conquering the fortress of the Carmelo is just the tip of the sword."
He decides to first get the consent of his family, including his father. Determined, but shy, she decides to tell her father about it. For a moment she doubts her, giving him her secret, especially since Luis Martin suffered a small attack a couple of weeks before that left him paralyzed for several hours. On June 2, 1887, the day of Pentecost, after praying all day, she presented her request to him at night, in the garden of the Buissonnets. Luis, who according to Teresa seemed to have a “ heavenly and peaceful expression ” receives the confession of his daughter with a deep feeling of joy and gratitude. She adds that God did her "the great honor of calling all his daughters."
But the biggest obstacle will be uncle Isidoro Guerin, tutor of the Martín girls, since he will veto his niece's project. Although he does not question Teresa's religious vocation, he asked her to wait until the age of seventeen. The girl trusts that Paulina will be able to help her obtain permission from her uncle. She finally accepts on October 22 of that year.
Even so, he continued to have many inconveniences for his entrance to the convent, since now he would face the refusal of Father Delatroëtte, superior of the Carmel of Lisieux. Hurt by the failure of a case similar to hers, that everyone is talking about in Lisieux, that they will no longer accept applicants under the age of twenty-one. Only the bishop could authorize such a thing. To comfort her daughter who cries constantly, Luis promises her a meeting with Bishop Monsignor Hugonin. He receives her in Bayeux on October 31 of that year, and she hears her express the desire to consecrate herself to God within the walls of Carmel, and that she has kept it since she was very young. But the bishop decides to postpone her decision until later, when he has taken the advice of Father Delatroëtte.
They have only one hope left: to speak directly to the pope. Luis Martin would soon begin to prepare everything for a pilgrimage to Rome, for the priestly Jubilee of Pope Leo XIII, organized by the Diocese of Coutances and Bayeux. Teresa and Celina will travel with him. The departure is set for November 4, 1887.
The pilgrimage to Rome
Led by the Bishop of Coutances, the pilgrimage gathered nearly two hundred pilgrims, including seventy-five priests. The trip began in Paris, Luis Martin had the opportunity to visit the capital with his daughters. It was during a mass at Nuestra Señora de las Victorias (currently a minor basilica) that Teresa managed to dispel all doubts about whether or not the Virgin would have truly smiled on her during her illness in 1883. During the last few years she had suffered a lot in this regard, because of her problem with scruples. But she now she had it for absolute truth. There she entrusts him with her journey and her vocation.
A special train takes them to Italy, after crossing Switzerland. The girl did not get tired of admiring the landscapes. The pilgrims, almost all of high rank, are received in the best hotels. Once shy and reserved, Teresa feels somewhat uncomfortable with all this luxury in the midst of a society that only sought the goods of this world. She is the youngest of the pilgrimage, very happy and pretty, with her beautiful dresses, she does not go unnoticed.
It is during this trip that Teresa, who until now had not had close contact with many priests, realizes the imperfections, weaknesses and great flaws that many of the priests who traveled with her have. All this invited her more forcefully to offer her life in the monastery, praying every day for the priests of the world. She says: “During this pilgrimage I understood that my vocation was to pray and sacrifice myself for the sanctification of priests”.
During the pilgrimage they manage to visit Milan, Venice, Bologna, the sanctuary of Our Lady of Loreto. Finally, they reach Rome. At the Colosseum, Teresa and Celina ignore the prohibitions and enter it, to kiss the arena where the blood of the martyrs was shed. In that place she asks for the grace to be martyred for Jesus, and then added: & # 34; I felt deeply in my soul that my prayer was answered ”.
But Teresa doesn't forget the purpose of her trip. A letter from her sister Paulina encouraged her to present her petition personally to the pope. On November 20, 1887, in the morning, pilgrims attend a mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIII in the papal chapel. Then comes the long-awaited moment of the audience: the vicar general assigns the turns to see the pope. But speaking to the Holy Father is prohibited, since his seventy-seven years no longer allow him to wear himself out for a long time. Even so, when Teresa's turn comes, Celina had previously encouraged her to speak as an accomplice, she kneels down and sobbing says: "Most Holy Father, I have to ask you for a very big grace& #3. 4;. The vicar tells him that she is dealing with a girl who wants to enter Carmel. "My daughter, do what the superiors tell you" the pope replied. The girl insists: "Oh Holy Father, if you say yes, the whole world will approve.". Leo XIII replied: "Let's see..... He will enter if God wants him!". But Teresa wants a decisive word and she waits for her, with her hands crossed on the Pope's knees. Two guards must then gently pick her up and carry her out of it.
That same night she wrote about the failure to Paulina to tell her: "My heart is heavy. However, God cannot give me any proof that is beyond my strength. He gave me the courage to endure this ordeal." Soon, the entire pilgrimage knows Teresa's secret, even in Lisieux a journalist from the newspaper El Universo published the incident.
The journey continues, visiting Pompeii, Naples, Assisi; then it's time to go back through Pisa and Genoa. In Nice, a ray of hope appears for Teresa. The vicar makes some promises telling her that he would support her request. On December 2, they arrive in Paris, and finally, the next day, they return to Lisieux. Thus ended a pilgrimage of almost a month that for Teresa was a "fiasco”.
Entering religious life
Immediately after returning, Teresa went to the Carmel booth, where a strategy is being developed. But Father Delatroëtte remains defiant and mistrusts his intentions to enter. He scolds the superior, Mother Genoveva, the founder of the Carmel of Lisieux, and Mother Maria de Gonzaga who came to defend Teresa's cause. Uncle Guérin intervenes in turn, but all to no avail. On December 14, Teresa wrote to Bishop Hugonin and his Vicar General, whom she reminds of the promise made in Nice. Humanly, everything has been judged, she must now wait and pray. On Christmas Eve, the anniversary of her conversion, Teresa attended midnight mass. She cannot hold back her tears, but she feels that her trial makes her faith grow and she abandons herself to God's will: that it was her mistake to try to impose a date for her admission to Carmel.
Finally, on January 1, 1888, the eve of her fifteenth birthday, she receives a letter from Mother Maria de Gonzaga informing her that the Bishop has changed his mind and is allowing the doors of the convent to be opened for her. On Paulina's advice, it was decided that her admission be delayed until April, after the rigors of Lent. This expectation is a new test for the future postulant, who nevertheless sees an opportunity to prepare herself in her privacy.
The entry date is finally set for April 9, 1888, the day of the Annunciation. Teresa enters with fifteen years and three months. It should be noted that, at that time, a girl could make her religious profession at the age of eighteen. It was not uncommon to see, in religious orders, postulants and novices as young as sixteen. Teresa's precocity, given the customs of the time, is not exceptional.
On April 9, 1888, she was received at the monastery of the Discalced Carmelites in Lisieux. Her sisters, Paulina and María, were already in the monastery. She thus began her postulate.
The first few months inside the monastery were hard, full of jobs that he had never done and that he had a hard time doing perfectly. She forbids her sisters to facilitate her work or help her in any way, as they insisted on taking care of her as if she were at the Buissonnets. But even so, the young applicant adapts well to her new environment. Teresa wrote: "The Good Lord gave me the grace of not having any illusions upon entering Carmel: I have found religious life as I imagined it would be. No sacrifice amazed me”.
The mother superior, María de Gonzaga, who had previously been known as kind and gentle, treats her very coldly, with quite a few demands and even humiliation, but she does everything to form a character typical of the religious life, prove her vocation and put aside any trace of pride and vanity, for which Teresa was always grateful and even always felt great admiration for her. The superior herself comments: “I never would have thought that she had such advanced wits for being fifteen years old! There is not a word to say, everything is perfect”.
During her postulate, Teresa also has to undergo some bullying from other sisters, due to her lack of aptitude for crafts. Like any religious, she discovers the challenges of community life, related to differences in temperament, character, susceptibility to problems or disabilities.
At the end of October 1888, the provincial chapter approved his taking of the habit. Although he received the news with joy, it was somewhat overshadowed by the news of his father's health relapse, who had run away from home just a few months before, without a sense of reason, until finding him in the nearby city of Le Havre, worrying like this to the whole family, both outside and inside the monastery. Finally, on January 10, 1889, she took the habit of the order in the monastery chapel in the presence of her father, her sisters, and the rest of her family. In the same ceremony, in addition to receiving the novice veil, she also changed her name to Teresa of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (sacred face).
In this period, the meaning of his vocation deepens: leading a hidden life, praying and offering his sufferings for priests, forgetting his pride, discreet acts of charity multiply. She wants to become a great saint but she has no illusions about herself. She wrote: "I applied myself especially to practicing the small virtues, since I don't have the facility to practice the great ones".
In the course of 1890, he read the works of Saint John of the Cross, whom he became his spiritual teacher. The contemplation of the Holy Face nourishes his inner life. He deepens his knowledge and love for Christ by meditating on his humiliation with the passage from the Book of Isaiah about the suffering servant (Isaiah 53:1-2). This meditation also helps her understand the humiliating situation of her father due to the degeneration that has caused terrible arteriosclerosis in the brain. She had always seen him as a figure of hers & # 34; Heavenly Father & # 34;. She now finds signs of Luis Martin through Christ, humiliated and unrecognizable.
On September 8, 1890, at the age of seventeen and a half, he made his religious profession. The young Carmelite herself remembers why she responds to this vocation: "I have come to save souls and, especially, to pray for priests". On September 24, 1890, her public ceremony was held, where she took the black veil of profession. Her father is unable to attend, which greatly saddens Teresa. It is, however, Mother María de Gonzaga, who declares that this girl is seventeen and a half years old and has the reason of a thirty-year-old, the religious perfection of an old novice, who is consumed in her soul and in possession of herself. She is a perfect religious.
On May 12, 1892, he met his father for the last time. On June 24 of that same year, her sister Leonia entered for the second time, this time in the Monastery of the Visitation in Caen. Luis Martin died on July 29, 1894, after being guarded and cared for by Celina, his fourth daughter. She too has been thinking, for several years, of entering Carmel. With the support of Teresa's letters, she maintained the desire to consecrate herself to God instead of agreeing to marriage. Celina still vacillates between the Carmelite life and a more active life, when she was asked to embark on a mission headed by Father Pichon in Canada. Finally, following the advice of her sisters, she chose Carmel. Entered on September 14, 1894. In August 1895, four Martin sisters are in it. They will also be joined by her cousin Maria Guerin, Teresa's childhood playmate.
The hidden life in Christ
The years that follow are those of the maturation of his vocation. Teresa prays, without great sensitive emotions, but with fidelity. She avoids meddling in the debates that sometimes disrupt the community. She multiplies small acts of charity and concern for others, rendering small services, without making them notice. She quietly accepts criticism, even from those that may be unfair and favor the sisters who are unpleasant to her. She tries to do everything, even the smallest things with love and simplicity. She always prays a lot for the priests.
During 1891-1892, in the winter, a flu epidemic hit France. The Lisieux Carmel is no exception. Four nuns die from this disease. And all the sisters get sick, except three of them, including Teresa. She then tries to give everything to her bedridden sisters. She gives them care, she participates in the organization of the daily life of Carmel, showing courage and strength in adversity, especially when she has to prepare the burial of deceased nuns. The community, which at times considered it of little value and indifference, has now seen it in a different light.
Her spiritual life is nourished above all by the Gospels, which she always carries with her. See the article by a Dominican: The Gospel in Lisieux. This custom was not common at the time, not even among cloistered nuns. They prefer to read the Bible commentaries than refer directly to it. Teresa prefers to look directly at "the word of Jesus," that she illuminates her in her prayers and in her daily life, as well as being the base from which she consolidates her doctrine.
Her sister Paulina (Inés de Jesús) is elected prioress of the Lisieux monastery on February 20, 1893 and she appoints Teresa the difficult position of being vice-master of novices, trying with great dedication to imprint the Carmelite rule on her pupils For this, he helped himself by telling stories and even invented parables. They were the first to learn of her doctrine on “ the little path ”. Among the novices she taught, Sister María de la Trinidad would become her first disciple.
In 1894, Teresa wrote her first pious reenactments. These are small plays, interpreted by some nuns of the community, on the occasion of some festivity. The first recreation of it is dedicated to Joan of Arc, whom she had always admired, and whose cause for beatification has already been introduced. Her talent for her writing is recognized. Other writings of hers will be assigned to her, a second on Joan of Arc, which took place in January 1895, as well as some spiritual poems, at the request of other nuns.
Earlier this year, he started experiencing a sore throat and chest pain. Unfortunately, mother Inés does not dare to call a doctor who is not the official doctor of the community.
In 1894 the centenary of the martyrdom of the Carmelites of Compiègne was celebrated. This event has a great impact throughout France, and even more so in the Carmelite monasteries of France. The nuns of the Carmel of Compiègne ask their sisters of Lisieux to contribute to the decoration of their chapel. Teresa of the Child Jesus and Teresa of San Agustín embroider flags to be given to this other carmel. Sister Teresa of San Agustín, when testifying in the process of the beatification of Teresita, she highlights the zeal and dedication that she gave herself on this occasion. She even said that Saint Teresa said: & # 34; What happiness if we had the same luck (of martyrdom) ! How funny”.
The discovery of the little path
Teresa entered Carmel with the desire to become a great saint. But at the end of 1894, after six years, she recognized that this goal was impossible to achieve. She thinks that she still has many imperfections and lacks the charisma of Teresa of Jesus, Paul of Tarsus and many others. She is still very small and she is still very far from the great love that she would like to practice.
She understands that it is in this very smallness that she can trust to ask for God's help. Reading the holy scriptures, she in the book of proverbs she reads: "Whoever is foolish, let him come to me! "( Prov. 9-4 ) this give an initial answer. She feels that even though she is so small and incapable she can give herself to God with confidence. But then what will happen to that? A passage from the book of Isaiah gives a deeply encouraging answer: “You will be like babies carried in the arms and caressed on the knees. Like a son who is comforted by his mother, so I will comfort you" (Is 66, 12-13). She concludes that Jesus himself will take her to the pinnacle of holiness. Later she would write: & # 34; The elevator that should take me to heaven is your arms, Oh Jesus! For this reason, I do not need to grow, on the contrary, I have to continue being small, more and more and more".
Teresa's littleness, her limitations become joy, rather than discouragement. Because it is there that God's merciful love for her is realized. In her manuscripts she describes it as the discovery of the & # 34; little path & # 34; . In February 1895 she began signing her letters by regularly adding "little"; before her name. From that moment, Teresa uses the vocabulary of smallness to remember her desire for a hidden and discreet life. She now also uses it to express her hope: the more she feels small before God, the more she can count on him.
The offering as an act of holocaust to merciful love
On June 9, 1895, on the feast of the Holy Trinity, Teresa has a sudden inspiration about offering herself as a holocaust victim to "merciful love." Her intention was to suffer, in the image of Christ and in union with him, to repair the offenses against God and offer the penances that sinners did not do.
In this way, June 11, he offers himself to the merciful love of God to receive from God that love that he lacks to complete everything he wants to do: "Oh, my God! Most Holy Trinity, I wish to love you and make you loved, to work for the glorification of the Holy Church by saving souls [...] I wish to perfectly fulfill your will and reach the degree of glory that you have prepared for me in your kingdom heavenly. In summary: I want to be a saint, but I know my impotence and my weakness, and I ask you, my God, that you yourself be my holiness”.
A few days later, when she was praying the Stations of the Cross, she was inflamed by an intense love of the good God: “I was burning with love and I felt in a minute, not a second more, that I couldn't bear this anymore without die". She recognizes in this experience, which is quickly followed by a feeling of spiritual dryness, the confirmation that her act of offering was accepted by God.
In October 1895, a young seminarian, Father Maurice Bellière, asked the Carmel of Lisieux for the help of a nun through prayer and sacrifice, for his missionary vocation. Mother Inés entrusts it to Teresa, who has always dreamed of having a priest brother and she receives him with great joy. She then begins to multiply the small sacrifices that she offers for the future priest's mission, and she encourages him in her letters. And in February 1896 another joy came to her with the religious profession of her sister Celina (Sister Genoveva, in Carmel).
The “night of faith” and illness
During Lent of 1896, Teresa rigorously followed the exercises and fasted. On the night from Thursday to Good Friday, she suffered a first attack of hemoptysis. She informed Mother Maria de Gonzaga, although she told her that she was not serious. A second crisis occurs again the following night. This time, the Prioress cares about her and allows her to call her cousin, Dr. La Neele, to check on her. He thinks the bleeding could come from a ruptured blood vessel in her throat. Teresa has no illusions about her health, but at the same time she was not afraid. On the contrary, she with death she could soon ascend to heaven and find what she had chosen in Carmel: her joy was at its peak. Even so, she continues to participate in all community activities, sparing no effort.
This difficult period is also a period of abandonment, also called the "night of faith". During Holy Week in 1896, he suddenly entered an inner darkness. The sense of faith that animated her for so many years, that made her happy to the point of wanting to "die of love" because of Jesus, she disappeared from her soul. In the darkness of her, she heard an inner voice that seemed to mock her, and her happiness, which she expected in her death, as she moves towards the "night of nothingness". Her struggles are not about the existence of God, but about the belief in eternal life, and whether she would deserve it.
Now he only has one impression: he's going to die young, for nothing. He could not continue his life as a Carmelite. Only the songs and poems, which she continues to compose at the request of the sisters, help her in her inner struggle: "My heaven is smiling at the God I adore when he tries to hide from my faith". The darkness continues to envelop her and will persist until her death a year later. Yet she saw that night as the final battle, the chance to demonstrate her unwavering trust in God. Refusing to give in to this fear of nothingness, she multiplies the acts of sacrifice. She means by this that she continues to believe, even though her mind has been invaded by objections and doubts. And although this struggle is even more painful, she takes the opportunity to share with her sisters her desire to be active and do much good after her death.
Starting in May 1896, Mother Maria de Gonzaga asked Teresa to sponsor a second missionary with her prayer: Father Adolfo Roulland. Her correspondence with her spiritual brothers is an opportunity to develop the concept of her holiness: & # 34; Ah! Brother, the goodness and merciful love of Jesus are little known!... It is true that to enjoy these treasures one must humble oneself, recognize our nothingness, and this is what many souls do not want".
In September 1896 Teresa still had many desires, she wanted to include everything in the Church: apostle, priest, missionary, martyr and doctor. Reading the letters of Saint Paul, in the First Epistle to the Corinthians chapter 13, she is illuminated from the depths, like a ray that crosses her. Then the deeper meaning of her vocation suddenly appears in front of her, "I have finally found my vocation, my vocation is love..." In fact, the vocation to love includes all the others. This is how all of Teresa's wishes come true. "I understood that love encompasses all vocations, that love is everything, that love encompasses all times and all places, in a word, that love is eternal.” Teresa strives, more and more, to live entirely for love, and she strives to live this love in the company of all her community sisters, especially those with difficult temperaments.
Father Roulland introduced him to Theophane Vénard. She discovers her writings in November 1896 and Theophane becomes her favorite model for her. In her correspondence she confesses to him: & # 34; These are my thoughts; my soul is like yours”. She will then copy several passages from Theophane Vénard in her will.
Last months of illness and death
In January 1897, when Teresa had just turned 24, she wrote: "I believe my career will not last long". However, despite the worsening illness over the winter, she manages to fool the Carmelites and take her place back into the community. In the spring the vomiting, severe chest pain, and coughing up blood become a daily occurrence and so, very slowly, she fades away.
In June, Mother María de Gonzaga asked her to continue writing her memoirs (which had been ordered to write in 1894 by her sister Paulina when she was prioress at the request of several of the sisters of the community. After her death these manuscripts, three in total, would come together to publish the first edition of the History of a Soul). She would now write them in the garden, in a special wheelchair used by her father in the last years of his illness, and then transferred to Carmel. Her condition worsens for her, on July 8, 1897 she is taken to the infirmary, where she remained for twelve weeks until her death.
Even though she already knew that this was her last illness, and while still living that night of faith, nothing deprives her of an interior certainty about life after death, Teresa clings to to this hope. On July 17, he is heard saying: "I feel that my mission to make God love as I love him will soon begin, and to teach many the spiritual path of simplicity and childhood. spiritual. The desire that I have expressed to the good Lord is to spend my heaven doing good on earth, until the end of the world. Yes, I want to spend my heaven doing good on earth".
On August 17, Teresa is examined by Dr. La Neele. Her diagnosis is clear: it is pulmonary tuberculosis in its most advanced stage, one of her lungs is already lost and the other part is even affecting the intestines. Her suffering is extreme that & # 34; she manages to lose her mind & # 34; . A few months before her death; Teresa takes a bit of strength, and even finds some humor in the midst of her sick bed. Her sisters must record her words (these last words and conversations, recorded from May to September 1897, would later also be published under the title last conversations ). From her They ask her what they should call her when they invoke her in her prayer; she replies that she wants to be called 'Teresita'' .
On September 29, 1897, his agony began. She spends a difficult night, while her sisters took care of her. In the morning, she said: "Everything is pure agony with no mixture of comfort" . She asks to be spiritually prepared to die. Mother María de Gonzaga reassures her by saying that she has always practiced humility, and her preparation is already done. Teresa thought for a moment and then replied: "Yes, I think I have always searched for the truth; yes, I understood the humility of heart...". Her breath is getting shorter and she chokes. After two days of agony, she feels exhausted by pain: & # 34; I never thought it was possible to suffer so much! Never! Never! I can't explain it except by the desire I have to save souls". Around 7:20 pm on September 30, 1897, and while holding a crucifix tightly in his hands, he said his last words: "Oh!, I love him!... My God... I love you...". She immediately falls lightly onto her pillow, and then opens her eyes one last time. According to the Carmelites who were present, she went into an ecstasy that lasted for the space of a creed, before exhaling her last breath. She remained with her eyes fixed near the image of the Virgin Mary that had smiled at her as a child and that her sisters had installed in the infirmary since she was transferred there. The instant she passed away, her face recovered the soft color that was natural to her. & # 34; I do not die, I enter Life & # 34; , she wrote in one of her last letters.
Immediately the news was brought by Sister Inés de Jesús (Paulina) to her sister Leonia, who on a third and definitive occasion perseveres in her religious vocation in the convent of La Visitación de Caen, and other relatives who for several days have been watching Teresa's illness and agony. Her body was immediately transferred to the choir of the monastery where it was kept awake for four days. Her funeral was attended by more people than any other Carmelite who died before her in that same monastery. Many people asked the other nuns to rub their rosaries and devotional objects on the coffin of their recently deceased sister. She was buried on October 4, 1897 and, according to witnesses, her body was still pink and supple, as if she had just died. She was the first to occupy the new space that the monastery had purchased in the Lisieux cemetery. The Carmelites, obeying her closing vow, cannot accompany the funeral procession to the cemetery, they only make a small procession to the hearse.
Beatification and canonization
Shortly after the publication of his autobiographical manuscripts in 1898, a “Hurricane of Glory” breaks out everywhere and hundreds of pilgrims from all over France and a few other countries begin to arrive in Lisieux to pray over the tomb of the little Carmelite. Devotion to Teresita grows rapidly and is accompanied by testimonies of physical healings and conversions. But it is especially during the period of the First World War when hundreds of French soldiers carry stamps and medals of the Carmelite and carry in her pockets a shorter version of her autobiography called “a leafless rose” . After the war they make a pilgrimage to Lisieux to thank Teresa for helping them and returning home alive. Many leave their military decorations and medals as thanksgiving. The testimonies sent to the Carmel of Lisieux between 1914 and 1918 are almost 592 pages. In 1914, the Carmel of Lisieux received an average of five hundred letters a day.
Soon it is necessary to place iron bars that protect the tomb from pilgrims who want to take flowers or soil from their burial. Pope Saint Pius X responds to the clamor of thousands of faithful who ask him to open the process of Beatification and Canonization of Sister Teresa of the Child Jesus as soon as possible. On June 14, 1914, her cause was officially introduced.
The apostolic process, by mandate of the Holy See, begins in Bayeux in 1915. But it is delayed by the war, which ends in 1917. At that time, a period of fifty years was needed after the death of a candidate for canonization, but Pope Benedict XV exempts Teresa from that period. On August 14, 1921, the decree on her heroic virtues was promulgated.
Two miracles are required for Beatification. The first occurs in a young seminarian named Charles Anne in 1906. Charles suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis and his condition was considered hopeless by his doctor. After two novenas addressed to Sister Teresa of the Child Jesus, he soon recovered his health. A radiographic study in 1921 shows the stability of the healing and that the hole in the lung had disappeared. The second miracle appears in a nun, Luisa de San Germán, who suffered from a stomach ailment, already too advanced for surgery. She asks Sister Teresa for two novenas, after her condition improves. Two doctors confirm her cure.
Presented and accepted these miraculous cures, Teresa is Beatified on April 29, 1923 by Pope Pius XI.
After her beatification, hundreds of testimonies about prodigies and miracles appear, two of these are presented before the Holy See to achieve her canonization, the first is the case of a young Belgian woman, Maria Pellemans, with advanced pulmonary and intestinal tuberculosis and miraculously healed at Teresa's grave. The other case is that of an Italian, Sister Gabrielle Trimusi, who suffered from arthritis of the knee and tuberculosis of the vertebrae that led her to wear a corset; she is suddenly freed from her illnesses and leaves her corset after a Triduum held in honor of Blessed Teresa. The decree of approval of miracles is published in March 1925.
In Vatican City, Pope Pius XI orders that Teresa's canonization be celebrated with great honors and asks that the entire façade of St. Peter's Basilica be decorated with thousands of torches that illuminate it at night. This was a custom that had not been done for 55 years. In America, the American newspaper The New York Times publishes on the front page “All of Rome admires Saint Peter's Basilica illuminated by a new saint”. Another newspaper assured that the ceremony would have around 60,000 faithful. A crowd not seen for 22 years during the coronation of Pope Pius X.
Teresa of the Child Jesus is canonized on May 17, 1925 by the same pontiff. The ceremony was attended by half a million people, among whom it has been said that Saint Pio of Pietrelcina was present thanks to his gift of Bilocation. Pope Pius XI calls her the "star of her pontificate". During her canonization, Pius XI stated about Therese of Lisieux:
"The Spirit of truth opened to her and manifested the truths that are usually hidden from the wise and intelligent and revealed to the little ones, since she, as our immediate predecessor testifies, excelled so much in the science of supernatural things, which pointed out to others the certain path of salvation."
In 1927, she was proclaimed patron saint of the missions despite never having left the convent, but she always prayed for the missionaries and it was always her ardent desire to be so even in the farthest ends of the earth. And, in 1944, she is proclaimed co-patron of France together with Saint Joan of Arc.
It is important to mention the great devotion that Pope Pius XI showed to Saint Teresita. He considered her "the star of his pontificate" and even inaugurated a statue of her in the Vatican gardens on May 17, 1927.
Built in her honour, the Basilica of Saint Therese in Lisieux is one of the largest religious buildings in France and the second most important pilgrimage site in the country, after the Sanctuary of Lourdes. Its construction began in 1929, blessed by Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, future Pius XII, on July 11, 1937, and consecrated in 1954.
Doctor of the Universal Church
On October 19, 1997, during the celebrations of the first centenary of her death, Pope Saint John Paul II proclaimed her a Doctor of the Universal Church, being the third woman to receive that title —previously, they had been declared doctors Saint Teresa of Jesus, also a Carmelite, and Saint Catherine of Siena. She was followed by Saint Hildegard of Bingen in 2012.
During the ceremony of the proclamation of her Doctorate, the Pope granted her the title of “Doctor Amoris” (Doctor of Love) and stated about the saint:
“His teaching is not only consistent with Scripture and Catholic faith, but also highlighted by the depth and sapiential synthesis achieved. His doctrine is, at the same time, a profession of the faith of the Church, an experience of the Christian mystery and a path to holiness. Teresa offers a mature synthesis of Christian spirituality: it unites theology and spiritual life, expresses itself with vigor and authority, with great capacity for persuasion and communication, as demonstrated by the acceptance and dissemination of her message in the people of God. (...) Perhaps in the writings of Teresa of Lisieux we do not find, as in other Doctors, a scientifically elaborate presentation of the things of God, but in them we can discover an enlightened testimony of faith which, while accepting with trusting love the merciful condescendence of God and salvation in Christ, reveals the mystery and holiness of the Church. "
In the same ceremony he would also assert:
“Therefore, rightly, one can recognize in the holy of Lisieux the charism of the Doctor of the Church, both by the gift of the Holy Spirit, which he received to live and express his experience of faith, and by his particular intelligence of the mystery of Christ. In it the gifts of the new law converge, that is, the grace of the Holy Spirit, which manifests itself in the living faith that acts through charity. ”
Literary work
Story of a soul
First published in 1898 (one year after Teresa's death), it is one of the most famous spiritual classics of the last century. It has been translated into 42 languages. Its reading has moved millions of people around the world and has drawn many more to conversion. Especially in this book it is possible to immerse yourself not only in the life of Teresita but also in her intense spiritual life and doctrinal depth. It is in these manuscripts where his deep knowledge of the sacred scriptures stands out, with more than a thousand biblical citations, 400 from the Old Testament and 600 from the New.[citation required]
It is made up of manuscripts A, B and C that Teresita wrote by order of her superior, at that time Inés de Jesús (her sister Paulina), and at the request of the entire community of the monastery. After her death in 1897 the manuscripts were edited, merged and published as a single work under the title "Story of a Soul" which immediately began to inspire and lift the faith of thousands of people.
The manuscript A is dedicated to Mother Agnes during the year 1895. During the winter of 1894, Sister Teresa, prioress of Carmel, ordered her to write down all the memories of her childhood. At the end of January 1895 Teresa bought a small school notebook and got down to work, usually she wrote at night after the office of Compline. With humor and a lighthearted tone, without a set plan, she does not write the story of her life, rather the & # 34; story of her soul & # 34; , which she called Spring story of a small white flower. This rereading is beneficial because it helps her better understand the meaning of what she experienced. In the end, she fills out six notebooks throughout 1895 and gives it to the prioress on January 20, 1896.
The manuscript B is a set of letters to Teresa's godmother, her sister María (María del Sagrado Corazón). It could be defined as the heart of her autobiography because it is the manuscript that contains a large part of spiritual doctrine. In September 1896, while Teresa knew the seriousness of her illness and was entering the night of faith, she began her annual retreat. She takes advantage of the moments of silence and meditation to write letters addressed directly to Jesus. She describes what she experienced for a few months, but above all the graces received in September 1896 and made the great discovery that love was her vocation hers. Maria asked him to prepare a presentation of her "little doctrine", she gives him the letters that make up "The letter of the little voice of childhood" .
The manuscript C that was written in obedience to Mother María de Gonzaga, was actually for Mother Inés, who, realizing that her sister was going to die, begged the prioress so that he would send Teresa to continue with the story of her life. He begins writing in a small black-covered notebook dated June 3-4, 1897. He describes the graces he received in his life, spiritual discoveries he has made, including the "little path". In early July, afflicted with a growing fever, she can no longer hold her pen steady and continued with a small pencil. At the end of August, eaten away by illness, she must give up writing forever.
Other writings
Letters: He wrote more than 250 letters. The first were addressed to different relatives, friends and acquaintances, but it was especially during his religious life that he wrote many letters that shed light on the development of his spirituality, especially those addressed to his sister Celina and his spiritual brothers, Fathers Roulland and Bellière. Bedridden, during the last weeks of her life, Teresa spends more time writing, but her illness is defeating her and on July 16, 1897, she writes her last letters, saying goodbye to her.
Poems: he wrote 62 poems, the first of which, the divine dew or virgin milk was dedicated to Sor Teresa de San Agustín, in February 1893. A This first would be followed by several others that today stand out as living on love, my song today, throwing flowers, my weapons, my wishes with hidden Jesus and many others where she expresses what is found in the depths of her heart.
Prayers: She left 21 prayers in which her deep consecration to God can be confirmed, animated by the intercession of the Virgin Mary and the saints and inflamed by the desire to save many souls. Among them The offering as a holocaust to merciful love is the best known and shared, others can also be highlighted such as the ticket of your profession and the prayer to reach humility.
Pious recreations: he also writes 8 pious recreations (plays), the first in January 1894 to celebrate the Prioress. She chose the theme of Joan of Arc, whom she considers to be hers her "dear sister" and whose beatification was already underway. She is applauded by the Carmelites who discover her talent and now frequently ask her to compose other works, considering her as the & # 34; poet of the community & # 34; . She composes very freely, she is inspired by her reading, especially the Song of Songs, and expresses her desires, her fears, her love for Jesus without & # 34; worrying about style & # 34;.
The following year, she wrote and directed a dramatic piece with six costumed characters called Joan of Arc Fulfilling Her Mission. She herself plays the role of Juana, and then poses for some photographs with Celina, the prioress allowed her to keep her camera, an exceptional event in Carmel at that time. Of the 47 surviving photos of her, 4 before entering the monastery and 43 already inside her, these are some of the most curious, along with those taken a few hours after her death.
Doctrine and spirituality
The Doctrine of Teresa is above all a pedagogy of holiness in the midst of everyday life. His teaching is an encouragement to seek holiness, including Christians who doubt their ability to respond to this call based on the statement that only those who see themselves as poor and defenseless children totally in need of the Father God, are those worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven.
In Teresa's time, marked by the Jansenist heritage, many thought that holiness was reserved for a few chosen souls, experiencing impressive mystical phenomena or doing great things. Even though she hadn't done anything special, Teresa still constantly thought that she could become a saint.
In her pursuit of holiness, she believed that it was not necessary to perform heroics, or great deeds, in order to achieve sainthood and to express her love for God. She wrote:
“Love itself is demonstrated with facts, so how do I show my love? Great works are impossible for me. The only way I can show my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every look, every word, and doing even the smallest acts out of love.”
Between 1893 to 1894, as a result of her inner discernment, she confided her littleness before God and invited him to act in her, this would be the birth of the little path or little way b>. In 1895, she wrote: "I always feel the same bold confidence to become a great saint, because I do not depend on my merits, since I have none, I only hope in Him Who is virtue, even holiness. same. It is only He, content with my feeble efforts, who is going to lift me up to Himself and, covering myself with his infinite merits, I can be a saint."
In her writings, Teresa only mentions the little path once and never refers to it as spiritual childhood. It was her sister Paulina who added this word to better define her teaching on humility and total abandonment, like a child, in the arms of God. She herself clarified that Teresita had never used that word. In May 1897, Teresa wrote to Father Adolfo Roulland: "My path is all trust and love. To Father Maurice Bellière she wrote: "and I, with my way, will do more than you, so I hope that one day Jesus will make you walk the same path as me".
The abandonment in his spirituality and doctrine marks one of the essential points to be able to walk his little path. For Therese of Lisieux, giving up and abandoning oneself does not mean living a continuity of suffering and extreme penance. She teaches it as a disposition of the heart, that when she has already renounced everything that ties her to the world, her vanities, worries and the pride that leads us to think that we alone are capable of living and existing, she is finally free. to surrender completely to the Heavenly Father and depend solely on his will. In this way, abandonment is the fruit of the exercise of humility, which Saint Francis of Assisi also exposed long before it, and also the perfect instrument to fulfill what is said in the Gospel: Whoever wants to come after Me, deny yourself (Mt. 16, 24). She would write about it:
“Sometimes, when I read spiritual treatises showing perfection with a thousand obstacles, surrounded by a multitude of illusions, my poor mind quickly gets tired. I close the book that is breaking my head and drying my heart, I open the Holy Scripture. Then everything seems bright to me; a single word discovers infinite horizons for my soul; perfection seems simple; I see that it is enough to recognize one's own nothingness and abandon oneself, like a child, in the arms of God. Leaving the great souls, the great minds, the beautiful books that I cannot understand, I am glad to be small because only children, and those like them, will be admitted to the heavenly banquet.”
Passages like this have opened the way to the accusation that his spirituality is sentimental and immature. Defenders of her counter that she developed an approach to the spiritual life that people of all backgrounds can understand and embrace.
Another essential point in his doctrine is trust in God's mercy and love. Above all he always put divine mercy before which he trusts and with which there is nothing to fear. First of all, God is Father; and Jesus is the merciful Son of him. She wrote: "Oh Jesus!... I am sure that, if by an impossibility, you found a weaker soul, smaller than mine, you would be pleased to shower her with even greater favors, if she he abandons himself with complete confidence to your infinite mercy." (Manuscript B).
In a letter dated September 17, 1896 to his sister, he wrote the phrase that summarizes the message and ideology of his most deeply rooted ideas and thoughts, the engine of his existence: "Trust, and nothing more than trust, it is what should lead us to the love of God". It has been said that Teresa of Lisieux had already found the theological treasure of divine mercy, several years before Saint Faustina Kowalska received the revelations of Merciful Jesus in 1931.
This sense of mercy is crucial in the last months of his life, as he passes through the test of the "night of faith". During this period, she is harassed by such temptations that she manages to better understand what the greatest sinners experience. However, she continues to believe in the infinite mercy of God towards those who give themselves to Him. In July 1897, when she was already in her last months, her sister Paulina told her that her trust in God was due to the fact that she had been preserved from mortal sin. Teresa answers: You say well, my mother, even if I had committed all possible crimes, I would have great confidence in God, because all our sins, if we trust in divine mercy, are like a drop of water thrown into a large burning furnace".
His last letter to Father Bellière in August 1897 ends with these words: "I cannot fear a God who made himself so small for me... I love him... Because He It's just love and mercy!".
Through her life and writings, Teresa has shown that holiness is accessible to all. Also an anticipation of the Second Vatican Council, the Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium) emphasizes that all Christians are called to holiness.
Places of veneration
In Lisieux
A large influx of pilgrims visiting Lisieux where the unmissable points are the Buissonnets, the Carmel (where most of its relics rest), the monumental Basilica, one of the largest churches in all of France, built in his honor and the cemetery where his remains rested for 26 years.
In the world
Numerous religious buildings, such as sanctuaries, cathedrals, churches, and basilicas, have been named in honor of Saint Therese on every continent. Among them, the following stand out for their importance:
- Cathedral of Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus (Saitama) in Japan
- Cathedral of Santa Teresa (Bacabal) in Brazil
- Cathedral of Santa Teresa (Changchun) in China
- Concatedral de Santa Teresa (Savannakhet) in Thailand
- Basilica of Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus in Cairo
- Cathedral of Saint Teresa of Lisieux in Bermuda
- Basilica of the National Small Flower Sanctuary (Royal Oak) in Royal Oak, United States
- Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower (San Antonio) in San Antonio
Spiritual influence
Throughout the years, thousands of people, believers and non-believers, have been attracted by the testimony that Teresa left in her barely 24 years of life. And for this she herself has aroused great devotion in the world. Her literary work has been translated into many languages and has been an inspiration to many faithful. It can well be said that together with Saint Francis of Assisi, with whom he has much in common in terms of his humble but intense spiritual life, he has become one of the most important figures in the history of Catholicism. Among the most famous devotees who has had “Teresita”, several of them already on the altars, we can name:
- Marc Sangnier
- Hans Urs von Balthasar
- Édith Piaf
- Gilbert Cesbron
- Henri Bergson
- Georges Bernanos
- Claudia Koll
- Charles Maurras
- Pope Francis
Saints:
- Pio de Pietrelcina
- Maximilian Kolbe
- Peter of Jesus Maldonado
- Luis Orione
- Teresa de los Andes
- Isabel de la Trinidad
- Giuseppe Moscati
- John Paul II
- Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer
- Teresa de CalcutaBy becoming religious with Loreto's sisters he changed his name to Teresa after reading the story of a soul)
- Irmã Dulce
- Maria Faustina Kowalska
Blessed:
- Daniel Brottier
- Martín Martínez Pascual
- María Inés Teresa Arias
- Hope of Jesus
- Mary Crucified Curt
- Juan Huguet and Cardona
Worshippers:
- Marthe Robin
- Nicolás D'Onofrio
- Magdalena de Jesús Sacramentado
Servants of God:
- Luisa Piccarreta
- Marcel Van
- Miguel Angel Builes Gómez
- Jacques Fesch
- María Esperanza de Bianchini
Cinema and television
The life of Saint Teresita of the Child Jesus has been made into film and television in the following productions:
Cinema
- 1929 - The vie miraculeuse of Thérèse Martin (Julien Duvivier, France)
- 1938 - Thérèse Martin /Teresa Martin (Maurice de Canonge, France)
- 1952 - Procès au Vatican /La vie de Sainte Thérèse de Lisieux (André Haguet, France)
- 1964 - Le vrai visage de Thérèse de Lisieux (Philippe Agostini, France)
- 1986 - Thérèse /Teresa (Alain Cavalier, France). It was the winning film of six César Awards, by the Academy of Arts and Techniques of the Film of France, including the Best Film in 1987.
- 2004 - Thérèse: The Story of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (Leonardo Defilippis, USA)
Television
- 2011 - Histoire d'une âme, Sainte Thérèse de Lisieux (Michel Pascal, France)
- 2013 - Holy Thesis of the Child Jesus - My Catholic Family (Goya Productions, Spain)