ST. THÉRÈSE OF LISIEUX: MY VOCATION IS LOVE

After St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux is the third great luminary of Carmelite spirituality. Although she lived in the nineteenth century (1873-1897), her impact on the twentieth century is remarkable. This is all the more true when we consider that she spent her youth in the closed circle of the Martin family, tenderly protected by a loving father and older sisters, and the remainder of her short life was hidden in the cloister of the Carmel of Lisieux.

           Thérèse was the last of the nine children born into the Martin family, of which four children died in their infancy. Four of the girls became Carmelite nuns at Lisieux and the fifth became a Visitandine. From her earliest days, Thérèse felt the call to the cloister, but when she made the formal request for admittance to Carmel, the superiors refused her because of her youth. Thérèse even travelled to Rome with her father and Celine, to seek a dispensation from Pope Leo XI1I. Finally, on April 9, 1888, she was admitted to Carmel and made her religious profession on September 8, I890.
           In 1894 the prioress, Mother Agnes, a blood sister of Thérèse, asked her to write the memories of her childhood. This was the beginning of Thérèse's autobiography, known as Story of a Soul. In 1895, Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (to give her full title as a Carmelite nun) offered herself to God as a victim soul. The following year she completed the first section of her autobiography and in the same year, she suffered her first hemorrhage. Nevertheless, she began the second section of her autobiography at the urging of another blood sister, Sister Genevieve (feline). In June of 1897, Thérèse was moved to the infirmary, where she completed the autobiography.
        On April 2, 1896, during Holy Week, two spits of blood revealed to Saint Thérèse that she was suffering from tuberculosis. With serenity, she contemplates her imminent death: “It was like a sweet and distant whisper which announced to me the arrival of the Bridegroom”. But, in the last year of his life, his soul is invaded by the thickest darkness, Heaven hides from his sight and strong temptations against the faith assail him. In this ordeal, she is aware of sharing the fate of the unbelievers: “Jesus made me feel that there are truly souls who do not have faith, who, through the abuse of graces, lose this precious treasure. , source of the only pure and true joys,” she writes. Out of love, she accepts this ordeal: “I tell Jesus that I am happy not to enjoy this beautiful Heaven on earth so that He may open it for eternity to the poor unbelievers.” His agony, on September 30, 1897, resembled that of Jesus, “without any mixture of consolation”. But his last words express the victory of his faith and his love: “Oh!... I love him... My God, I love you”.

This passion leads to his entry into Heaven and, here below, to a hurricane of unparalleled glory! The little Carmelite will soon attract crowds. From everywhere, people run to implore or thank her who sheds a veritable “Rain of roses”, temporal or spiritual graces which are the reward for her unshakeable faith in Merciful Love. The words of Jesus: If the grain of wheat fallen into the ground does not die, it remains alone; but if he dies, he bears much fruit (Jn 12:24) is fulfilled literally. On May 17, 1925, several hundred thousand pilgrims from all over the world witnessed the “triumph” of Little Thérèse, glorified and canonized. And today, Pope John Paul II does not hesitate to declare her a Doctor of the Church! On October 19, on the occasion of World Mission Day, this exceptional honour will fall as an additional glory on the Patroness of Missions. The Church sees in her a light for the new evangelization.

Despite her contemplative vocation, St. Thérèse of Lisieux has rightly been proposed as a model for the countless "little souls" (she called them petites âmes) who to all appearances never receive any extraordinary gifts of grace nor experience the lofty heights of mystical union. As a result, St. Thérèse emphasized the need for fidelity to the ordinary duties of one's state of life, the importance of love as a motivating power, and the cultivation of a filial trust in the heavenly Father. Consequently, Pope Pius XI declared that Thérèse's form of spirituality is "an expression of the fundamental teaching of the Gospel." And St. Thérèse said of herself. "I have never given the good God anything but love and it is with love that he will repay."

Saint Thérèse had promised to “spend her Heaven doing good on earth”. Let us ask her to communicate to us her living faith and her unshakeable confidence in Merciful Love. She will transform our lives and guide us on the path to Heaven. We pray for all those dear to you, living and deceased.