Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor – Readings
Commentary on Isaiah 66:10-14; Matthew 18:1-5
The Gospel reading from Matthew speaks of those who are really great in the Kingdom of God. It is the beginning of the fourth discourse given by Jesus in this Gospel, a discourse which discusses the relationships between members of the Christian community.
As the reading opens, Jesus’ disciples approach him and ask who is the greatest in the Kingdom. Probably to their surprise, Jesus called over a small child and placed him among them. He then told them that unless they “change”, i.e. make a radical internal change in themselves, and become like little children, they will not be able to be part of the Kingdom. And what does becoming like a little child mean:
Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
What Jesus is emphasising here is a particular quality of a good child—docility, that is, openness to learn what is true and good. It is this docility towards God and his will for us that is most important for growth as a person and also in making one an effective influence for the good of other people.
Greatness, then, does not consist in great wealth, high intelligence, in power over other people, in high status or fame. It consists, as the Gospel will show elsewhere, in a spirit of dedicated love and service seeking always the well-being of other people.
Jesus also says in today’s reading that:
Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
This is an exhortation for the follower of Jesus to reach out in love and care especially for those who are insignificant and weak in our society. In reaching out to them, we reach out to Jesus himself. Later, in this Gospel, Jesus will say:
Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me. (Matt 24:40)
And, in the passages immediately following today’s reading, he will speak very strongly in condemnation of those who lead the small and the weak astray and away from God.
We can easily see why this reading was chosen for today’s feast. Thérèse was a young Sister living in the total seclusion of a Carmelite convent. In the eyes of the world, which neither knew or cared about her existence, she was a nobody. Yet, after her death, her real greatness in being a perfect child of Christ was revealed and she became a model and inspiration for thousands of people.
The First Reading is from the last chapter of the Book of Isaiah. The reading is part of a hymn to “Mother Zion”, that is, Jerusalem. Here, Jerusalem is taken as an image of God’s loving care for his people and should be read in the context of St Thérèse:
Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
all you who love her…that you may nurse and be satisfied
from her consoling breast;
that you may drink deeply with delight
from her glorious bosom.
This is a lovely description of the love that Thérèse had for her Lord from whom she received so much.
And again:
As a mother comforts her child,
so I will comfort you;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
In a life that was not always easy, and one that ended in a lengthy illness, Thérèse found comfort in her Lord. In spite of her sufferings and through her sufferings she found Jesus close to her. Let us ask her that she may give us the courage to follow her example in our trials and difficulties.
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Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor
Marie Francoise Thérèse Martin was born on 2 January, 1873 at Alencon, southwest of Rouen in the north of France. She was the youngest daughter of Louis Martin, a watchmaker, and his wife, Zelie-Marie Guerin, a lacemaker, who died of breast cancer when Theresa was four years old. Both parents had wanted to enter religious life and, when they could not, hoped their children would do so. There were nine children, but only five girls survived.
Thérèse grew up in a traditional religious home having little contact with the world, typical of middle-class Catholicism of the time. In 1877, the family moved to Lisieux in Normandy, where an aunt helped to look after the girls and where Thérèse went to the Benedictine convent of Notre Dame du Pré. One after the other her elder sisters entered the Carmelite convent in Lisieux. At 15, after her sister Marie entered the convent, Thérèse tried follow her, but the superior of the convent would not allow it on account of her age. Later, her father took Thérèse on a pilgrimage to Rome and, during a general audience with Pope Leo XIII, she asked him to allow her to enter at 15, but the Pope said: “Well, my child, do what the superiors decide.” Soon after, the Bishop of Bayeux gave his consent for her to enter as a postulant in 1888. Her name in religion was Sister Thérèse of the Infant Jesus and of the Holy Face. The following year, 1894, her father suffered a stroke and died, and the fourth sister, who had been looking after him, was now able to enter the Carmel.
Not surprisingly, the overall description of Thérèse’s life is easily told. She followed the daily routine of a Carmelite sister from day to day, but did so with great commitment and devotion.
Apart from being made assistant to the novice mistress in 1893 at the age of 20, she never held any other significant responsibility in the community.
Thérèse is known for her “Little Way”. In her quest for sanctity, she realized that it was not necessary to accomplish heroic acts, or ‘great deeds’, in order to attain holiness and to express her love of God. She wrote:
Love proves itself by deeds, so how am I to show my love? Great deeds are forbidden me. The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love.
Thérèse would later be known as the “Little Flower”.
Thérèse’s final years were marked by a steady decline that she bore without complaint. In 1895, she suffered a haemorrhage which was the first sign of the tuberculosis which was to bring about her early death. On the morning of Good Friday, 1896, she began bleeding at the mouth brought on by her pulmonary condition. Her TB had now taken a turn for the worse.
As a result, she was not able, as she had so dearly wanted, to offer herself for a Carmelite mission foundation in Hanoi, Vietnam (then French Indo-China). She remained at the Lisieux convent, accepting great suffering without complaint. In July 1897, she was moved to the convent infirmary, and just three months later died on 30 September, 1897 at age 24. On her death-bed, she is reported to have said:
I have reached the point of not being able to suffer any more, because all suffering is sweet to me.
Carmelite convent in Lisieux
It is most likely that, like most Sisters in her secluded situation, nothing more would have been heard of her. However, she had been told, under obedience to write a short spiritual autobiography now known as L’Histoire d’une Ame (The Story of a Soul). In 1895, she began writing a memoir of her childhood under instructions from her sister, Pauline, known in religious life as Mother Agnes of Jesus. While on retreat in September 1896, Thérèse wrote the second part, consisting of a letter to her eldest sister, Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart. In June 1897, when Mother Agnes realised the gravity of Thérèse’s illness, she immediately asked Mother Marie, the prioress, to allow Thérèse write another memoir with more details of her religious life. It was published after Thérèse’s death, after editing by her sister, Pauline (Mother Agnes).
The book became a religious best-seller of the 20th century, and was translated into most European languages. It was also a best seller in Asia as well. Its publication was accompanied by reports of miraculous cures and countless ‘favours’ granted through her intercession—and it is still in print.
Since 1973, further editions (including the original version of The Story of a Soul), her letters, poems, prayers, and plays she wrote for convent recreations have been published.
Pope Pius X signed the decree starting the process of canonization on 10 June, 1914. Pope Benedict XV, in an unusual move, dispensed with the usual 50-year delay required between death and beatification. On 14 August, 1921, he promulgated a decree on the heroic virtues of Thérèse and gave an address on Thérèse’s way of confidence and love, as a model for the whole Church.
Thérèse was beatified in April 1923, and canonized two years later, on 17 May, 1925, by Pope Pius XI, just 28 years after her death. Her feast day was added to the Catholic liturgical calendar in 1927, to be celebrated on October 3. In 1969, Pope Paul VI moved it to 1 October, the day after her death.
Thérèse of Lisieux is the patron saint of those with HIV-AIDS, aviators, florists and missions. In 1927, Pope Pius XI named her a patron of the missions (with St Francis Xavier) and in 1944, Pope Pius XII named her co-patroness of France (along with St Joan of Arc).
By the Apostolic Letter, Divini Amoris Scientia (The Science of Divine Love) of 19 October, 1997, Pope John Paul II declared her a Doctor of the Universal Church, one of only three women so named (the others being Teresa of Avila and Catherine of Siena). In fact, Thérèse was the only saint named as a Doctor of the Church during John Paul II’s pontificate.
While presenting a deceptively simple and even pious image, it is clear that Thérèse was very close to the message of the gospel and, in her sufferings, she showed a great spirit of courage, strength and self-sacrifice. Her interior asceticism was based on selfless and unconditional obedience rather than on simple exterior acts of penance.
The influence of her spirituality would lead many in her own convent, in her Order and in the Church generally to a greater appreciation of the asceticism arising from a faithful living out of ordinary community and daily life. In art Thérèse is represented in a Carmelite habit holding a bunch of roses in memory of her promise to “let fall a shower of roses” of miracles and other favours.
Some things which Thérèse said:
- I am a very little soul, who can offer only very little things to the Lord.
- I will spend my Heaven doing good on earth.
- After my death I will let fall a shower of roses.
- While desiring to be a priest, I admire and envy the humility of St Francis of Assisi and I feel the vocation of imitating him in refusing the sublime dignity of the priesthood.