The writing case, pen and inkwell used by St. Therese of Lisieux are seen with a facsimile of handwritten pages from the saint's "Story of a Soul." The artifacts were being displayed for reflection and veneration for the first time in America during a tour organized by the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States last October. St. Therese is patron of missionaries and missions. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)
by GSR Staff
Today is the feast day of "The Little Flower," St. Thérèse of Lisieux, a Discalced Carmelite nun of France.
Celebration Editor Pat Marrin wrote a reflection on the life of this person, who entered the convent at age 15 and died at 24, The Hidden Face: Thérèse of Lisieux. It counters what he calls the "saccharine portrait" that is painted of her in early and innacurate accounts. Celebration is one of National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company's projects, a monthly worship planning guide, with essays and other articles like this one from 1999 and appearing again in this month's issue. Here is the beginning:
I was in my late teens when I first read the life of Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897), a gift book from a devoted aunt who sought to encourage vocations in all her nephews and nieces. It is hard to explain my subsequent fascination with this French nun who died of consumption at age 24 without revealing my own emerging sensitivities to things spiritual at a crucial time in my adolescence.
Thérèse offered an almost embarrassing intimacy to readers in her autobiography, which began as a personal memoir she wrote at the request of her older sister and never intended for publication. It was treasured by her community after her death. Like many readers, I found in her a spiritual friend, passionate, tragic and perfectly sublimated.