Few spiritual figures have touched as many readers in the past century as Saint Therese of Lisieux, the saint popularly known as the Little Flower. Though she was only twenty-four years old when she died, her writings have had tremendous impact, making her one of the most popular spiritual writers in the twentieth century. Her autobiography, "The Story of a Soul," has been
Few spiritual figures have touched as many readers in the past century as Saint Therese of Lisieux, the saint popularly known as the Little Flower. Though she was only twenty-four years old when she died, her writings have had tremendous impact, making her one of the most popular spiritual writers in the twentieth century. Her autobiography, "The Story of a Soul," has been a source of priceless inspiration ever since it was written, and has become the great spiritual bestseller of our time. A hundred years after her death in 1897, millions of copies have spread throughout the world and it has been translated into more than fifty languages.
The reason for the continued success of her autobiography is, quite simply, that it is unlike any work of devotion and spiritual insight ever written. Once it is read, it cannot be forgotten. Its appeal across cultures and generations has been extensive, moving both peasants and popes, men and women, young and old -- people of every kind of intelligence and education succumb to its spell. Yet is not a conventional work of religious devotion; instead, it is in many ways a supernatural book. In the words of Pope Pius XI, Saint Therese "attained the knowledge of supernatural things in such abundant measure that she was able to point out the sure way of salvation to others," and it is especially in "The Story of a Soul" that she has pointed out this sure way to the generations that have followed her. As Therese herself said of this book just prior to her death, "What I have written will do a lot of good. It will make the kindness of God better known."
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I've been slow to read this book and to review it. Given that many of the devotional writers I read have recommended it, that should be surprise, but St. Therese of Liseaux has a reputation of being a bit saccarine. She is, mind you, in a kind of 19th century pious kind of way, but, underneath all that, is a thoughtful consideration of how faith is developed and the obstacles which one needs to overcome- a majority of which tend to be almost entirely in our heads.
For those who may not have run
I've been slow to read this book and to review it. Given that many of the devotional writers I read have recommended it, that should be surprise, but St. Therese of Liseaux has a reputation of being a bit saccarine. She is, mind you, in a kind of 19th century pious kind of way, but, underneath all that, is a thoughtful consideration of how faith is developed and the obstacles which one needs to overcome- a majority of which tend to be almost entirely in our heads.
For those who may not have run into St. Therese, we are talking about a French nun, who entered the monastery shockingly early (even for that period) and lived out her short life, dying in the mid-twenties. What we have are three documents that St. Therese wrote for superiors (including her sister) stitched together to create an a coherent narrative of her faith development. While the environment of a 19th century nunnery represents a rather different environment today, the value of this autobiography is the perceptive introspection that St. Therese demonstrates in this short work. She is uncompromising in setting out what she was thinking, but is always alive to the grace that she has experienced, even in her most difficult times. That is, I think, what has made this work something of a classic in Christian circles.
Well, this is a spiritual autobiography which is well worth reading and will reward re-reading as one reflects on one's own faith development.
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