Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus

29th February 2016 Curated by - Br. Sunil Godinho St. Pius X College

Virgin, Nun,

Doctor of the Church

Born: January 2, 1873; Alençon, France

Died: September 30, 1897 (aged 24), Lisieux, France

Canonized: May 17, 1925 by Pope Pius XI

Major Shrine: Basilica of St. Thérèse in Lisieux, France

Feast Celebrated on: October 1

Zélie Martin, mother of Thérèse.

Occupation: Alencon lacemeker

Louis Martin, father of Thérèse.

Occupation: Watchmaker & Jeweler

Rue Saint-Blaise's house at Alençon : The family home and Thérèse’s

birthplace

The basilica of Alençon where St. Therese was baptized

Her mothers letters give us a glimpse of the nature and personality of Saint Thérèse…

• “the poor child flies into appalling rages when things don’t go smoothly for her”

• “she flings herself on the floor & rolls as if she is out of her mind”

• “her stubbornness is almost unconquerable”

Her mothers letters give us a glimpse of the nature and personality of Saint Thérèse…

• “she wouldn’t tell a lie for all the money in the world and she is full of intelligence”

• “she talks of nothing but god and nothing can stop her from saying prayers”

• “her dog, Tom was her favorite

• “she too had “silkworms” as her domesticated pets”

Her love was also extended to all other creatures of God

• “she easily mastered her lessons, with the exception of one – mathematics”

• “she never enjoyed playing games & was not a good mixer; at recreation time she would walk around immersed in her own thoughts”

“her arithmetic might be weak, but

her love of god is great”

This is what her teachers said about her…

• She read it as if the author traced each sentence for her: "The Kingdom of God is within you... Turn thee with thy whole heart unto the Lord; and forsake this wretched world: and thy soul shall find rest."[

• She kept the book with her constantly and wrote later that this book nourished her during the critical period while she was discerning her vocation

Before she was fourteen Thérèse started to read The Imitation of Christ.

Leo XIII – In Nov 1887

• “was denied entry into Carmel by the Bishop because she was underage

• By passed the noble guards and spoke to Pope Leo XIII… “Most Holy Father, I have a great favor to ask of you; please permit me to join the Convent”

“Come, come….you

will enter if it is

God’s will”

An illustration of her courage and perseverance:

• “her obedience was as prompt as it was blind”

• “she was indifferent to claiming any credit for her ideas”

• “She was never fussy about food”

This is what her convent superiors said about her…

Saint Thérèse entered the Lisieux

Carmel in 1888 at the age of 15

• “her habit and sandals were the most heavily patched”

• “She always chose the most uncomfortable place to work”

This is what her fellow sisters said about her…

“Never indulged even into harmless witticisms”

"Eagerly embraced the poverty of Carmel – (poems scribbled on the backs of old envelopes)”

• “I am concerned not with the souls of priests, but with those of great sinners which I want to snatch from the flames of hell”

August 1887; Henri Pranzini, convicted of the brutal murder of two women and a child. Thérèse prayed

hard for the conversion of Pranzini, so his soul could be saved

In one of her own lettersSaint Thérèse says…

“My beloved has let me hear his first call”

This is what she said when she was infected with

tuberculosis & coughed up blood the first time…

A depiction of the Holy Face of Jesus as Veronica's veil, by Claude Mellan c. 1649. St. Thérèse wore an image of the Holy Face on her heart.

• “Above all things Therese excelled in the love of God”

• Human society would be reformed and restores if this way of spiritual childhood were followed”

This is what Pope Pius XI declared at her beatification ceremony:

• “Her writings have been translated and published in various languages around the world”

• “Her little way of spiritual childhood, complete confidence in god and absolute love of him wins new followers everyday”

She continues to work even after her death through the legacy of her writings:

THANK YOU

Bibliography:

St. Therese of the Child Jesus – J. Beevers