The articles

Biographical profile of Thérèse

FIRST PART

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1 - It is the truth that Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin, in religion Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, received from the mother prioress of the Carmel of Lisieux the Order to write without constraint on her life which would come naturally to him. Our Lord having made her feel that by simply obeying, she would be agreeable to him; before beginning to sing the mercies of God, she begged the Blessed Virgin to guide her hand, not wanting to write anything that would not please her.

Such is the origin of this kind of autobiography entitled: “Story of a soul.” It is not the life of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, but we find her thoughts on the graces that Our Lord deigned to grant her during her life. She was happy, she wrote in a graceful language, to sing, close to her mother prioress and for her alone, these ineffable benefits and to write the story of a little flower picked by Jesus. She adds: “The little flower who is going to tell her story is delighted to have to publish the completely gratuitous attentions of Jesus. She recognizes that nothing was capable in her of attracting her divine gaze, that her mercy alone has filled her with blessings" - MSA 3,1 - As will be proved by well-informed witnesses, who will bring proof of this that they advance.

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2 - Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin was born in Alençon on January 2, 1873, of very Christian parents. His father, Louis-Joseph-Stanislas Martin, distinguished himself by his spirit of faith and great charity; his mother, Zélie Guérin, was a woman of fervent and enlightened piety. God had given fruitfulness to their union. Marie-Françoise-Thérèse was their ninth child. She was baptized in the church of Notre-Dame in Alençon, diocese of Séez, on January 4, 1873. - As will be noted...

3 - These Christian parents were constantly concerned about the eternal salvation of their children who were growing up in an atmosphere of true and solid piety. Ease, far removed from refinement and luxury, reigned in their interior; God blessed their temporal affairs. He reminded him of four of the children from an early age: two boys and two girls. The other five girls entered religious life; four were received at the Carmel of Lisieux, one at the convent of the Visitation of Caen. - As will be seen...

4 - Thérèse, the last, was surrounded by the most lively affection. We liked to lavish on her, with the names of queen, little queen, the most tender caresses. Her intelligence awoke very early and from then on she tasted the charms of virtue. Like several saints, Saint Thérèse, Saint Geneviève and many others, she was distinguished by a precocious maturity, especially vis-à-vis the supernatural thoughts which attracted her throughout her life. " Oh! how I would very much like you to die, my little mother,” she said to him one day. As they scolded her: "It is nevertheless - she answered - so that you go to heaven, since you say that you have to die to go there." - MSA 4,2 - She wished death on her father in the same way, when she was in her excesses [29r] of love, she was about three years old. From this age, despite her tenacity of will and her growing pride, she applied herself, at the instigation of her sisters, to offering small sacrifices to God; she was initiated into charity and was happy to bring to the poor the alms entrusted to her. - As it will be noted by well-informed witnesses, who will bring the proof of what they advance, because they saw it or heard it said.

5 - At four and a half years old, Thérèse lost her mother, after a long illness. She kept a painful and imperishable memory of those days. Everything had struck her very sensitive nature: the remoteness at first to which she was forced to submit, the ceremony of Extreme Unction, her father's pain, the kiss on her mother's icy forehead, the sight of the coffin which she considered for a long time. After the funeral, the five little orphans were reunited and very sad. Céline chooses her sister Marie as her mother; then Thérèse threw herself into the arms of the eldest, saying: “For me, it is Pauline who will be mother” - MSA 12,2 - . And henceforth she gave him her fullest confidence. - As will be seen...

6 - After his widowhood, Mr. Martin came to live in Lisieux at the Buissonnets house, in order to bring his children closer to their maternal family. Thérèse was growing up, under the firm and enlightened direction of her sister Pauline. She tried to do her actions to please Jesus and not offend him, and in the evening she was anxious to know if the good Lord was pleased with her. From the age of five and a half, she understood all the religious instructions she heard, so the time of her first confession was brought forward. Her preparation had been so serious that she presented herself to the priest as to the good God, [29v] she took away from this first confession a memory full of joy and a greater devotion to the Blessed Virgin. As will be seen...

7 - It was a joy to go out with Mr. Martin, their walk usually ended with a visit to the Blessed Sacrament. She loved Sunday ceremonies, religious festivals, pious readings, prayer in common, having, she said, only to look at her father to know how the saints pray. She glimpsed, in a sort of prophetic vision, immediately told to her sisters, the crosses which were to weigh on the end of this beloved father. She thought she recognized him in the guise of an old man bent with age and bearing on his white head the sign of his great ordeal; his affectionate heart could never drive this memory away and the event later confirmed his childish apprehensions. - As will be seen...

8 - Thérèse entered the Benedictine nuns of Lisieux, to attend boarding school, at the age of eight and a half. Her keen intelligence shone in her studies, but she preferred time spent with her family to the noisier games of her companions. Soon the departure for Carmel of her sister Pauline, who had been a second mother to her, caused her very deep pain. At this time and in conversations with his sister, his first aspirations for the life of the cloister and the desire to achieve holiness can be traced back. She even opened up about it, at the instigation of her sister, to the mother prioress of Carmel. This postponed for many years the little nine-year-old postulant, who had to go through many ordeals first. The first was a very serious illness, accompanied by strange phenomena, fears attributed to the devil; the science of the doctor and the [30r] devoted care of the family remained powerless. The illness ended suddenly during a novena to Notre-Dame des Victoires. One day, when the condition seemed most serious, her sisters threw themselves on their knees at the foot of the statue of Mary, the little patient joined in their ardent prayer and Mary allowed herself to be touched. "The Blessed Virgin came towards me - she said -, she smiled at me... but I will not tell anyone, for my happiness would disappear" - MSA 30,1 - . She was healed. However, her very impressionable nature was partly divined by her sisters and questions, due to the pious curiosity of the Carmelites, completed the disclosure of the secret, which threw her into a long and painful anxiety.

9 - Thérèse's first communion took place on May 8, 1884. To better prepare herself for it, she offered a large number of small sacrifices, like so many varied flowers; she was eager for the pious advice she received and for the more intimate instructions of her sister Marie. His fervor redoubled during his retirement at the Abbey of Lisieux. She followed her as a boarder and was surrounded with the best care by the Benedictine nuns. Priestly instructions completed the preparation for this great day. “How sweet was Jesus' first kiss to my soul! she wrote, tears of joy flowed during the thanksgiving as she said to Our Lord: "I love you and want to give myself all to you" - MSA 35,1 - . Thérèse had disappeared like the drop of water that is lost in the ocean, Jesus remained alone, he was the master, the king. She pronounced, in the name of her companions, the act of consecration to Mary, animated by a memory full of gratitude for the protection of which she had been the object. - As will be seen...

10 - On June 14, 1884 she received confirmation.

[30v] We read in the “Story of a Soul”: “I had prepared myself with great care for the visit of the Holy Spirit; I could not understand why people did not pay great attention to the reception of this sacrament of love. The ceremony not having taken place on the appointed day, I had the consolation of seeing my solitude somewhat prolonged. Ah! how happy was my soul! Like the apostles, I happily awaited the promised Comforter, I rejoiced to soon be a perfect Christian, and to have on my forehead, eternally engraved, the mysterious cross of this ineffable sacrament” - MSA 36,2 - . As her sister Céline was surprised by these pious desires, which children express rather for the first communion, she then revealed to her, with a holy enthusiasm and an intelligence far superior to her age, what she understood of the virtue of this sacrament. , of taking possession of his heart, of his soul, of his whole being, by the spirit of love. "I did not feel - she said - the impetuous wind of the first Pentecost, but rather that light breeze which the prophet Elijah heard the murmur on the mountain of Horeb. On that day, I received the strength to suffer, a strength that was very necessary to me, because the martyrdom of my soul was to begin soon after” - MSA 36,1-37,2 - .

Indeed the disease of scruples assailed her to such an extent at the age of 13 that her father had to withdraw her from the boarding school of the Benedictines. Her sister Marie was her confidante and supported her, until the day she herself left Les Buissonnets for Carmel. Thérèse then sought her support in her family in heaven, invoking above all the four little angels whom God had called back to him. - As will be seen...

11 - An exaggerated and too personal sensitivity gave way to an intense charity for souls and a great desire to [31r] save them by prayer; it was Grace, 1886, which she calls the time of her conversion. The sight of the wounds of Our Lord on the cross touched his heart, the words of Calvary: "I thirst", came to his mind in the spiritual sense of zeal for the salvation of souls. As she had often heard, at that time, of a hardened assassin, on the point of expiating his crimes in Paris, she employed all the spiritual means for his conversion and made this prayer: "My God, I am quite sure that you will forgive the unfortunate Pranzini, I would believe it even if he did not confess and gave no sign of contrition, so much do I trust in your infinite mercy; but, he is my first sinner, because of that I ask you a sign of his repentance, for my simple consolation. - MSA 46,1 - And, on the scaffold, at the supreme moment, this sinner, obstinate until then, demanded the crucifix which Father Faure, the prison chaplain, made him kiss. The reading of this scene, where the requested sign had been obtained, filled the servant of God with consolation. As will be seen...

12 - Thérèse endeavored with her sister Céline to correspond to grace; The Imitation of Jesus Christ was his habitual reading, the text engraved itself in his memory. She often took communion and Jesus taught her himself; he called her, still very young, to Carmel, Céline was her only confidante. At fourteen and a half, the moment seemed to him to have come to tell his father about it; many obstacles were going to oppose the pious project; to triumph over it, she invoked the Holy Spirit with fervor and resolved to express her desire on the very day of Pentecost. The sacrifice was hard for M. Martin; but deeply Christian, he did not think of opposing his daughter's vocation. "He spoke to me like a saint", wrote the Servant of God - MSA 50,2 - and objected only to the great [31v] youth of Thérèse. The other consents were more laborious to obtain: there was momentary opposition in the family, at Carmel, little encouragement, except from Sister Agnes of Jesus; opposition of the superior of the Carmel, who doubtless believed in the success of a dilatory means, by referring the decision to Bishop Hugonin, Thérèse herself pleaded her case before the Bishop of Bayeux, deeply struck by the precocious vocation of this child. and even more of his father's generosity, but he thought he had to give only an evasive answer because of the child's great youth. The pain she felt could not shake her will to respond, without delay, to the divine call. As will be seen...

13 - Mr. Martin, to comfort Thérèse, took her to Rome with her sister Céline; they had joined the pilgrimage of the diocese of Coutances, organized on the occasion of the priestly jubilee of Leo XIII. She formed the project of asking the Holy Father for permission if desired. The itinerary was combined for the convenience and piety of the pilgrims. The beauties of nature and of art charmed Therese, religious memories touched her more, especially at the sanctuary of Lorette, at the Catacombs, at the Coliseum; the sight of the Pope, the attendance at his mass impressed him to the highest degree. Here is what she wrote at that time: “I don't know how I will go about talking to the Pope; really if the good Lord didn't take care of everything, I don't know how I would do it, but I have such great confidence in him that he won't be able to abandon me, I put everything in his hands" - LT 32 - . Finally came the time for the audience. Pilgrims were allowed to kneel before His Holiness and kiss his ring, with the formal prohibition to make any request to him. However, Thérèse, dominating the emotion that the first meeting with the Vicar of Jesus Christ causes in [32r] everyone, her eyes bathed in tears, encouraged by her sister and supported by grace, she said to the Pope: “Most Holy Father, I have a great grace to ask of you. As soon as she says, lowering her head to me, her face almost touched mine, it was as if her deep black eyes wanted to penetrate me to the depths of my soul. Most Holy Father, I repeated, in honor of your jubilee allow me to enter Carmel at the age of fifteen.

M. Révéroni, vicar general, was next to the Pope, he resumed:

“Most Holy Father, she is a child who desires the life of Carmel, but the superiors are examining the question at the moment.

- Well ! my child, His Holiness tells me, do what the superiors will decide.”

Then clasping her hands and resting them on the Pope's knees, she made a supreme effort.

" Oh! very Holy Father, if you said yes, everyone would like it.

- Come, come, - said Leo XIII to him, emphasizing each syllable -, you will enter if the good Lord wills it ". - MSA">. - MSA> 63,1-2 -

Great was the ordeal of not having the yes so ardently desired. The pious child had done all she could, God had to do the rest; but, from that moment on, there was a kind of veil over his pilgrimage. - As will be seen...

14 - Monsignor the Bishop of Bayeux was informed of what had happened at the Vatican audience, he wrote to the Carmel to give his favorable opinion; it was on the day of the Holy Innocents. The entrance was then adjourned by the mother prioress and postponed until after Lent. The Servant of God explained how she prepared for it, and overcame the temptation to lead a less regulated life than usual during these few months. [32v] God made her understand the benefits of this delay: “I resolved - she wrote - to devote myself more than ever to a serious and mortified life. When I say mortified, I do not mean the penances of the saints. Far from resembling the beautiful souls who, from their childhood, practice all kinds of macerations, I only made mine consist in breaking my will, in withholding a word of reply, in rendering small services around me, without showing them off, and a thousand other such things. By the practice of these nothings I prepared myself to become the fiancée of Jesus and I cannot say how much this expectation made me grow in abandonment, humility and the other virtues. - MSA 68,2 -

The following passage from a letter to his sister Pauline, Mother Agnès of Jesus, reveals the thoughts that animated this generous soul during this period of waiting:

“My darling little mama,

My gondola is having a hard time reaching the port. I have seen it for a long time, and I always find myself far from it; but Jesus guides it, this little boat, and I am sure that on the day chosen by him, it will land happily on the blessed shore of Carmel. 0 Pauline! when Jesus has given me this grace, I want to give myself entirely to him, to always suffer for him, to live only for him. Oh no! I will not fear his blows, for even in the bitterest sufferings one feels that it is his gentle hand that strikes. And when I think that for a suffering borne with joy, we will always love the good God more! Ah! if at the time of my death I could have a soul to offer to Jesus, how happy I would be! There would be one soul [33r] less in hell, one more to bless God for all eternity! - LT 43 - 13. As will be seen...

15 - Entry into Carmel was set for April 9, 1888. The resolution to give herself entirely to God, who had dictated so many steps, did not abandon the young 15-year-old postulant at the time of her departure. Strengthened by the Holy Communion and the blessing of her admirable father, she crossed, without tears, the closing gate, but her heart was beating so violently, at the moment of separation, that she wondered if she was not going to die. She was comforted by the cordial welcome of her new religious family and an intimate peace of soul no longer abandoned her, even with the daily bread of the droughts. Her goal, the salvation of souls and above all prayer for priests, could only be achieved by union with the cross, she understood this and did not cease, until death, to carry her cross. She had all the more merit in that she had to dominate the sensibility of her nature, she refused every opportunity to satisfy it. - As will be seen...

16 - The Servant of God followed a retreat by Father Pichon, SJ, a religious well versed in the guidance of souls; she opened up to him with great simplicity, he reassured her about her past and added: "My child, may Our Lord always be your superior and your master of novices" - MSA 70,1 - words that took nothing away of submission to her religious superiors, in whom she saw the direct representatives of God, but told her to let him act directly in her soul. She quickly turned to the Director of Directors and flourished in the shadow of the cross.

[33v] 17 - The taking of the habit, fixed for January 10, 1889, was presided over by Mgr Hugonin, bishop of Bayeux. M. Martin, in spite of the fears caused by his health, was able to present his daughter to the Lord himself. Soon the state of intellectual and physical depression into which he fell was the ordeal that Thérèse's heart dreaded and felt so deeply; she understood that her father, after having given his children to heaven or to the cloister, had offered himself as a victim. The pains of her filial piety increased with great dryness of soul, and yet she thanked God in her trials and wrote to her sister Céline to console her:

January 1889

“My dear little Céline,

Jesus presents the cross to you, a very heavy cross! and you are afraid of not being able to carry this cross without weakening; Why? Our Beloved, on the road to Calvary, fell well three times, why shouldn't we imitate our Bridegroom? What a privilege of Jesus! How he loves us for sending us such great pain! Ah! eternity will not be long enough to bless him with it. He fills us with his favors, as he filled the greatest saints. What are his plans of love for our souls? This is a secret that will only be revealed to us in our homeland, the day the Lord wipes away all our tears. Now we have nothing more to hope for on earth, the cool mornings are over, we are left with nothing but suffering! Oh! what a fate worthy of envy! The Seraphim in the heavens are jealous of our happiness” - LT 81 - .

And on February 28, 1889:

[34r] “My dear little sister,

Jesus is a Bridegroom of blood. He wants for him all the blood of our heart! You're right, it costs to give him what he asks for. And what a joy it costs! What happiness to bear our crosses weakly! Céline, far from complaining to Our Lord about this cross he sends us, I cannot understand the infinite love that led him to treat us in this way. Our father must be well loved by God, to have so much to suffer! What delights to be humbled with him! Humiliation is the only way that makes saints, I know; I also know that our ordeal is a gold mine to be exploited, Me, little grain of sand, I want to set to work, without courage, without strength, and this very impotence will facilitate my undertaking, I want to work by love. It's the martyrdom that begins... Together, my dear sister, let's enter the lists; offer our sufferings to Jesus to save souls” - LT 82 - .

And again on July 18, 1890:

“And our dear father! Ah! my heart is torn; but how can we complain, since Our Lord himself was considered a man stricken by God and humiliated? In this great pain, let us forget ourselves and pray for the priests; may our life be consecrated to them. The divine Master is making me feel more and more that he wants this from both of us...” - LT 108 - As will be seen...

18 - At the end of her novitiate the Servant of God aspired to her profession, when it was postponed by the ecclesiastical superior. The sacrifice was not accepted without effort, but the divine light showed her that a bride would not be pleasing to her husband, if she were not adorned with magnificent ornaments and she said to God.- "I will put all my care to make me a dress enriched with diamonds and precious stones of [34v] all kinds, when you find me rich enough, I am sure that nothing will prevent you from taking me as your wife. " "

Helped by the Blessed Virgin, she set to work with courage, her efforts focused above all on the virtue of poverty, small, well-hidden acts of virtue, the mortification of self-love, in the absence of other mortifications that prohibited obedience. She said of this period, which lasted twenty months: “All that I have just written, in so few words, would require many pages; but these pages will not be read on earth” - MSA 75,1 - . - As will be seen...

19 - A few have been reported, at least for professional retirement. She wrote to her sister Marie (September 4, 1890):

“Your little girl hardly hears the celestial harmonies. Her honeymoon is very dry! Her fiancé, it is true, takes her through fertile and magnificent countries; but the night prevents him from admiring anything and above all from enjoying all these marvels. You will perhaps believe that she is distressed by it? But no, on the contrary, she is happy to follow her fiancé for him alone and not because of his gifts. He alone is so beautiful! so delightful! even when he is silent, even when he hides! - LT 111 -

“Far from being consoled - she said again - the most absolute aridity, almost abandonment, were my lot. Jesus slept, as always, in my little basket” - MSA 75,2 - . She attributes to a special blessing received from the Holy Father, the assistance which helped her weather the most furious storm of her entire life. A few hours before her profession, in this absolute aridity, the demon suggested to her the assurance that she was not called to Carmel, that she was deceiving her superiors [35r] by advancing in a way that was not made for She. At this moment of anguish and perplexity, Jesus, who indicated to her, as she assures him, the current means of practicing virtue, inspired her to discover the temptation to the mistress of novices and her superior. When this act of humility had been accomplished, peace, a peace which surpasses all feeling, penetrated her heart and remained there, despite the tears shed over the external sadness which accompanied her taking of the veil. She told her sister Céline in her letter of September 23, 1890:

“O Celine, how can I tell you what is going on in my soul?... What a wound! But I feel that it is made by a friendly hand, by a divinely jealous hand!... Everything was ready for my wedding; however, don't you think there was something missing at the party? It is true that Jesus had already put many jewels in my basket, but one was undoubtedly needed, of incomparable beauty, and this precious diamond, Jesus gave it to me today... Dad will not come. not tomorrow! Céline, I confess to you, my tears have flowed...they are still flowing while I am writing to you, I can barely hold my pen. You know how much I wanted to see our dear father again; well! now I feel that it is God's will that he not be at my party. He allowed this simply to test our love... Jesus wants me to be an orphan, he wants me to be alone with him alone, to unite himself more intimately with me; and he also wants to restore to me, in my homeland, the joys so legitimate that he refused me in exile. » - LT 0 -

Our Lord did not abandon her, after her profession, in her many spiritual trials, and consoled her in various ways. One day, he made use of the retreat preacher, who having interviewed them, said to him: “My child, at this moment, I hold the place of the good Lord with you, well! I [35v] affirm to you on his behalf that he is very pleased with your soul”, - MSA 80,2 - and this assurance filled her with joy. Later, it was the dean and foundress of the Carmel of Lisieux, Mother Geneviève, a venerable nun, who at the time of a dark night in her soul gave her this spiritual bouquet: "My little girl, serve God with peace and with joy ; remember, my child, that our God is the God of peace” - MSA 78,1 - . Words that were a rainbow in the life of trials of the young nun. - As will be seen...

20 - A long period of aridity was followed by days of peace and joy: "The divine Master - she said - has completely changed the way he grows his little flower: no doubt finding it sufficiently watered, he now leaves it to grow up under the warm rays of a bright sun» - MSC 1,2-2,1 - His desire for sanctification increased. The distance was extreme between her and a saint, she thought. If God called him there, he would give him the means to bridge the distance. But how? there would be, she always told herself, practical inventions only in earthly life if one discovered an elevator to rise to God. She looked for the secret in the holy books. These words from Proverbs (9,4) seemed to him the desired solution: "If someone is very small, let him come to me", and those from Isaiah (66,13): "As a mother caresses her child , so I will console you, I will carry you on my bosom and balance you on my knees.” The precious lift is found: these are your arms, O Jesus. She no longer desires but to sing the divine mercies, and to sanctify herself in the way in which God calls her. - As will be seen...

21 - Despite her entreaties, the mother prioress entrusted her [36r] with the office of mistress of novices, without giving her the title, she was only 22 years old. “As soon as I entered - she writes - the sanctuary of souls, I judged, at first glance, that the task was beyond my strength; and I very quickly placed myself in the arms of the good Lord.” - MSC 22,1 - She adds: “By understanding that it was impossible for me to do anything by myself, the task seemed to me simplified. I occupied myself interiorly and solely in uniting myself more and more with God, knowing that the rest would be given to me in addition. Indeed, my hope has never been deceived; my hand was full as many times as it was necessary to feed our sisters” - MSC 22,2 - . - As will be seen...

22 - The young mistress of novices behaved with consummate prudence in this direction of souls, she carefully studied the way that God wanted for each one; his attention was always on the alert, whatever it cost him, to observe faults and fight them to the death. If his perspicacity, aided by grace, discovered the slightest faults, his goodness did not recover without imposing a real effort on himself. "I find - she said - the prophet Jonah quite excusable for having fled from the face of the Lord so as not to announce the ruin of Nineveh" - MSC 23,1 - .

Severity was more difficult for the Servant of God because of her young age, and yet she said: “The Lord gave me this grace to have no fear of war; at all costs I must do my duty” - MSC 23,2 - . If she was asked earnestly: "Do not take me by force, but by gentleness, otherwise you will have nothing" - MSC 23,2-24,1 - she said to herself that no one is a good judge in its own cause, that a child, to whom the surgeon makes undergo a painful operation, will not fail to utter loud cries and say that the remedy is worse than the disease; however, when he is cured, he is very happy to be able to play and run. It is the same [36v] for souls, soon they recognize that a little bitterness is preferable to sugar and are not afraid to admit it. - As will be seen...

23 - Vigilance over herself, over curiosity in particular and over sensitivity, was no less than that exercised over her novices: "I know, my mother - she said -, that your little lambs find me severe . they clung to the brambles of the path. The little lambs can say whatever they want: deep down they feel that I love them with a very great love; no, there is no danger that I imitate the mercenary who, seeing the wolf coming, leaves the herd and flees. I am ready to lay down my life for them and my affection is so pure that I don't even want them to know it. Never, by the grace of God, have I tried to attract their hearts to myself; I understood that my mission was to lead them to God and to you, my mother, who here below is the visible God whom they must love and respect” - MSC 23,1-2 - . It is prayer and sacrifice that make all my strength, they are my invincible weapons; they can, much more than words, touch hearts, I know this from experience” - MSC 24,2 - . As will be seen...

24 - The first attack of the evil, which was to prevail, made itself felt by a spitting of blood, at the end of Lent of 1896, on April 3, on the night of Holy Thursday, she was 23 years old. The consequences immediately appeared to him “like a distant murmur announcing the arrival of the Bridegroom” - MSC 5,1 - . Out of mortification, however, she stayed the whole night without [37r] noting the reality of the accident and the next day she insistently asked not to change anything in the Holy Week regime. As will be seen...

25 - God then allowed a new test: violent temptations against the faith came to assail him and cause him an inexpressible martyrdom. These attacks were particularly aimed at the existence of heaven. In this dark night, she multiplied the acts and works of faith, she offered her sufferings in reparation for the faults committed on earth against this virtue. - As will be seen...

26 - The Servant of God wrote out of obedience how this ordeal ended momentarily. Her words are addressed to Jesus and no longer to the mother prioress and she relates the dream she had on May 10, 1897:

“O Jesus, who will be able to say with what tenderness, what sweetness you lead my little soul!... The storm rumbled very strongly in her since the beautiful feast of your triumph, the radiant feast of Easter; when one of the days of the month of May, you made shine in my dark night a pure ray of your grace... Thinking of the mysterious dreams that you sometimes grant to your privileged people, I told myself that this consolation was not made For me; that for me it was night, always deep night! And under the storm, I fell asleep. The next day, May 0, at the first light of dawn, I found myself, during my sleep, in a gallery where I was walking alone with our mother. Suddenly, without knowing how they had entered, I saw three Carmelites dressed in their cloaks and large veils, and I understood that they came from heaven. Ah! how happy I would be [10v], I thought, to see the face of one of these Carmelites! As if my prayer had been heard, the greatest of the saints came towards me and I fell to my knees. 37 happiness! she lifted her veil, or rather lifted it and covered me with it. Without any hesitation, I recognized the venerable Mother Anne of Jesus, foundress of Carmel in France. Her face was beautiful, of an immaterial beauty; no ray escaped from it, and yet, in spite of the thick veil which enveloped us both, I saw this celestial face lit up with a soft light which it seemed to produce of itself. The saint showered me with caresses and, seeing me so tenderly loved, I dared to utter these words: 0 mother, I beg you, tell me if the good Lord will leave me long on earth? Will he come for me soon? She smiled tenderly. - Yes, soon... soon... I promise you. - My mother, I added, tell me again if the good Lord does not ask me anything other than my poor little actions and my desires; is he happy with me?

At this moment the face of the venerable mother shone with a new radiance, and her expression seemed to me incomparably more tender. - The good Lord asks nothing else of you, she said to me, he is happy, very happy!... And taking my head in her hands, she lavished on me such caresses that it would be impossible for me to to make it soft. My heart was in joy, but I remembered my sisters and I wanted to ask some graces for them... Alas! I woke up! I cannot repeat the joy of my soul. Several months have elapsed since that ineffable dream, and yet the memory it leaves me has lost none of its freshness, of its celestial charms. I can still see the eyes and the smile full of love of this Carmelite saint, I think I can still feel the caresses with which she showered me [38r]. 0 Jesus, you commanded the winds and the storm, and there was a great calm. When I woke up, I believed, I felt that there is a sky, and that this sky is peopled with souls who cherish me and look at me as their child” - MSB 2,12 - . - As will be seen...

27 - After burning desires of zeal she exclaimed: “O Jesus, my love, my vocation, at last I have found it, my vocation is love. Yes, I have found a place within the Church and this place, oh my God, it is you who have given it to me, in the heart of the Church, my mother, I will be love. .. I only know one thing, to love you, O Jesus. Brilliant works are forbidden to me, I cannot preach the Gospel, shed my blood... What does it matter! My brothers work in my place and I, a little child, stand very close to the royal throne, I love for those who fight... But how will I show my love, since love is proven by works?. .. I have no other way to prove my love to you than to throw flowers, that is to say not to miss any sacrifice, no look, no word, to take advantage of the smallest actions and to do it out of love. I want to suffer for love and even enjoy for love, so I will throw flowers, I will not meet one without plucking it for you. O Jesus, why can't I tell all the little souls of your ineffable condescension! I feel that if, by some impossibility, you found one weaker than mine, you would delight in showering her with still greater favors, provided that she abandoned herself with entire confidence to your infinite mercy" - MSB 0, 3,2, 4,1-2, 5,2 - As will be seen...

The virtues of Thérèse

[39r]
SECOND PART

THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES, CARDINAL VIRTUES AND OTHER RELATED VIRTUES PRACTICED BY THE SERVANT OF GOD TO THE HEROIC DEGREE

The life of the Servant of God was noted for the constant practice of Christian virtues; from an early age she struggled against her incipient faults. Her virtues grew in religious life to reach by promptness, by generosity, by unfailing continuity, the heroic degree, which distinguished them from the virtues practiced by fervent nuns, as, in a campaign, heroes stand out among the brave people around them.

THE FAITH

28 - Thérèse of the Child Jesus had a precocious faith; she showed it, as a very small child, in her reflections on the power of God, in the thought of heaven, in the practice of sacrifices. "I tried - she said - to please Jesus in all my actions and I was very careful never to offend him" - MSA 15,2 - . His first confession was made with a great spirit of faith; at the age of five and a half, a sermon on the Passion touched her so deeply that since then she never ceased to grasp the meaning and relish all the religious instructions. She testified by her meditative attitude in church, by the taste with which she spoke or heard of pious things of an uncommon devotion. Her virtues reflected on her features a celestial light. A person said while looking at her: “What's wrong with this child? you see some just as pretty, but it's not that beautiful: this little Thérèse has heaven in her eyes." - As, it will be found...

29 - His faith appeared in the distant preparation for the first communion. When her sister Céline was getting ready for this big day, Thérèse was only seven years old, she wanted to imitate her sister and resolved to lead a new life from then on, thinking that four years would not be too long to prepare for the receive Our Lord. Aided by her sister Marie, her efforts redoubled when the immediate preparation came; she isolated herself in her room to think of the good God in true prayer. Here is the memory she kept of her First Communion: «That day - she said - our meeting could no longer be called a simple look, but a fusion. There were no longer two of us: Therese had disappeared like a drop of water lost in the ocean, Jesus remained alone, he was the Master, the
King” - MSA 35,1 - - As will be seen...

30 - She then aspired to approach the holy table often and stood out all her life for her devotion to the Eucharist: "It is not - she said - to stay in the golden ciborium that Jesus descends daily from heaven, but in order to find another heaven, the heaven of our soul where he takes his delight” - MSA 48,2 - . She wasn't content to take communion; she never undertook anything of importance without having the holy sacrifice of the mass offered.
When, at 14, already thirsty for souls, she wanted to obtain the conversion of a famous assassin, named Pranzini, feeling that his little merits would be insufficient, [40r] she asked her sister Céline, who had guessed her intentions, to have a mass said for this criminal and, later, when she was given some money for her feasts, she asked permission to have the holy sacrifice offered for him whom she called "her child" - MSA 46,2 - Here's what she wrote about him:
“In order to excite my zeal, the good Master soon showed me that my desires were agreeable to him. I heard of a great criminal - by the name of Pranzini - condemned to death for appalling murders, and whose impenitence gave rise to fears of eternal damnation. I wanted to prevent this last and irremediable misfortune. In order to achieve this, I employed all imaginable spiritual means; and, knowing that of myself I could do nothing, I offered for his ransom the infinite merits of Our Lord and the treasures of the Holy Church. Should it be said? I felt it in the bottom of my heart the certainty of being heard. But in order to give me courage to continue running to conquer souls, I did
this naive prayer: My God, I am very sure that you will forgive the unfortunate Pranzini; I would believe him even if he did not confess and gave no sign of contrition, so much do I trust in your infinite mercy. But he's my first sinner; because of that, you. ask only for a sign of repentance for my simple consolation. My prayer was answered to the letter! - MSA 45,2 46,1 - As will be seen...

31 - The Servant of God nourished her soul with The Imitation of Jesus Christ, a book she knew by heart before entering Carmel, and with the reading of Sacred Scripture: "In it, I find a hidden manna , solid and pure, but it is above all the Gospel that sustains me during my prayers. There, I draw all that is necessary for a poor little [40v] soul. I always discover there new lights, hidden and mysterious meanings, I understand and I know that the kingdom of God is within us. Jesus does not need doctors or books to instruct souls.
He, the Doctor of Doctors, teaches silently. I never heard him speak, but I know he is in me. At every moment he guides and inspires me; I perceive just when I need it, clarity hitherto unknown” - MSA 83,2 - .
She wrote to a missionary: “Sometimes, when I read certain treatises, where perfection is shown through a thousand obstacles, my poor little mind gets tired very quickly, I close the learned book which breaks my head and dries up my heart, and I take the Holy Scripture. Then everything seems luminous to me, a single word reveals infinite horizons to my soul, perfection seems easy to me, I see that it suffices to recognize one's nothingness and to abandon oneself, like a child, into the arms of the good God. Leaving to great souls, to sublime minds the beautiful books that I cannot understand, let alone put into practice, I rejoice in being little, since only children and those who look like them will be admitted to the celestial banquet. Fortunately, the kingdom of heaven is made up of several mansions! because, if there were only those whose description and path seem incomprehensible to me, I would certainly never enter them...» - LT 226 - Thérèse looked in the holy books for what she calls in her graceful language the elevator to rise up to Jesus: “I asked the holy books for the indication of the elevator, object of my desire; and I read these words from the very mouth of Eternal Wisdom: If anyone is LITTLE let him come to me (Prov. 1, 9). So I approached God, guessing that I had discovered what I was [4r] looking for; still wanting to know what he would do to the little one, I continued my research and here is what I found. As a mother caresses her child, so I will comfort you, I will carry you on my bosom, and I will balance you on my knees. Ah! never have more tender, more melodious words come to rejoice my soul. The elevator which must raise me to heaven are your arms, O Jesus! For that I don't need to grow up, on the contrary, I need to stay small, to become more and more so. 41 my God, you have exceeded my expectation, and I want to sing your mercies! You instructed me from my youth, and until now I have announced your marvels; I will continue to publish them in the most advanced age” - MSC 0 - .

She will sing later:
“In the affairs of heaven deign to make me skilful, / Show me those secrets hidden in the Gospel. / Ah! that this guestbook / is my dearest treasure... / Remember » - PN p695 verse 12 - .
- As will be seen...

32 - The faith which animated his religious life, inspired his words and his writings, was shattered by violent and prolonged temptations; they made it more meritorious. It was at the beginning of his illness. Here's how she portrays them:
“In the bright days of Easter, Jesus made me understand that there really are souls without faith and without hope who, through the abuse of graces, lose these precious treasures, the only source of pure and true joy. He allowed my soul to be invaded by the deepest darkness and that the thought of heaven, so sweet to me since my early childhood, became a subject of combat and torment. The duration of [41v] this ordeal was not limited to a few days, to a few weeks; I have been suffering from it for months, and I still await the hour of my deliverance. I would like to be able to express what I feel; but it's impossible! You have to have traveled under this dark tunnel to understand its darkness. It seems to me that darkness, borrowing the voice of the impious, says to me, mocking me:
'You dream of the light, a fragrant homeland, you dream of the Creator's eternal possession of these marvels, you believe you will emerge one day from the mists in which you languish; advance!... advance!... rejoice in death which will give you, not what you hope for, but an even deeper night, the night of nothingness!...'. Beloved mother, this image of my trial is as imperfect as the sketch compared to the model; however, I don't want to write any more, I would be afraid of blaspheming... I am even afraid of having said too much. Ah! that God forgives me! He knows well that, while not having the enjoyment of the faith, I strive to do the works of it. I have pronounced more acts of faith in the past year than during
all my life» - MSC 5,2-7,1 - .

At the instigation of a very enlightened monk, to whom she had confided her sorrows, she carried on her the text of the Apostles' Creed, which she had written with her blood. One should not misunderstand this state of violent temptations, by reading her poems written at that time, because she affirms: “When I sing of the happiness of heaven, the eternal possession of God, I feel no joy; for I simply sing what I want to believe” - MSC 7,2
- . - As will be seen...

33 - All her life she had great confidence in the protection of the Blessed Virgin. She owed to his manifest protection, during a novena at Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, deliverance from a painful illness for all. In more difficult circumstances, in the direction of the novices, she [42r] cast an interior gaze on Mary. His image was his consolation in sickness. “How I love the Virgin Mary - she said one day: If I had been a priest, how well I would have spoken of her. It is shown to be unapproachable, it should be shown to be imitable. She is more mother than queen” - CJ 21-8-3 -.” - As will be seen...

VIRTUE OF HOPE
34 - Around the age of her first communion, Jesus made her understand that the true, the only glory is that which will last forever and that the way to achieve this is to become a saint.
“This desire might seem rash - she said - if you consider how imperfect I was, and how much I still am after so many years spent in religion; however, I still feel the same audacious confidence in becoming a great saint. I do not count on my merits, having none; but I hope in him who is virtue, even holiness. It is he alone who, being content with my feeble efforts, will raise me to his level, cover me with his merits and make me a saint. I did not think then that it was necessary to suffer much to arrive at one's holiness; the good Lord was not long in revealing this secret to me” - MSA 32,1 - .
One day the Servant of God was asked how she did not get discouraged in times of trial and abandonment. She answered: “I turn to the good God, to all the saints, and I thank them all the same; I think they want to see how far I will push my hope... But it is not in vain that Job's words entered my heart: Even if God were to kill me, I would still hope in him! I admit it, I was a long time before establishing myself at this degree of abandonment; now I am there, the Lord took me and [42v] placed me there” - CJ 7-7-p3 - . The mother prioress entrusted her, at the age of 22, with the direction of the novices. “As soon as I entered the sanctuary of souls,
I judged - she said - at first glance that the task was beyond my strength; and, quickly placing myself in the arms of the good Lord, I imitated the little babies who, under the influence of some fright, hide their blond heads on their father's shoulder, and I said: Lord, you see it , I am too small to feed your children; if you want to give them through me what suits each one, fill my little hand; and, without leaving your arms, without even turning my head, I will distribute your treasures to the soul that will come to ask me for its nourishment. When she finds it to her liking, I will know that it is not to me, but to you that she owes it; on the contrary, if she complains and finds what I present to her bitter, my peace will not be disturbed, I will try to persuade her that this food comes from you, and will be careful not to seek another for her” - MSC 22,1-2 - . Her hope was never disappointed, she did the greatest good to the souls of her novices and said: we obtain from God just as much as we hope for. - As it will be
observed...

35 - Thérèse of the Child Jesus placed her hope as much in the justice of God as in his goodness, and tried to inspire the same feelings when she wrote, the year of her death, to a missionary:
“If one must be very pure to appear before the God of all holiness, I know that he is infinitely just; and this justice which terrifies so many souls is the subject of my joy and my confidence. To be just is not only to exercise severity towards the guilty, it is also to recognize right intentions and to reward virtue.
I hope as much from the justice of the good God as from his mercy; it's [43r] because it's just that it is
compassionate and full of meekness, slow to punish and abundant in mercy. Because he knows our frailty he remembers that we are only dust. As a father has tenderness for his children, so the Lord has compassion on us! (Ps. 112, 8.13.14)" - LT 226 - . - As it will be
observed...

HIS CHARITY FOR GOD
36 - A flame from heaven constantly animated the Servant of God. She lived only for God, whom she loved with a strong and generous love. The piety of her childhood, her continual life in the presence of God, her assiduity in prayer, her taste for devotional practices, above all the concern she had to seek what could benefit her perfection, her way of Child-like abandonment to the merciful love of God, all this furnishes superabundant proofs of it. From her earliest childhood, the Servant of God applied herself to correcting her faults, and insisted on realizing the success of her efforts; before going to sleep she asked her sister Pauline: "Did I look cute today?" Is the good Lord happy with me? Will the little angels fly around me? "-MSA 18,2-." Always the answer was: yes; otherwise she would have spent the whole night crying. - As will be seen...

37 - In the “Story of a Soul”, Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus recalled a very ordinary feature of her early years; but in the supernatural sense she gives it, we can judge of her charity and see in it a summary of her whole life. It was a question of dividing up small objects between little girls, each taking as she pleased; she stretched out her hand and said: I choose everything. Here is his interpretation: [43v] “This trait of my childhood is like the summary of my entire life. Later, when perfection appeared to me, I understood that to become a saint one had to suffer a lot, always seek what is most perfect and forget oneself. I understood that, in holiness, the degrees are numerous, that each soul is free to respond to the advances of Our Lord, to do little or a lot for his love; in a word, to choose between the sacrifices he demands. Then, as in the days of my childhood, I cried out: My God, I choose everything! I don't want to be half holy; it does not scare me to suffer for you, I fear only one thing, that is to keep my will; take it, because I choose everything you want! - MSA 10,1-2 - As will be seen...

38 - She applied herself to it so well that she thus gives an account of a retreat, after her profession, a retreat during which her troubled soul had revealed itself entirely to the preacher who was giving the exercises:
“The father launched me with full sail on the waves of confidence and love which attracted me so strongly, but on which I dared not advance. He told me that my faults did not cause any pain to the good Lord: 'At this moment, he added, I hold his place with you; well! I tell you on his behalf that he is very pleased with your soul. Oh! How happy I was listening to these consoling words! I had never heard it said that faults could not cause God pain. This assurance filled me with joy; she made me bear patiently the exile of life. It was indeed there, moreover, the echo of my intimate thoughts. Yes, I have long believed that the Lord is more tender than a mother, and I know more than one mother's heart inside out! I know that a mother is always ready to forgive the little involuntary indelicacy of her child” - MSA 80,2 -.” - As will be seen...

[44r] 39 - This pure and loving soul stood unceasingly in the presence of God; one of her sisters having asked her if she ever lost her, she seemed surprised and answered: “Oh! no, I believe that I have never been three minutes without being united with him, that is not difficult, one naturally thinks of someone one loves. One day, a sister surprised her working with great activity and yet with such a collected air that, struck with astonishment, she asked her: "What are you thinking about?" - I meditate on the Pater she replied, it is so sweet to call the good God our Father” - CSG p77 -.”
She manifested in various poems the feelings which animated her. Here are three stanzas from the one entitled Living on Love:
“To live on love is not on earth to set up your tent at the top of Tabor; with Jesus, it is to climb Calvary, it is to look at the cross as a treasure! In heaven, I must live on enjoyment, then the trial will have fled without return: but, in Carmel, I want to live on love in suffering!

To live on love is to keep within oneself a great treasure in a mortal vessel. My beloved! my weakness is extreme! Ah! I am far from being an angel from heaven. But, if I fall with each passing hour: getting up, embracing me in turn, you come to me, you give me your grace, I live on love!

To live on love is to wipe your face, it is to obtain forgiveness from sinners. 0 God of love! may they return to your grace, [44v] and may they forever bless your name!

Up to my heart resounds blasphemy. To erase it I repeat every day:

0 holy name! I adore you and I love you, I live on love! - PN 17 p667, 4-7-11 - .

- As will be seen...

40 - Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus spoke of God, of his mercy, of his love with so much ardor and unction that one felt in her a devouring flame. The same flame is found in what she wrote; souls are eager for it, this reading makes them more fervent, it is the secret of the diffusion so fast and in all the countries of theStory of a soul.
On the day of her profession she bore these lines on her heart: “O Jesus, my divine Spouse, may the robe of my baptism never be tarnished! Take me, rather than let me here below defile my soul by committing the smallest willful fault. That I never seek and find you alone! Let creatures be nothing to me, and I, nothing to them! Let none of the things of the earth disturb my peace. O Jesus, all I ask of you is peace!... Peace, and above all, boundless, limitless love! Jesus! that for you I die a martyr; give me martyrdom of the heart or that of the body. Ah! rather give them both to me! » - PRI p0 - . - As will be seen...

41 - I am not grieved, said the Servant of God, seeing my weakness itself: “Remembering that charity covers the multitude of sins, I draw from this fruitful mine opened by the Lord in his sacred Gospel. I delve into the [45r] depths of his adorable words, and I cry out with David: I have run in the way of your commandments, since you dilated my heart (Ps. 118, 32). And charity alone can dilate my heart... 0 Jesus! since this sweet flame consumes it, I run with delight in the way of your new command, and I want to run there until the blessed day when, uniting myself to the virginal procession, I will follow you in infinite spaces, singing your Song new, which must be that of LOVE.” - MSC 15,1 16,2 -

“O Heart of Jesus, treasure of tenderness, you are my happiness, my only hope!
You who know how to bless, charm my youth, stay with me until the last evening.
Lord, to you alone I have given my life, and all my desires are well known to you,
it is in your always infinite goodness that I want to lose myself, O Heart of Jesus! - PN 23 p690 -

42 - The Servant of God offered herself, approximately two years before her death, as a holocaust to merciful love in a formula inspired by the most lively charity, which she signed on June 9, 1895, on the feast of the Blessed -Trinity.

This formula should be reproduced here despite its length:

“Act of offering myself, as a victim of a holocaust, to the merciful Love of the good God.

This writing was found after the death of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, in the book of the Holy Gospels which she carried day and night on her heart.

O my God, blessed Trinity, I desire to love you and make you loved, to work for the glorification of the Holy Church, by saving the souls who are on earth and by delivering those who suffer in purgatory. I desire to accomplish your will perfectly and to arrive at the degree of glory that you have prepared for me in your kingdom; in a word, I desire to be holy, but I feel my helplessness, and I ask you, O my God, to be my holiness yourself.

Since you loved me so much as to give me your only Son to be my Savior and my Spouse, the infinite treasures of his merits are mine; I offer them to you with happiness, begging you to look at me only through the Face of Jesus and in his Heart burning with love.

I again offer you all the merits of the saints who are in heaven and on earth, their acts of love and those of the holy angels; finally, I offer you, O blessed Trinity, the love and merits of the Blessed Virgin, my dear mother; it is to her that I leave my offering, begging her to present it to you.

His divine Son, my beloved Spouse, in the days of his mortal life, said to us: Whatever you ask my Father in my name, he will give it to you (Joan., 16, 23). I am therefore certain that you will fulfill my desires... I know it, O my God, the more you want to give, the more you want.

I feel in my heart immense desires, and it is with confidence that I ask you to come and take possession of my soul. Ah! I cannot receive Holy Communion as often as I wish; but, Lord, are you not Almighty? Stay in me as in the tabernacle, never move away from your little host.

I would like to console you for the ingratitude of the wicked, and I beg you to take away my freedom to displease you! If through weakness I come to fall, may your divine gaze immediately purify my soul, consuming all my imperfections like the fire that transforms everything into itself.

[46r] I thank you, O my God, for all the graces you have granted me: in particular for having made me pass through the crucible of suffering. It is with joy that I will contemplate you on the last day, carrying the scepter of the cross; since you have condescended to share this precious cross with me, I hope in heaven to resemble you, and to see shining on my glorified body the sacred stigmata of your passion.

After the exile from the earth, I hope to go and enjoy you in my homeland; but I do not want to amass merits for heaven, I want to work for your love alone, with the sole aim of pleasing you, of consoling your Sacred Heart, and of saving souls who will love you eternally.

On the evening of this life, I will appear before you empty-handed; for I do not ask you, Lord, to count my works... All our justices have spots in your eyes! I therefore want to put on your own righteousness, and receive from your love the eternal possession of yourself. I want no other throne and no other crown than you, O my Beloved!

In your eyes time is nothing; a single day is like a thousand years (Ps. 89, 4). You can therefore in an instant prepare me to appear before you.

In order to live in an act of perfect love, I OFFER MYSELF AS A VICTIM OF HOLOCAUST TO YOUR MERCIFUL LOVE, begging YOU to consume me ceaselessly, letting overflow in my soul the waves of infinite tenderness which are contained within you, and 'thus I become a martyr of your love, O my God!

May this martyrdom, after having prepared me to appear before you, make me finally die, and may my soul soar without delay into the eternal embrace of your merciful love! I want, O my Beloved, with each beat of my [46v] heart, to renew this offering to You an infinite number of
times, until, the shadows having vanished, I can tell you again my love in an eternal face to face!...

MARIE-FRANÇOISE-THÉRÈSE of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, rel. carm. ind.
Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, June 9 of the year of grace 1895” - PRI p962-964 - .

43 - The more charity grew in the soul of the Servant of God, the more she also followed what she called the path of childhood and abandonment, the delicious fruit of love, according to the words of Saint Augustine. She was singing:

“My heaven is to remain always in his presence, to call him my Father and to be his child; between his divine arms I do not fear the storm... Total abandonment, that is my only law! This is my own sky” - PN 32 p715 -

His last words, his eyes fixed on the crucifix in his cell and pronounced in the last spasms of agony, sum up his entire life: “Oh! I love him!... My God, I... love you” - CJ 30sept p1145 - .
As will be seen...

44 - Charity for God inspired him with zeal for souls. She was especially united in prayer with two missionaries and offered her merits to help their apostolate. She thus reveals the substance of her thought: “Since the zeal of a Carmelite must embrace the world, I even hope, with the grace of God, to be useful to more than two missionaries. I pray for everyone, without leaving aside the simple priests, whose ministry is sometimes as difficult as that of the apostles preaching [47r] to the infidels. Finally, I want to be a daughter of the Church, like our mother Saint Thérèse, and pray for all the intentions of the Vicar of Jesus Christ. This is the general goal of my life” - MSC 33,2 - .
Very young, this thought of zeal pursued her; in 1889, at the age of 16, still a novice, she wrote to her sister. “Céline, in the short moments that remain to us, let us save souls; I feel that our Spouse is asking us for souls, especially the souls of priests... It is he who wants me to tell you that. There is only one thing to do here below: to love Jesus, to save souls for him so that he may be loved. Let's be jealous of the slightest opportunity to make him happy, let's not refuse him anything.
He needs love so badly! "-LT 94 p397 -." She declared in the solemn examination which preceded her profession: “I have come to save souls and above all to pray for priests” - MSA 69,2 - . - As will be seen...

45 - The numerous sacrifices that she offers daily, the droughts of her soul, the sufferings of her body aim at the salvation of souls, also this desire which makes her heart beat often inspires her words and her songs. She addresses Jesus:

“Remember this feast of angels, this harmony in the kingdom of heaven,
and the happiness of the sublime phalanxes, when a sinner looks up at you!
Ah! I want to increase this great joy...Jesus, for sinners I want to pray unceasingly;
that I came to Carmel to people your beautiful sky, remember!
Remember this very sweet flame that you wanted to light in hearts:
this fire from heaven, you have put it in my soul, [47v] I also want to spread its ardor.
A weak spark, oh mystery of life, is enough to ignite a huge fire..
How I want, O my God, to carry your fire far away, remember! » - PN 24, 16-17 - .

With the Story of a soul, written by herself, this zeal suggests enthusiastic expressions to the Servant of God:
“To be your bride, O Jesus! to be a Carmelite, to be by my union with you the mother of souls, all that should be enough for me. However, I feel other vocations within me: I feel the vocation of warrior, of priest, of apostle, of doctor, of martyr... I would like to accomplish all the most heroic works, I feel the courage to a crusader, I would like to die on a battlefield in defense of the Church. The vocation of priest! With what love, O Jesus, I would carry you in my hands when my voice would bring you down from heaven! with what love I would give you to souls! But unfortunately! while desiring to be a priest, I admire and envy the humility of Saint Francis of Assisi, and I feel the vocation to imitate him by refusing the sublime dignity of the priesthood. How then to combine these contrasts? I would like to enlighten souls like the prophets, the doctors. I would like to walk the earth, to preach your name and to plant your glorious cross on the unfaithful ground, O my Beloved! but a single mission would not be enough for me: I would like at the same time to announce the Gospel in all parts of the world, and even in the most remote islands. I would like to be a missionary, not only for a few years, but I would like to have been one since the creation of the world, and to continue to be one until the consummation of the centuries.

[48r] Ah! above all, I want martyrdom. The martyr! this is the dream of my youth; this dream grew with me in my little cell in Carmel. But that is another folly; for I do not desire a single kind of torture, to satisfy myself I would need them all... Like you, my adored Spouse, I would like to be scourged, crucified... I would like to die stripped like Saint Bartholomew; like Saint John, I would like to be immersed in boiling oil; I desire, like Saint Ignatius of Antioch, to be crushed by the teeth of beasts, in order to become bread worthy of God.
With Saint Agnes and Saint Cecilia, I would like to present my neck to the executioner's sword; and like Joan of Arc, on a burning pyre, murmur the name of Jesus! - MSB 2,2 -3,1 - . - As will be seen...

46 - These desires are not yet enough for the Servant of God, her zeal will not be extinguished with life, she wants to spend her heaven doing good on earth. She wrote to one of her missionary brothers: "What attracts me to the fatherland of heaven is the call of the Lord, it is the hope of finally loving him as I have so longed to , and the thought that I will be able to make him loved by a multitude of souls who will bless him eternally” - LT 254, p610 - .

And another time: “I intend not to remain inactive in heaven, my desire is to work again for the Church and souls; I ask God and I'm sure he will answer me. You see that if I leave the field of battle already, it is not with the selfish desire to rest” - LT 254 - As will be seen...

47 - Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, very young, had a touching charity for the poor; one felt that she loved them. When on family outings [48v] we met the poor, it was always Therese who brought them alms; she looked at them with an air full of tenderness and respect. She urged, at the age of ten, to go and nurse a poor woman in her neighborhood who was dying and had no one to help her; she catechized young children. - As will be seen...

48 - Entering the Carmel, the Servant of God sought every opportunity to render service to the sisters with a thousand little acts of hidden virtue, and when a terrible epidemic of influenza raged in the Carmel of Lisieux, which remained one of the only able-bodied, she multiplied care for the sick and dying. She unceasingly studies herself to penetrate what Our Lord calls her new commandment, to make her charity more supernatural and to practice it better. Jesus made his will known to me "when at the Last Supper he gave his new commandment, when he told his apostles to love one another as he himself loved them... how Jesus had loved his
followers; I saw that it was not for their natural qualities, I found that they were ignorant and filled with earthly thoughts. However, he calls them his friends, his brothers; he desires to have them close to him in his Father's kingdom and to open this kingdom to them, he wants to die on the cross, saying that there is no greater love than to lay down one's life for those whom one like. I saw - she said how imperfect my love for my sisters was, I understood that I did not love them as Jesus loves them. Ah! I guess now that true charity consists in putting up with all the faults of one's neighbour, in not being surprised at his weaknesses, in being built up by his least virtues; but above all, I learned that charity should not remain locked up in the depths of the heart, because no one lights [49r] a torch to put it under a bushel, but one puts it on the candlestick so that it gives light everyone in the house. It seems to me, my mother, that this torch represents the charity which must enlighten, rejoice, not only those who are dearest to me, but all those who are in the house. And she gave herself entirely to it” - MSC 11,2-12,1 -
As will be seen...

49 - She said again: “Yes, I feel it, when I am charitable it is Jesus alone who acts in me; the more I am united to him, the more also I love all my sisters. If I want to increase this love in my heart and the devil tries to put before my eyes the faults of such and such a sister, I hasten to seek out her virtues, her good desires; I tell myself that, if I have seen her fall once, she may well have won a great number of victories which she hides out of humility; and that even what seems to me a fault may very well be, because of the intention, an act of virtue.
I have all the less difficulty in persuading myself that I experienced it for myself. One day, during recreation, the portress came to ask for a sister for a task which she pointed out. I had a childish desire to employ myself in this work, and the choice fell precisely on me. Immediately I begin to fold our work, but gently enough so that my neighbor has folded hers before me, because I knew how to delight her by letting her take my place. The sister who was asking for help, seeing me in such little hurry, said with a laugh: “Ah! I thought that you would not put this pearl in your crown, you were going too slowly!. And the whole community believed that I had acted by nature” - MSC
12,2-13,1 -.” - As will be seen...

50 - She thus recounts her triumph over a natural antipathy:
[49v] “A holy nun of the community once had the talent to displease me in everything; the devil got involved, for it was certainly he who made me see so many disagreeable sides in her; so, not wanting to give in to the natural antipathy I felt, I said to myself that charity should not only consist in feelings, but let itself be seen in works. So I applied myself to doing for this sister what I would have done for the person I love the most. Every time I met her, I prayed to God for her, offering her all her virtues and merits. I felt that this greatly rejoiced my Jesus; for there is no artist who does not like to receive praise for his works, and the divine Artist of souls is happy when one does not stop inside, but when, penetrating to the sanctuary intimate that he has chosen for his home, we admire its beauty. I was not satisfied with praying a lot for her who gave me so many fights, I tried to render her all possible services; and when I had the temptation to answer him in a disagreeable way, I hastened to give him a friendly smile, trying to divert the conversation; for it is said in the Imitation: 'That it is better to leave each one in his opinion than to stop to dispute' (book. 3, ch. 44, 1). Often too, when the demon tempted me violently and I could slip away without her noticing my intimate struggle, I fled like a deserting soldier... And in the meantime, she said to me one day ' a radiant air: 'My sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, would you like to confide in me what attracts you so much to me? I don't meet you until you give me the most gracious smile. Ah! what attracted me was Jesus hidden in the depths of his soul, Jesus who makes sweet what is most bitter! "-MSC 13,2-14,1-." - As will be seen...

[50r] 51 - In her relations with the nuns of her community, she imposed on herself the sacrifice of not seeking the company of her three sisters, despite her strong affection, so that charity towards her Carmel family would not have not to suffer from it, for she said:

“What feast could I offer to my sisters, if not a spiritual feast composed of loving and joyful charity? No, I don't know any other, and I want to imitate Saint Paul who rejoiced with those he found rejoicing. It is true that he wept with the afflicted, and the tears must sometimes appear in the feast which I want to serve; but always I will try to turn tears into smiles, since the Lord loves those who give with joy” - MSC 28,2 - .
As will be seen...

52 - Often, one had to fight with energy, there was a real fight to dominate one's nature, she recounts several traits like this: "For a long time, in prayer, I was not far from a sister, who stopped moving, or his rosary, or I don't know what else; maybe it was only me who heard it, because I have an extremely fine ear; but to say how tired I felt would be impossible! I would have liked to turn my head to look at the culprit and stop her uproar; however, in the bottom of my heart, I felt that it was better to suffer this patiently for the love of God first, and then also to avoid an occasion of pain” - MSC 30,1-2 - . Despite the sensitivity of her nature, the Servant of God always retained her gentleness and her charitable manners; if someone
had caused her pain, no one ever noticed any sign of coldness in her, on the contrary she redoubled her kindness and attention. As will be seen...

[50v] 53 - She surrounded with care and filial attention a sister of the white veil, Sister Saint-Pierre, whose old age and numerous infirmities had made her a bit demanding. This ministry of charity lasted quite a long time and it found a place in the Story of a Soul: “I remember an act of charity that the good Lord inspired in me when I was still a novice. For this seemingly small act, the heavenly Father, who sees in secret, has already rewarded me without waiting for another life. It was before my sister Saint-Pierre fell completely crippled. It was necessary, in the evening at six o'clock to ten minutes, that we should bother ourselves from the prayer to lead her to the refectory. It cost me a lot to offer myself; for I knew the difficulty, or rather the impossibility, of satisfying the poor patient. However, I did not want to miss such a great opportunity, remembering the divine words: What you have done to the least of mine, you will have done to me (Matt. 25, 40). I therefore offered myself very humbly to lead it, and it was not without difficulty that I succeeded in having my services accepted. Finally I set to work with so much goodwill that I succeeded perfectly. Every evening, when I saw her shake her hourglass, I knew it meant: let's go! Then taking all my courage; I got up, and then a whole ceremony began. You had to move and carry the bench in a certain way, above all not to hurry, then the walk
used to take place. It was a question of following this nun, supporting her by the belt; I did it as gently as possible, but if by misfortune there was a misstep, it immediately seemed to her that I was holding her badly and that she was going to fall. 'Oh! my God! you're going too fast, I'm going to break!'. If I then tried [51r] to lead her more gently: -'But follow me, I can't feel your hand, you're letting go, I'm going to fall!... Ah! I was saying that you were too young to drive me. Finally we arrived without further accident at the refectory. There, other difficulties arose. I had to put my poor cripple in her place and act skillfully so as not to hurt her, then roll up her sleeves, always in a certain way, after that I could go away. But I soon noticed that she was cutting her bread with extreme difficulty; and since then I never left her without having rendered her this last service. As she had never expressed the desire to do so, she remained very touched by my attention, and it was by this means, in no way sought, that I completely gained her confidence, above all - I learned this later - because after all the little services I gave her, she said, my most beautiful smile. - MSC 28,2-29,2 -
The poor patient herself also wanted to recount the event in detail to convey to Carmel her admiration for this unfailing charity. - As will be seen...

54 - When Thérèse of the Child Jesus was put in charge of the novices, her devoted charity never ceased working for them, giving them all her time, and multiplying her care and her sacrifices for their advancement. Finally, as death approached, she expressed the desire to continue the works of charity: "I want - she said - to spend my heaven doing good on earth" - CJ 17-7 - . What she achieves every day and on all sides. As will be seen...

55 - Her charity extended to the souls in purgatory and she always showed great zeal to help them. She performed the heroic act on their behalf, giving them all the merits she would gain during her life, and the suffrages that would be offered for her after her death. Her zeal was great to win indulgences, she then constituted the Blessed Virgin the dispenser of her riches, whether they came from indulgences or from her own sacrifices. She would have liked, on the day of her profession, to be able to deliver all the souls held in purgatory. All her life she worked for their relief by her Stations of the Cross, the recitation of the prayer: "51 good and very sweet Jesus" and the six Paters and Aves of the scapular of the Immaculate Conception, which she continued until the last days of his life. - As will be seen...

CAUTION

56 - The Servant of God practiced the virtue of prudence at a very young age in her personal conduct and in the direction of novices.

In order to respond, without delay, to God's call and enter the cloister, at the age of 15, delicate negotiations were needed, the circumstances were particularly difficult; Thérèse put all her trust in the Holy Spirit, she begged the apostles to protect her and chose the day of Pentecost to manifest her desire to her father. This consent obtained, she pursued her steps with the ecclesiastical superior and the mothers of the Carmel, and, in spite of her timidity, with the Bishop of Bayeux; prayer alone kept her from letting herself be discouraged by the multiple oppositions she encountered on her way: "The divine call became so pressing - she said - that if I had to cross the flames, I would be slender to respond to Our Lord" - MSA 49,1 - As will be seen...

57 - Finally, his personal request and his entreaties to the Sovereign Pontiff himself, in the intense emotion caused to everyone, and even more so to a child of [52r] 14 years, a first solemn audience of Pope Leo XIII, indicate the supernatural prudence with which she conducted herself in these difficulties, thus responding to the pressing call of God. - As will be seen...

58 - The virtue of prudence is well above her age in this letter from a 15-year-old novice to her cousin Marie Guérin, who was later to follow her to Carmel:
“Before receiving your confidences (about scruples), I had a presentiment of your anxieties; my heart was united with yours. Since you have the humility to ask your little Thérèse for advice, she is going to tell you what she thinks: You caused me a lot of pain by leaving your communions, because you caused it to Jesus. The demon must be very shrewd to deceive a soul like this! Don't you know, my darling, that you make him thus achieve the goal of his desires? He is not unaware, the perfidious one, that he cannot cause a soul to sin which wants to be entirely for the good God; so he only tries to persuade her that she is sinning. It is already a lot; but, for his rage, it is still not enough... He pursues something else: he wants to deprive Jesus of a beloved tabernacle. Unable to enter this sanctuary, he at least wants it to remain empty and without a master. Alas! what will become of this poor heart?... When the devil has managed to drive a soul away from communion, he has won everything, and Jesus cries!... O my little Mary, think that this sweet Jesus is there,
in the tabernacle, expressly for you, for you alone, may he burn with the desire to enter your heart. Do not listen to the demon, make fun of him, and go without fear to receive the Jesus of peace and love. But I hear you say: Thérèse thinks that because she doesn't know my miseries... Yes, she does know, she guesses everything, she assures you that you can go without fear to receive your only [52v] True Friend . She also went through the martyrdom of scruples, but Jesus gave her the grace to always receive communion, even though she thought she had committed great sins. Well! I assure you that she recognized that it was the only way to get rid of the demon; if he sees that he is wasting his time, he leaves us alone. No, it is impossible that a heart whose only rest is to contemplate the tabernacle - and it is yours, you tell me - should offend Our Lord to the point of not being able to receive him. What offends Jesus, what hurts his Heart is the lack of trust. Pray to him a lot, so that your best years do not pass in chimerical fears. We have only the short moments of life to spend for the glory of God; the devil knows it well; that is why he tries to make us consume them in useless work. Dear little sister, take Communion often, very often, this is the only remedy if you want to be cured” - LT 92 p392-394 - . If the Servant of God answered her cousin so wisely, she did not behave herself with less prudence, to follow this direction given by her confessor, in which she thought she heard the word of God: "My child, may Our -Lord be always your superior and your master of novices” - MSA 70,1 - . She did it, without hurting anyone and always giving the
mark of the most complete deference. As will be seen...

59 - The precocious maturity and prudence of Sister Thérèse were so well recognized that the mother prioress of Carmel entrusted her, at the age of twenty-two, with the task of instructing and forming the novices. She wrote: “Realizing that it was impossible for me to do anything by myself, the task seemed to me simplified. I occupied myself interiorly [53r] and only to unite myself more and more with God knowing that the rest would be given to me in addition” - MSC 22,2 -.” She then explains the difficulty of her ministry: “From a distance, it seems easy to do good to souls, to make them love God more, to mold them according to his views and his thoughts. Up close, on the contrary, one feels that doing good is as impossible a thing, without divine help, as bringing the sun back to our hemisphere during the night. One feels that it is absolutely necessary to forget one's tastes, one's personal conceptions and to guide souls, not by one's own way, by one's own way, but by the particular way that Jesus shows them. And that's not yet the most difficult thing: what costs me above all is to observe the faults, the slightest imperfections and to wage war on them to the death. I was going to say: unfortunately for me, - but no, that would be cowardly - so I say: fortunately for my sisters, since I took my place in the arms of Jesus, I am like the watchman observing the enemy of the highest turret of a fortified castle. Nothing escapes my gaze; I am often astonished to see so clearly, and I find the prophet Jonas very excusable for having fled from the face of the Lord so as not to announce the ruin of Nineveh.
I would rather receive a thousand reproaches than address a single one; but I feel that it is very necessary that this task be a pain to me, because when one acts by nature, it is impossible that
the faulty soul understands its faults, it simply thinks this: the sister in charge of directing me is dissatisfied and her dissatisfaction falls on me who is nevertheless filled with the best intentions” -
MSC 22,2-23,1 - . - As will be seen...

60 - The prudence of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus was entirely supernatural; speaking of her way of acting with the novices, she said to the Mother Prioress: [53v] “Mother, it is with this as with everything else, I must experience abnegation and sacrifice in everything; thus I feel that a letter written will produce no fruit, as long as I do not write it with a certain repugnance and for the sole motive of obeying. When I speak with a novice, I take care to mortify myself, I avoid asking her questions that would satisfy my curiosity. If I see her begin an interesting thing, then move on to another that bores me without completing the first, I am careful not to remind her of this interruption, because it seems to me that one can do no good by looking for oneself. -even" - MSC 32,2 - As he
will be seen...

61 - His prudence combined compassionate kindness with firmness. To help a novice, who could not force herself not to raise her eyes in the refectory, in accordance with the rule, she composed the following prayer, asking, for herself, the grace which the novice alone needed "Jesus, your two little wives resolve to keep their eyes lowered during the refectory, in order to honor and imitate the example you gave them in Herod. When this impious prince made fun of you, O infinite beauty, not a complaint escaped your lips, you did not even condescend to fix your adorable eyes on him. Oh! no doubt, divine Jesus, Herod did not deserve to be looked at by you; but,
we who are your wives, we want to attract your divine gaze to us. We ask you to reward us with this look of love, each time we deprive ourselves of raising our eyes; and even, we ask you not to refuse us this sweet look when we have fallen, since we will sincerely humble ourselves before you” - PRI 3
,p358 - As will be seen...

62 - The Servant of God answered with precision and [54r] often with an anointing full of charm to the requests that were made, as is proved by this trait recounted by one of her novices: “I wanted to deprive myself of Holy Communion for an infidelity which had caused him much pain, but of which I bitterly repented. I wrote him my resolution; and here is the note she sent me: 'Dear little flower of Jesus, it is enough that, through the humiliation of your soul, your roots eat up the earth... you must half-open, or rather raise your corolla, so that the bread of the angels may come, like divine dew, to strengthen you and give you all that you lack. Good evening, poor flower, ask Jesus that all the prayers that are made for my healing serve to increase the fire that must consume me” - CSG p290 -.
Another reports: “In the infirmary, we hardly waited until his thanksgiving was over to speak to him and ask his advice. At first she was saddened by it and gently reproached us. Then soon she left us, telling us: 'I thought that I should not desire more rest than Our Lord. When he fled to the desert after his preaching, the people immediately came to disturb his solitude. Come as close to me as you want. I must die, weapons in hand, before in my mouth the sword of the spirit which is the word of God'” (Eph. 6e 17)
- CSG p291 - As will be seen...

63 - The ascendancy of his direction did not come from a purely human prudence, but from his example, from his abnegation, from his love for souls. His union with God was continuous; she constantly had recourse to him and he never ceased to guide her through particularly difficult [54v] situations, such as one sometimes encounters in common life, and which were not spared her. - As will be seen...

JUSTICE

64 - The Servant of God never ceased to practice the virtue of justice towards God and the saints through the worship she rendered them. Very young, she loved pious ceremonies and frequenting the sacraments of penance and the Eucharist. At Carmel, she had the greatest devotion to the divine office. At the end of her life, she expressed herself thus:
"I can say that the office was my happiness and my martyrdom at the same time, because I had such a great desire to recite it well and not to make mistakes: I do not believe that it is possible to have desired more than I to recite the divine office perfectly and to attend it well in choir. How proud I was when I was a semainer, when I said the prayers out loud, in the middle of the choir, because I thought that the priest said the same prayers at Mass and that I had, like him, the right to speak aloud before the Blessed Sacrament” - CJ 6-8 -.” During her illness, when she was dispensed from the divine office, she wanted to say the office of the dead for the deceased sisters and only ceased on the order which obliged her to abstain from it. - As will be seen...

65 - Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, who owed to Our Lady of Victories the healing of the illness that had so saddened her childhood, always had a very filial devotion for Mary and a particular cult for the statue in front of which she had been cured. She joyfully recited the act of consecration to Mary on the day of first communion, in the name of her companions. She wanted to be received as a child of Mary, at the Benedictine abbey of Lisieux. [55r] The daily recitation of the rosary, the Memorize, the invocations to the Blessed Virgin, at the beginning of the day, were practices that were always dear to her and she wanted to place the writing of her manuscript under the special protection of the Mother of God. The first of her songs was in her honor and the last poem that sprang from her heart was: “Why do I love you, oh Mary? - PN 54 p750 - "As will be noted...

66 - The Servant of God had a very confident devotion to Saint Joseph; her statue occupied a place of honor in her bedroom as a young girl, and every day she recited the prayer: "O Saint Joseph, father and protector of virgins..." In Carmel, the example of Saint Thérèse increased this devotion and his trust, she prayed to him above all to obtain a greater participation in the Holy Eucharist, at a time when the practice of Holy Communion was made more difficult in the Carmel of Lisieux; so she hailed with joy the liberating decree of Leo XIII.
Needless to mention his cult for Saint Thérèse, his mother and patroness, and for Saint John of the Cross. - As will be seen...

67 - She honored the angels of heaven and her guardian angel; she nourished her piety with the examples of the apostles and saints and knew very judiciously how to suggest them in her direction. She wrote to her sister Céline on October 30, 1893:

" Dear sister,

You write to me that you feel your weakness, it's a grace; it is Our Lord who imprints in your soul these feelings of distrust of yourself. Do not worry; if you remain faithful to [55v] pleasing him on the little occasions, he will find himself obliged to help you on the big ones. The apostles, without him, worked a long time, a whole night, without catching any fish; their work, however, was pleasant to him, but he wanted to prove that he alone can give us something. He only asked for an act of humility: Children, do you have nothing to eat?, and the good Saint Peter confesses his impotence: Lord, we fished all night and caught nothing! That's enough! The Heart of Jesus is touched, he is moved... Perhaps if the apostle had caught a few small fish, the divine Master would not have
miracle; but he had nothing, so by divine power and goodness his nets were soon filled with big fish! This is indeed the character of Our Lord: he gives in God, but he wants humility of heart» - LT 161 -.»

She had a special cult for Saint Agnès and for two servants of God, beatified since her death: Blessed Joan of Arc and Blessed Théophane Vénard. To Joan of Arc she dedicated a good part of her songs and she called for her beatification with the most ardent wishes. The letters of Blessed Théophane Vénard charmed her and she admired in him the zeal of the missionary and the generosity of the martyr. - As will be seen...

68 - When the Servant of God had the office of sacristan, her spirit of piety showed itself in the care taken for the dignity of the ornaments, her religious respect for the sacred vases and linens, by her zeal in preparing the flowers of the altar or to flower a statue of the Child Jesus, entrusted to her. As will be seen...

[56r] RELIGIOUS VOW
The Servant of God never ceased to practice justice through her fidelity, until death, to her three religious vows.

POVERTY

69 - “During my postulancy - she said - I was happy to have neat things for my use and to find at hand what I needed. Jesus suffered this patiently, because he does not like to show everything to souls at the same time. Since taking the habit, I have received abundant light on religious perfection, mainly on the subject of the vow of poverty” - MSA 74,1 - .
And when, inadvertently, a sister had taken her lantern one evening, she remained in the dark, considering herself happy to be deprived of what she needed; she sought to have the ugliest, the least convenient objects; in her food, she never showed any regret when she was served leftovers or dishes that her stomach was struggling to digest. These practices cost her a lot, but she always knew how to give up. - As will be seen...

70 - The Servant of God struggled in the same way to triumph over her impatience, if the objects for her use were taken. She wrote:
“If it is difficult to give to anyone who asks, it is even more so to let what belongs be taken without asking for it again. 0 my mother, I say it is difficult, I should rather say that it seems difficult; for the Lord's yoke is sweet and light: when we accept it, we immediately feel its sweetness. I said: Jesus does not want me to claim what belongs to me; this should seem quite natural to me, since really nothing belongs to me: I must therefore rejoice when I happen to feel the poverty of which I have made the solemn vow. Once upon a time I thought I didn't care about anything; but, since the words of Jesus have enlightened me, I see myself quite imperfect. For example, if, setting to work for the painting, I find the brushes in disorder, if a ruler or a penknife has disappeared, patience is very close to abandoning me and I must take it with both hands so as not to
bitterly claiming the objects that I lack. These indispensable things, I can doubtless ask for them, but in doing it with humility I do not fail in the commandment of Jesus, on the contrary, I act like the poor who stretch out their hands to receive what is necessary” - MSC
16,1-2 - . - As will be seen...

71 - She extended this practice to the goods of the spirit, in a very meritorious way:
"When the divine Master tells me to give to whoever asks me and to let what is mine be taken without asking for it again, I think that he is not speaking only of the goods of the earth, but that he also means the goods of the sky. Besides, both are not mine: I renounced the first by the vow of poverty, and the second are also lent to me by God who can take them away from me without my being allowed to complain. . But the deep and personal thoughts, the flames of the intelligence and the heart form a wealth to which one attaches oneself as to one's own property, which no one has the right to touch. For example: if I communicate to one of my sisters some light of my prayer and she then reveals it as coming from herself, it seems that she appropriates my good; or if you say a witty and appropriate word to your companion during recreation and [57r] her, without revealing the source, repeats this word aloud, that seems like a theft to the owner who does not complain, but would really like it and will seize the first opportunity to let it be known that we have taken hold of her thoughts. My mother, I could not explain to you these sad sentiments of nature so well if I had not experienced them myself; and I would like to be lulled into the sweet illusion that they only visited me, if you hadn't
ordered to hear the temptations of the novices. I learned a lot while fulfilling the mission you entrusted to me; above all, I saw myself forced to practice what I was teaching. Yes, now I can say it, I received the grace not to be more attached to the goods of the mind and the heart than to those of the earth. If I happen to think and say something that pleases my sisters, I find it quite natural that they seize it as something good for them: this thought belongs to the Holy Spirit and not to me, since Saint Paul assures us that we cannot, without this Spirit of love, give God the name of Father. He is therefore quite free to use me to give a good thought to a soul and I cannot believe that this thought is my property” - MSC 18,2-19,2 - As will be seen...

CHASTITY

72 - The Servant of God, very young, stood out for her great love of purity. It was only with difficulty that they persuaded her to follow the treatments necessary for her sickly state, such as douches, so much did she fear to injure her purity. A Carmelite, this beautiful virtue shone throughout her life and she exalted her in her songs and always honored Saint Agnes with a special [57v] cult. She composed the following hymn:

“Canticle of Saint Agnes:
Christ is my love, he is my whole life, he is the bridegroom who alone delights my eyes;
I can already hear the melodious sounds vibrating with its sweet harmony.
His empire is heaven, his nature is divine, a Virgin here below for mother he chooses;
his Father is the true God who has no origin, he is a pure spirit.
When I love Christ and when I touch him,
my heart becomes purer, I am still more chaste:
of virginity the kiss of her mouth gave me the treasure...
He has already placed his sign on my face, so that no lover dares approach me:
my heart is sustained by the divine grace of my lovable King” - PN 26 p704 -

If she writes to a novice for her profession that chastity will be her weapon in life, it is because she herself uses this weapon to fight every day.

“Chastity makes me the sister of the angels, of those pure and victorious spirits.
I hope one day to fly in their phalanxes but, in exile, I have to fight like them..
I must fight, without rest and without truce, for my Spouse, the Lord of lords.
Chastity is the celestial sword that can conquer hearts for him.
[58r] Chastity is my invincible weapon; my enemies are vanquished by it;
through it I become, O unspeakable happiness! the bride of Jesus” - PN 48 p740 - .

The Servant of God was not scrupulous in her direction; and, for her, her habit of always keeping the presence of God made her act with great reserve. This angel of purity confided to one of her sisters that she had never been tempted against this virtue. As will be seen.

OBEDIENCE

73 - Thérèse of the Child Jesus applied herself to practicing obedience and to triumphing over her character, there are many examples that can be reported in her childhood life. Having become a nun, she obeyed in a spirit of faith all those who had to command her, she was ready to do so in all circumstances and said to her superior:
“Mother, you are the compass that Jesus gave me to lead me surely to the eternal shore. How sweet it is for me to fix my gaze on you and then to accomplish the will of the Lord! By allowing me to suffer temptations against the faith, the divine Master has greatly increased the spirit of faith in my heart, which makes me see him living in your soul and communicating his blessed orders to me through you. I know very well, my mother, that you make me sweet and light the burden of obedience; but it seems to me, according to my intimate feelings, that I would not change my conduct and that my filial tenderness would suffer no diminution, if you would please treat me severely, because I would see
yet the will of my God manifesting itself in another way for the greater good of my soul” - MSC 11,1-2 - . -
As will be seen...

[58v] 74 - Her obedience went so far as to defer to the request of all the sisters who prescribed something to her and, if any recommendation fixed a point of minimal importance, she then complied with it without ever transgressing it again. During his illness, his nurse had advised him to take a quarter of an hour walk in the garden every day. This advice became an order for her. One afternoon, a sister seeing her walking with great difficulty, said to her: “You would do much better to rest, your walk cannot do you any good in such conditions, you are exhausted, that is all! - It's true - she answered but do you know what gives me strength? Well! I walk for a missionary. I think over there, far away, one of them may be exhausted
in his apostolic careers, and to diminish his fatigues, I offer mine to the good God” - OF May - . - As will be seen...

75 - This is how she sings about obedience:

"The proud angel, within the light, cried out, 'I will not obey'
I repeat in the night of the earth: I always want to obey here below.
I feel in me a holy audacity being born, from all hell I brave the fury.
Obedience is my strong breastplate and the shield of my heart.
0 victorious God! I want no other glories than to submit my will in everything;
since the obedient will repeat his victories all eternity!” - PN 48 ,p740 - .

[59r] STRENGTH

76 - Christian strength was daily in the life of the Servant of God, if we study it in detail. Of an ardent and sensitive nature, she succeeded in controlling herself and always maintaining an even and benevolent mood, even in the midst of trials and sufferings.

"The day of my confirmation, she said - I received - the strength to suffer, a strength that was very necessary to me, because the martyrdom of my soul was to begin shortly after" - MSA 36,2 -. It is also to the Holy Spirit that she turns to support her in the multiple steps and in the apparent failures which preceded her arrival in Carmel. At the very moment of the separation, she heard only sobbing and did not shed tears, but, she said, "as I walked first to the closing gate, my heart was beating so violently that I wondered if I wasn't going to die. Oh! what a moment! what agony! one must have experienced it to understand it; I kissed all mine and
knelt before my father to receive his blessing. He knelt down himself and blessed me with tears” - MSA 69,1 -.” Thérèse showed heroic strength by keeping, so young, a deep peace in her new life, despite the agony of her heart. - As will be seen...

77 - The strength of the Servant of God showed itself in her energy to bear, from the beginning, all the austerities of the rule, the dryness of the soul and the severity which presided over her first formation. She wrote:

“I found religious life as I had imagined it, no sacrifice surprised me; and yet, you know, my mother, my first steps encountered more thorns than roses. At first I had for my soul only the daily bread [59v] of a bitter drought. Then the Lord permitted, my venerated mother, that, even without your knowledge, I was treated by you very severely. I could not meet you without receiving some reproach. Once, I remember that having left a spider's web in the cloister, you said to me, in front of the whole community: 'It is clear that our cloisters are being swept away by a child of fifteen! it's a pity! Go and remove this cobweb, and become more careful in the future.' In the few directions where I stayed near you for an hour, I was still scolded almost all the time; and what pained me the most was not understanding how to correct myself for my faults: for example, my slowness, my lack of devotion in the offices; faults which you point out to me, my mother, in your concern and your kindness for me” - MSA 69,2 - "'. -
As will be seen...

78 - His strength showed itself in the generous way of supporting these sacrifices:

“During this time of my postulancy, our mistress sent me in the evening, at half past four, to pull grass in the garden: it cost me a lot; all the more so, my mother, as I was almost certain to meet you on the way. You say, in one of these circumstances: 'But after all, this child does absolutely nothing! What is a novice who must be sent out for a walk every day?'. And for all things, you acted thus towards me. 0 my beloved mother, how I thank you for having given me such a strong and precious education! What invaluable grace! What would have become of me if, as people in the world believed, I had been the toy of the community? Perhaps, instead of seeing Our Lord in my superiors, I would have considered only the creature, and my heart, [60r] so well guarded in the world, would have attached itself humanly in the cloister. Fortunately, by your maternal wisdom, I was preserved from this real misfortune. Yes, I can say it, not only for what I have just written, but for other even more sensitive ordeals, suffering stretched out its arms to me as soon as I entered and I embraced it with love” - MSA 69,2 - '. - As will be seen...

79 - The Servant of God accepted with courage, keeping her equanimity, the severity of the superiors, after her taking of the habit and her profession, despite the illusion of several nuns on the way she was treated. She says so at the beginning of the second part of her manuscript, when the Reverend Mother Prioress asks her for further details about her religious life:

“In the community, it is generally believed that you have spoiled me anyway, since I entered Carmel; but man only sees the appearance, it is God who reads the depths of hearts. 0 my mother, I thank you once again for not having spared me; Jesus knew well that his little flower needed the life-giving water of humiliation, it was too weak to take root without this means, and it is to you that it owes this inestimable blessing” - MSC 1,2 -
As will be seen...

80 - The Servant of God was also strong in the ordeal of the droughts which characterized almost all of her religious life. She wrote, during her habit retreat, to Mother Agnes of Jesus:

“In my relationship with Jesus, nothing: dryness! sleep! Since my Beloved wants to sleep, I will not prevent him; I'm only too happy to see that he doesn't [60v]treat me like a stranger, that he isn't embarrassed around me. He riddles his little ball with very painful pinpricks. When it is this gentle Friend who pierces his ball himself, the suffering is only gentle, his hand is so gentle! How different from that of creatures! - LT74 p370 -

Same aridities during professional retreat. She discovers them to her sister, Marie du Sacré-Coeur: “Your little girl hardly hears the celestial harmonies: her honeymoon is very dry! Her Fiancé, it is true, takes her through fertile and magnificent countries; but the night prevents him from admiring anything and above all from enjoying all these marvels. You will perhaps believe that she is distressed by it? But no, on the contrary, she is happy to follow her Fiancé for him alone and not because of his gifts. He alone is so beautiful! so delightful! even when he is silent, even when he hides! Understand your little girl... she is tired of earthly consolations, she only wants her Beloved. I believe that the work of Jesus, during this retreat, was to detach me from everything that is not him. My only consolation is very great strength and peace; and then, I hope to be as Jesus wants me to be: this is what makes all my happiness” - LT 111 - As will be seen...

81 - The same force was manifested in the services to be rendered to her sisters and when, during one night, a beginning of fire had threatened the Carmel, Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus was at the head of the others and, without taking heed danger, greatly contributed to extinguishing the flames. She knew how to do violence to herself with great energy of will and “to all her virtues, she added extraordinary courage. As soon as he entered, at fifteen, except for the fasts, [61r] he was allowed to follow all the practices of the austere rule. Sometimes, her companions in the novitiate noticed her pallor and tried to have her excused, either from the evening service or from early rising; the venerated mother prioress did not accede to their requests: 'A soul of this stamp - she said - should not be treated like a child, dispensations are not made for her. Leave her, God sustain her. Besides, if she is sick, she must come and say so herself. But Sister Thérèse had this principle that "one must go to the end of one's strength before complaining." How many times she went to matins with dizziness or violent headaches! 'I can still walk - she said to herself - well! I must do my duty!'. And thanks to this energy, she simply performed heroic deeds” - CRM 66 -

She recounts this fact to the Reverend Mother Prioress, among others: "I remember that, as a postulant, I sometimes had such violent temptations to satisfy myself and find a few drops of your cell and to cling to the banister of the stairs so as not to retrace my steps. There came to my mind a number of permissions to ask, a thousand pretexts to justify my nature and satisfy it. How happy I am now to have deprived myself from the beginning of my religious life! I already enjoy the reward promised to those who fight courageously” - MSC 21,2-22,1 - . - As will be seen...

82 - The Servant of God showed heroic strength in the spiritual aridities and the cruel sufferings of her long illness, when no medicine could be given to relieve her; it provoked the doctor's admiration. “Oh! if you knew what she endures; I have never seen - he said - suffer so much with this expression of supernatural joy. He is an angel” - HA ch.12 - As will be seen...

[61V] TEMPERANCE

83 - The duty of obedience obliged the Servant of God not to make great exterior mortifications, apart from those already considerable imposed by the austere rule of Carmel. What she had written of the three months of waiting, which preceded her entry into the cloister, she continued to put into practice, giving herself more and more to a mortified life, which she defines in this way.

“When I say mortified, I do not mean the penances of the saints. Far from resembling the beautiful souls who, from their childhood, practice all kinds of macerations, I only made mine consist in breaking my will, in withholding a word of reply, in rendering small services around me without showing them off, and a thousand other such things. By the practice of these nothings, I was preparing myself to become the bride of Jesus” - MSA 68,2 - .

And elsewhere: “I applied myself above all to small, well-hidden acts of virtue; thus I liked to fold the cloaks forgotten by the sisters, and I looked for a thousand opportunities to be of service to them. The attraction for penance was also given to me; but nothing was allowed me to satisfy him. The only mortifications granted to me consisted in mortifying my self-esteem; which did me more good than corporal penances” - MSA 74,2 -
. - As will be seen...

84 - The Servant of God imposed this heroic mortification on her curiosity, during her first pulmonary hemorrhage, which she believed to be a harbinger of her deliverance:

“In Lent last year (1896) I found myself stronger than ever, and this strength, in spite of the fast that I observed in all its rigor, was maintained perfectly until Easter; when on Good Friday, early in the morning, Jesus gave me the hope of going soon to join him in his beautiful heaven. Oh! how sweet this memory is to me! On Thursday evening, not having obtained permission to stay in the tomb the whole night, I returned to our cell at midnight. Scarcely had my head rested on the pillow, when I felt a flood rise, bubbling up to my lips; I thought I was going to die and my heart broke with joy. However, as I had just extinguished our little lamp, I mortified my curiosity until morning and fell asleep peacefully” - MSC 62-4,2 - . As it will be
observed...

85 - If the Servant of God could not impose special bodily mortifications on herself without having permission, she knew how to mortify her heart by refusing to him in Carmel the consolations that would have been dear to her; for after such a painful separation from her beloved father, she found her two elder sisters again, the confidantes of her soul, but solitude and silence being strictly guarded, she only saw her sisters at recreation time. If she had been less mortified, she would often have been able to sit by their side; but, “she preferably sought the company of the nuns who pleased her the least” - HA ch12 -; also one could say that one did not know if she liked her sisters more particularly. Some time after her entry, she was given as a helper to Sister Agnès of Jesus, her beloved “Pauline”: this was a new source of sacrifices. Sister Thérèse knew that a useless word is forbidden and she never allowed herself the slightest confidence. "O my little mother - she will say later - how I suffered then!... I could not open my heart to you, and I thought that you no longer knew me!..." - DEA 0- 13 - "'.

[62v] After five years of this heroic silence, Sister Agnes of Jesus was elected prioress. On the evening of the election, the heart of "little Therese" must have beat with joy, at the thought that henceforth she could speak to her "little mother" in complete freedom, and, as before, pour out her soul into his; but the sacrifice had become the nourishment of his life; if she asked for a favour, it was to be considered the last, to have the last place everywhere. Also, of all the nuns, she was the one who saw her mother prioress most rarely. - As will be seen...

86 - “His spirit of sacrifice was universal. All that was most painful and least pleasant, she hastened to seize as the share which was due to her; everything that God asked of her, she gave to him, without turning back on herself. 'During my postulancy - she said - it cost me a great deal to do certain external mortifications, in use in our monasteries; but I never gave in to my repugnance: it seemed to me that the crucifix in the courtyard looked at me with supplicating eyes and begged me for these sacrifices. Her vigilance was such that she left unobserved none of the recommendations of her mother prioress, none of those little regulations which make religious life so meritorious. An older sister, having noticed her extraordinary fidelity on this point, considered her from then on as a saint. She likes to say that she did not do great penances: it is that
his fervor counted for nothing those which were permitted to him. It happened, however, that she was ill from having carried too long a small iron cross, the points of which had sunk into her flesh. 'This would not have happened to me for so little - she then said - if the good Lord had not wanted to make me understand that the ma-[63r]cerations of the saints are not made for me, nor for the little souls who will walk the same path of childhood'” - HA ch.12 - As will be seen...

The novices tell that she hid her mortifications from them under a graceful appearance. "However, one day of fasting, when our reverend mother had imposed relief on her, I surprised her seasoning this sweetness with absinthe, which was too much to her taste", reports one of them - CSG (130).

“Another time, I saw her slowly drink an execrable remedy.
- But hurry up, I said to him, drink this all at once!
- Oh! No; Shouldn't I take advantage of the little opportunities that come along to mortify myself a little, since I'm forbidden to look for great ones?
This is how, during his novitiate I learned in the last months of his life, - one of our sisters, having wanted to reattach her scapular, at the same time went through her shoulder with her large pin, suffering that she endured several hours with joy.

Another time she gave me proof of her inner mortification. I had received a very interesting letter which we had read at recess in his absence. In the evening, she showed me the desire to read it in her turn and I gave it to her. Some time later, as she returned this letter to me, I begged her to tell me her thoughts on one thing which, in particular, must have charmed her. She seemed embarrassed and finally replied:
- The good Lord asked me to sacrifice it, because of the eagerness I showed the other day; I haven't read it...” - CSG (130).

The Servant of God continued her mortifications unfailingly until the hour of her death. - As will be seen...

[63v] HUMILITY

87 - The path of childhood and abandonment that the Servant of God taught and tried to follow is a path of humility. She studied it, with her sister Mother Agnès, in devotion to the Holy Face: “So I understood better than ever what true glory is. He whose kingdom is not of this world showed me that the only enviable royalty consists in wanting to be ignored and counted for nothing, in deriving joy from self-contempt. Ah! like that of Jesus, I wanted my face to be hidden from all eyes, so that no one on earth would recognize me: I thirsted to suffer and to be forgotten.
How merciful is the path by which the divine Master has always led me! He never made me want something without giving it to me; that is why its bitter chalice seemed to me delicious” - MSA 71,1 - . - As will be seen...

88 - On the day of her profession, she overcame a temptation that threw her into the greatest perplexity by an act of humility. She revealed to her mistress of novices the trouble that agitated her soul, at the thought that she was deceiving her superiors and that she was not called to Carmel. This act of humility put the demon to flight and immediately brought him great peace.
Speaking of the consolations that God gave her during a period of her religious life, she adds:
“This gentle sun, far from withering the little flower, makes it grow marvelously. At the bottom of her chalice, she keeps the precious drops of dew that she once received; and these drops will always remind her that she is small and weak. All creatures could lean towards her, admire her, overwhelm her with their praises; it would never add a shadow of vain satisfaction to the true joy that she savors in her heart, seeing herself in the eyes of God a poor little nothingness, nothing more” – MSC 64-1,2, 2,1 - . One of the nuns of her monastery sums up her daily attitude as follows: "She never gave her opinion, unless someone asked her, never getting involved in conversations where she was not questioned, always stepping aside, pretending to be small with regard to her sisters, loving to render service.” - As will be seen...

89 - The Servant of God relished the humiliations brought to her, on certain days, by the reflections of her novices, as the following lines indicate:

“I constantly present the memory of my miseries. Sometimes, however, I have a very great desire to hear something other than praise, my soul gets tired of too sweet food, and Jesus then has it served a good little salad, well vinegared, well spiced: nothing lacking, except for the oil, which gives it an extra flavor. This salad is presented to me by novices, when I least expect it. The good Lord lifts the veil that hides my imperfections from them; and my dear little sisters, seeing the truth, no longer find me quite to their liking. With a simplicity that delights me. they tell me the combats that I give them, what displeases them in me; finally they don't bother each other any more than if it were a question of another, knowing that they give me great pleasure by acting
Thus. Ah! really it is more than a pleasure, it is a delicious feast which fills my soul with joy. How can a thing that displeases nature so much give such happiness? If I hadn't experienced it, I couldn't believe it. One day, when I ardently desired to be humiliated, it happened that a young postulant took such good care of [64v] satisfying me that the thought of Séméi, cursing David, came back to my mind, and I inwardly repeated with the holy king: 'Yes, it is indeed the Lord who commanded him to tell me all these things'. So the good Lord takes care of me. He cannot always offer me the fortifying bread of outward humiliation; but, from time to time, he allows me to feed on the crumbs that fall from the children's table. Ah! how great is his mercy! -MSC
26,2-27,1 - - As will be seen...

Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus wanted to be the little servant of her sisters in Carmel. In this spirit of humility, she tried to obey everyone without distinction.

“One evening, during his illness, the community had to meet at the hermitage of the Sacred Heart to sing a canticle. Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, already undermined by fever, had painfully gone there; she arrived there exhausted and had to sit down immediately. A nun beckoned him to get up during the singing of the hymn. Without hesitation, the humble child rose and, in spite of the fever and the oppression, remained upright until the end » - HA ch.12 - .

“Far from fleeing humiliations, she eagerly sought them out; this is how she offered to help a sister who was known to be difficult to satisfy; his generous proposal was accepted. One day when she had just suffered a lot of reproaches, a novice asked her why she looked so happy. What was his surprise when he heard this answer.- 'It's that my sister * * * has just said unpleasant things to me. Oh! she made me happy! I would now like to meet her so that I can smile at her'. At the same moment this sister knocks at the door, and the amazed novice could see how the saints forgive. - HA ch.12 -

[65r] In the exercise of humility, it was Jesus whom she wanted to imitate, whom she wanted to please, as she sang of him, the year before his death:

“For me, on the foreign shore, what contempt did you not receive!...
I want to hide on earth, to be the last in everything, for you, Jesus.
My Beloved, your example invites me to lower myself, to despise honor.
To delight you, I want to remain small; forgetting me, I will charm your heart ""'. - PN 31-3 -
As will be seen...

SUPERNATURAL GIFTS

90 - Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus received several supernatural gifts during her life: first the gift of intelligence. God, who loves to communicate himself to truly humble souls and to pure hearts, instructed this young nun, as she says herself, on the mystery of her vocation, and on the economy of the distribution of her grace in the world. , on the direction of souls; she expressed in the simplest and kindest way the highest theological ideas. She had begged the Blessed Virgin, before writing, to guide her hand so as not to draw a line that was not pleasing to her. Mary's protection obtained for her from God very bright lights on the mystery of Our Lord's childhood and his passion, on his justice and his mercy. - As it will be
observed...

[65v] 91 - Several times in her ministry as mistress of novices, the Servant of God had knowledge of their most intimate thoughts. As they were astonished: “Here is my secret - she told them I never make any observation to you without invoking the Blessed Virgin, I ask her to inspire me with what should do you the most good; and I myself am often amazed at the things I teach you; I simply feel, in saying them to you, that I am not mistaken and that Jesus is speaking to you through my mouth” - HA ch.12 - “'.

Similarly, an almost discouraged nun, in a moment of painful anguish, having entered her cell during her illness, and without showing any sign of her pain, she said to her: "You should not cry like those who have not no hope” - HA ch.12 - As will be seen...

92 - The Servant of God was favoured, around the age of ten, by an apparition of the Blessed Virgin at the end of a novena to Notre-Dame des Victoires, to obtain her healing, while her three sisters were close to her and prayed fervently. Here is his story: “Finding no help on earth and close to dying of pain, I also turned to my Heavenly Mother, praying with all my heart to finally have mercy on me. Suddenly, the statue came to life! The Virgin Mary became beautiful, so beautiful that I will never find an expression to render this beauty divine. Her face breathed a sweetness, a kindness, an ineffable tenderness; but what penetrated me to the bottom of my soul was her charming smile! Then all my sorrows vanished, two big tears sprang from my eyelids and flowed silently... Ah! they were tears of heavenly and unadulterated joy! [66r] The Saint
Virgo came towards me! she smiled at me... how happy I am! » -MSA 30,1-2 - .

She confirmed the fact, a few weeks before her death; when she gazed lovingly at this same statue, she said to her sister Marie, who had witnessed her ecstasy at the moment of her healing by the Blessed Virgin: “Never has she seemed so beautiful to me, but today is the statue, formerly you know very well that it was not the statue” - HA ch.12 - As will be seen...

93 - The Servant of God was the object of yet another favor which she recounted thus shortly before her death:

“A few days after my offering to Merciful Love, I was beginning the exercise of the Way of the Cross in choir, when I suddenly felt wounded by a dart of fire so ardent that I thought I was going to die. I don't know how to explain this transport; there is no comparison that can make understand the intensity of this flame. It seemed to me that an invisible force was immersing me entirely in the fire. Oh! what fire! how sweet!."

As the mother prioress asked her if this transport was the first of her life, she replied simply: "Mother, I had several transports of love, particularly once, during my novitiate, when I stayed a whole week far from home. this world; there was like a veil thrown for me over all the things of the earth. But I was not burned with a real flame, I could support these delights without hoping to see my bonds breaking under their weight; while, on the day of which I speak, one minute, one second more, my soul separated from the body. Alas! I found myself on the ground, and the dryness immediately returned to live in my heart! - DEA 7-7 - As it will be
observed...

[66v] 94 - Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus had a more precise knowledge of her mission, shortly before her death. As Saint Thomas Aquinas had made his companion, Brother Reginald, the confidant of the lights he received from God *, - BR 2nd Leç. , 2nd nocturnal -, she made Mother Agnès of Jesus her confidante. On the evening of July 17, 1897, she welcomed him with a very special expression of serene joy and said to him:
“My mother, some notes from a distant concert have just reached me, and I thought that soon I will hear incomparable melodies; but this hope could only rejoice me for a moment; a single expectation makes my heart beat: it is the love that I will receive and the one that I will be able to give! I feel that my mission is about to begin, my mission to make the good God loved as I love him... to give my little way to souls. I want to spend my heaven doing good on earth. It is not impossible, since within the beatific vision itself, the angels watch over us. No, I will not be able to take any rest until the end of the world! But when the angel has said. The time is no more!, then I will rest, I will be able to enjoy, because the number of the elect will be complete.
- What little way do you want to teach souls?
- My mother. it is the path of spiritual childhood, it is the path of trust and total surrender. I want to point out to them the little means which have succeeded so perfectly for me; tell them that there is only one thing to do here below: throw the flowers of the small sacrifices to Jesus, embrace him with caresses! That's how I took it, and that's why I'll be so well received! - DEA 17-7 - As will be seen...

[67r] LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH OF THE SERVANT OF GOD

95 - Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus died on September 30, 1897, at the age of 24, of pulmonary tuberculosis; during the last months of his life, his virtues, in the midst of martyrdom of body and soul, rose to heroism.

“How sad we are – the nuns told her – to see you suffer so much and to think that perhaps you will suffer even more! 'Oh! do not grieve for me, I have come to no longer be able to suffer, because all suffering is sweet to me... However, pray for me: often, when I pray to heaven to come to my aid, it is when I am the most neglected'” - DEA 29-5 - .
Astonished, her companions ask her how then she keeps the virtue of hope?
- “I turn to God, to all the saints, and I thank them all the same; I believe that they want to see how far I will push my hope... But it is not in vain that the words of Job entered my heart: 'Even if God were to kill me, I would still hope in him! '. I confess, I have long had to establish myself at this degree of abandonment; now I am there, the Lord took me and put me there! - DEA 7-7 - As will be seen...

96 - Despite the constantly resurgent temptations against the faith, she remains faithful in her way of trust and abandonment, she says:
“I no more desire to die than to live; if the Lord offered me to choose, I would choose nothing; I only want what he wants; that's what he does that I love! I am in no way afraid of the last fights, nor of the sufferings of illness, however great they may be. The good Lord [67v] has always helped me; he helped me and led me by the hand, from my earliest childhood... I count on him. The suffering may reach the extreme limits, but I am sure that he will never abandon me” - DEA 27-5 - As will be seen...

97 - The demon renewed its attacks:
"Yesterday evening - she said to Mother Agnes of Jesus - I was seized with real anguish and my darkness
increased. I don't know what cursed voice was saying to me: Are you sure you are loved by God? Did he come to tell you? It is not the opinion of a few creatures that will justify you before him” - HA ch.12 - .

“During the month of August, she remained for several days as if beside herself, imploring prayers for her. We had never seen her like this. In this state of inexpressible anguish, he was heard repeating: Oh! how one must pray for the dying! if only we knew!
One night she begged the nurse to throw holy water on her bed saying:
- The demon is around me; I don't see it, but I feel it... it torments me, it holds me as if with an iron fist to prevent me from taking the slightest relief; it increases my ills so that I despair... And I cannot pray! I can only look at the Blessed Virgin and say: Jesus! How necessary is the prayer of Compline: Procul receding somnia, and noctium phantasmata! Deliver us from the ghosts of the night. I feel something mysterious, I don't suffer for myself, but for another soul... and the demon doesn't want to.
The nurse, greatly impressed, lit a blessed candle and the spirit of darkness fled, never to return. This [68r]during this, the patient remained until the end in painful anguish” - DEA 25-8 - - As will be seen...

98 - As the pains increased and the condition became more serious, Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus greatly desired the sacrament of Extreme Unction; she received it with strong feelings of faith and resignation to the divine will. She also received holy viaticum on July 30. Then, giving free rein to her gratitude, she said:
“I found happiness and joy on earth, but only in suffering, because I suffered a lot here below. It will be necessary to make it known to souls... At the beginning of my spiritual life, immediately after my first communion, I desired suffering, but I did not think of making it my joy, it is a grace that the good God made me later” - DEA 31-7 - . - As will be seen...

99 - His love for Mary redoubled, with an even more filial note. One evening she exclaimed:
“How I love the Virgin Mary! If I had been a priest, how well I would have spoken of her! It is shown to be unapproachable, it should be shown to be imitable. She is more mother than queen! I have heard that its brilliance eclipses all the saints, as the rising sun makes the stars disappear. My God! how strange! A mother who takes away the glory of her children! I think just the opposite; I believe that she will greatly increase the splendor of the elect... The Virgin Mary! how simple her life seems to me! » - DEA 21-8,23-8 - .

Another day she was singing softly; looking at the statue of Mary:
[68v] “When will it come, my tender Mother, when will it come that beautiful day, when from the exile of the earth I shall fly into the eternal abode? "- DEA 6-8 -."
As will be seen.

100 - To a sister who said to her: "It is dreadful what you suffer", she replied calmly:
“No, it's not awful; could a little victim of love find dreadful what her Spouse sends her? He gives me at every moment what I can bear; No more; and if the next moment it increases my suffering, it also increases my strength. However, I could never ask her for greater suffering, because I am too small; they would then become my own sufferings, I would have to bear them alone; and I have never been able to do anything on my own” - DEA 25-9, and 15-8 and 11-8 - . - As will be seen...

101 - The Servant of God's illness had spread, her whole body was in pain, they asked her if she was discouraged, she replied: “No... but everything is for the worst; with each breath I suffer violently. And recovering. No, it's not all for the worse, it's all for the best." - DEA 24- 8 - As will be noted...

The doctor thus appreciated his sufferings, he said to the nuns of Carmel: “Ah! if you only knew what she endures! Never have I seen suffering so much, with this expression of supernatural joy. It's an angel!." And as they expressed their sorrow to him at the thought of losing such a treasure: - "I cannot [69r] cure her, she is a soul that is not made for the earth" - DEA 24-9 - . And the doctor was unaware of the suffering caused to him by his inner pains. As her sister, Mother Agnès, alluding to it, said to her: "It's very hard to suffer without any inner consolation", the patient replied to her, revealing her whole soul: "Yes, but it is a suffering without anxiety. than mine. I am happy to suffer, since the good Lord wants it” “'. - DEA 29-8 - - As will be seen...

102 - One of the last nights, the nurse finding her with folded hands and her eyes fixed towards the sky:
“So what are you doing like this? she asked him; you should try to sleep.
- I can't, my sister, I suffer too much! so I pray...
- And what do you say to Jesus?
- I don't say anything to him, I love him” - CSG 25-9 - And she would sometimes exclaim:
" Oh! how good God is! Yes, it must be very good to give me the strength to bear all that I suffer” - DEA 22-8 - . - As will be seen...

103 - The last moments of the Servant of God gave the greatest edification to those who witnessed them. It was Thursday, September 30, 1897. In the morning, looking at the statue of Mary, she had said: “Oh! I prayed to her with fervor... But it is pure agony, without any mixture of consolation. I miss the air of the earth, when will I look like the sky? » - DEA 30-9 - .
Around half past two, she sat up on her bed: [69v] “Mother, the chalice is full to the brim! No, I would never have believed that it was possible to suffer so much... I can only explain this to myself by my extreme desire to save souls....»
And some time later: “All that I wrote about my desires for suffering, oh! it's true! I do not repent of having given myself up to love.
She repeated these last words several times. And a little later: “Mother, prepare me to die well.”
The Mother Prioress encouraged her with these words: My child, you are quite ready to appear before God, because you have always understood the virtue of humility.
She then gave herself this beautiful testimony: Yes, I feel it, my soul has never sought anything but the truth... yes, I have understood the humility of the heart! - DEA 30-9 - As will be seen...

104 - The Servant of God's supreme agony began at around half past four. She thanked with a gracious smile the community that had come to assist her with their prayers; she held the crucifix in her failing hands, a cold sweat bathed her face, she trembled in all her limbs.
At seven o'clock and a few minutes, the poor little martyr, turning to her mother prioress, said to her:
"Mother, isn't this agony?... Am I not going to die?...
- Yes, my child, it is agony, but perhaps Jesus wants to prolong it for a few hours.»
Then in a soft and plaintive voice: “Well... come on... come on... oh! I wouldn't want to suffer less! »
Then, looking at his crucifix: [70r] “OH!... I LOVE HIM!... MY GOD, I... YOU... LOVE!!! " - DEA 30-9 - "'.
The Servant of God collapsed on herself, then her eyes were fixed, shining with peace and happiness, a little above the image of Mary and she expired in this supreme act of love. - As will be seen...

105 - The joy of the last moment was printed on his face. His body was exposed, on Saturday and Sunday, at the gate of the choir. A large and collected crowd thronged the church during the two days. People never ceased to admire her, to say that she was a saint; Hundreds of religious objects were made him touch. His body retained all its suppleness during the four days preceding the funeral.
Several Carmelites and people from outside claim to have seen at that time or since, certain luminous traces in his cell or in the sky; others also claim to have smelled very sweet perfumes emanating from objects that belonged to her, or when they invoked her, or when they obtained some favors through her intercession.
- As will be seen...

106 - The funeral ceremony took place on October XNUMX, in the Carmel chapel, in the presence of an imposing assembly of priests and faithful. A small number only went to the cemetery of Lisieux, the body was placed there in the ground reserved for the Carmelites, in the middle of which it rests. A simple wooden cross was erected on his grave with this inscription:

SISTER THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS
1873-1897.
I WANT TO SPEND MY SKY DOING
GOOD ON EARTH.
- As will be seen...

[70v] REPUTATION OF HOLINESS

107 - The Servant of God's reputation for holiness spread little, during her life, outside the Carmel of Lisieux. She entered it at 15 and died nine years later. If she took care to strive for the perfection of religious life, she nevertheless took to living humble and hidden, following her “little way” of spiritual childhood and abandonment to merciful love. She practiced, in suffering, a charity full of simplicity and cordiality, inspired by the virtues of the Holy Family. She wrote, in 1892, to Mother Agnes of Jesus:
“What happiness to be so well hidden that no one thinks of us, to be unknown, even to the people who live with us! 0 my little mother! how I desire to be unknown to all creatures! I never desired human glory, contempt had attracted my heart; but, having recognized that it was still too glorious for me, I fell in love with oblivion” - LT 103 -.

Several of the Carmelites misunderstood this and one of them asked what could be made special after her death. Others, more attentive and more enlightened, had noted rapid progress every day, which surpassed them all. A poor cripple, Sister Saint-Pierre, whom illness had made demanding, a personal witness of Sister Thérèse's heroic charity, asked that the memory of it be passed on in the monastery and even foresaw that it would spread far and wide.
The well-informed mother prioress had entrusted her with the formation of novices at the age of twenty-two, and they never noticed a failure in the virtues of which she taught them the practice, even more by her example than by her advice. - As will be seen...

[71r] 108 - The so edifying death of the Servant of God highlighted her holiness and soon the figure of this young nun, so humble and so gentle during her life, shone far and wide. It is customary for the mother prioress of a Carmel, after the death of one of her daughters, to recommend her to the prayers of the various monasteries of the Order; she sends them a short monograph of the deceased, in the form of a circular, relating the main features of her life and her virtues, her illness and her death. This pious practice maintains the spirit of charity and prayer, it brings to all an encouragement, often a model. It seemed to the Carmel of Lisieux that nothing would make the sister better known
Thérèse of the Child Jesus, that the pages written by her, in an act of obedience. From there was born the idea of ​​substituting the “History of a soul” for the expected circular; it sufficed to complete it with a chapter on the last illness and the so edifying death.
The manuscript printed and sent, at the end of 1898, made known in the Carmels the one who was everywhere called a little saint: the letters of thanks received on this occasion bear witness to this. As will be seen...

109 - In the interest of souls, for which the Servant of God had suffered and prayed so much, we thought of a wider distribution. His greatness Monsignor Amette, Archbishop of Paris, then Bishop of Bayeux and Lisieux, approved the project. He wrote on May 24, 1899:

“My Reverend Mother,
The Holy Spirit said that 'if it is good to hide the king's secret, it is to honor God to reveal and publish his works!'
[71v] You no doubt remembered these words when you resolved to give the public theStory of a soul. Custodian of the intimate secrets of your beloved daughter, Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, you did not think it your duty to keep for yourself and your sisters what she had written only for you. You have thought, and good judges with you, that it would be glorious for Our Lord to make known the marvelous operations of his grace in this soul so pure and so generous. Your hopes have not been deceived; the rapidity with which the first edition of your book was sold out shows it sufficiently, I ask Our Lord to give a similar blessing, and even more abundant, to the new edition which you are preparing.

Here is how some of these good judges had expressed themselves:

The Reverend Father Godefroy Madelaine, Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Saint Michel de Frigolet:
Mondaye Abbey, Good Friday, April 8, 1898.
“My Reverend Mother,
The first reading of The Story of a Soul charmed me, the second left me in inexpressible delight. There are pages in this book so lively, so warm, so suggestive that it is almost impossible not to be seized by them. One finds there a theology which the most beautiful spiritual books seldom attain to such a high degree. Isn't it marvelous to see how a young girl of twenty-something years walks with ease in the vast field of the inspired Scriptures, to pick up there, with a sure hand, the most diverse texts and more appropriate to his subject? Sometimes it rises to surprising mystical heights; but still his mysticism is amiable,
graceful and all evangelical. »

The Reverend Father Dom Etienne, Abbot of La Grande-Trappe de Mortagne:
21th January 1899
“My Reverend Mother,
I would gladly make myself the propagator and the apologist of the writings and the admirable virtues of your holy child; but it must be confessed, this little spoiled Our Lord needs no one's praise; his merit suffices him before God and before men. I am not surprised at the rapidity of the flow of the first edition. When one has read the precious volume of the Story of a Soul, one would like everyone to read it, so much does it contain charms, piety, doctrine, the natural and the supernatural, the human and the divine. It is Our Lord humanized, made palpable, sensitive, cultivating with incessant love this flower of Carmel which he causes to germinate, grow, and which he embellishes with the sweetest perfumes, for the delights of his Heart and the delight of the OUR."

Here are some fragments of the appreciation of the very Rev. Father le Doré, superior general of the Eudists:
Paris, February 24, 1899

“My Reverend Mother,
You want to republish, you tell me, this delicious volume that has been so aptly named theStory of a soul. That, my reverend mother, is an excellent thought that only the good Lord could have inspired in you. [72v] Anyone who opens this book will read it to the end; he will do as I do, he will read it again, he will taste it, I may even add: he will consult it. The hours flow quickly to browse pages where virtue shows itself without makeup or research, and yet with forms full of charms. We follow Sister Thérèse, without suspecting it, in her flight towards the ideal, we soar with her to the heights of perfection; in his company, one loves God more ardently; one is more willing to serve and support his
next; the sufferings become almost pleasant, and in the ordeal, one feels stronger. The story and the heroine please and make better. I have already had priests, ladies of the world, here the novices of our Congregation read the copy that you were kind enough to send me. Everyone was delighted with it, and everyone benefited from it.”

A religious of the Order of the Passionists, remarkable for his writings and even more for the sanctity of his life, the dying Reverend Father Louis Th. de Jesus, wrote, at the age of 80:

Merignac, November 30, 1898
“My reverend and dear mother,
Thank you!... Ah! I owe you a big thank you... For three days, thanks to you, I lived with an angel! How wonderful is God! what a new invention of holiness, I dare say, unknown until now! What a revelation is made to the world! It is indeed a kind of holiness aroused by the Holy Spirit for the present hour, where so many souls, even Christians, see in the sacrifices of the cloister only the horrors of the cross. What glory for Carmel and what hope for all! [73r] So I invoked her with I don't know what irresistible attraction. My forces, I want to revive them with the energies of his virtue, and warm my heart with the flames of this seraph. I begged her, this privileged one of Mary, to come to my aid when I address to the Immaculate Virgin the prayer which was hers: You who came to smile at me in the morning of my life, come and smile at me again, Mother, here The evening." -
As will be seen...

110 - Twelve years after the pontifical audience where little Thérèse Martin had to call on all her strength, sustained by the grace of God, to address the Holy Father, Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus returned to the Vatican, December 30, 1899.

It was His Em. Cardinal Gotti who presented Pope Leo XIII with a magnificent copy of the “Story of a Soul”, a gift from the Carmel of Lisieux. The Cardinal did not say whether seeing the much appreciated engraving where Thérèse, on her knees, asks the Holy Father for permission to enter Carmel at the age of fifteen, the Pope remembered the scene, but he wrote, a few days later, to the Reverend Mother Prioress: “His Holiness wanted to read it immediately, prolonged his reading for a considerable time, with marked satisfaction.”

In a second letter of March 19, 1900, addressed to the same Mother Prioress, His Eminence thanked her profusely for various souvenirs of the Servant of God that had been offered to her. How not to see in the following passage that the Servant of God's reputation for holiness had already spread in Rome: "I showed these souvenirs to the very Reverend Father General of the Discalced Carmelites, and we thought it appropriate to keep them in the cash box of the Postulation
of the Causes of our Venerables. It is there that they will be better safeguarded[73v], and one will be happy to find them there. public in his Church.”

111 - The very Reverend Father Bernardin de Sainte-Thérèse, General of the Discalced Carmelites, had written a letter a few months earlier which should be reproduced in the Articles. It shows the reception that the translation proposals of the "Story of a Soul" were to find, made to the religious family of Lisieux, in order to bring, not only in the foreign Carmels, but in the whole Catholic world, the name of the Servant of God. - As will be seen...

J.+ M.
PC Rome, Corso d'Italia, 39
August 31, 1889
“My Most Reverend Mother,
How grateful I am to your Reverence for having had the kindness to send me this delightful “Story of a Soul”! One cannot peruse these pages without feeling moved to the depths of the soul by the spectacle of a virtue so simple, so gracious, and at the same time so lofty and so heroic. Our Lord must particularly cherish your Carmel for having given it such a treasure. It is true that this earthly angel did, so to speak, only show himself there for a moment, so eager was he to go and rejoin his brothers in heaven and to rest on the heart of his unique Love; but the cloister which had the good fortune to shelter it remains perfumed with perfume and illuminated by the luminous trace which it leaves after it. You believed, my most reverend mother, that your Carmel should not be alone
to breathe this perfume; that this light, so brilliant and so pure, could not remain hidden in the narrow enclosure of a monastery, but that it had to spread its beneficent radiance far and wide. If I were allowed to express a wish here, my most reverend mother, I would ask that practiced pens soon attempt to render, in several languages, the almost inimitable grace of her who wrote the History of a soul: the entire Order of Carmel would thus be placed in possession of what I regard as a precious family jewel.
Please accept, etc.
Br. Bernardin de Sainte-Thérèse, Superior General of the Discalced Carmelites.”

112 - The first translation was the Polish translation, due to the Carmel of Przemys'l (Austria-Galicia).

"The 'little' great saint of your community may want to use us to 'do good' in Poland. Now, my reverend mother, we would be happy to assist her in this, if you grant us permission to publish the Story of a Soul in Polish.

This request had priority over two other proposals, emanating from the Countess of Jelska, of Krakow, and from the Reverend Father Mohl, SJ The translation appeared with the reasoned approval of His Majesty Monsignor Likowski, Titular Bishop of Aureliopolis:

Posen, December 6, 1901
“Not only do I gladly grant the desired Imprimatur, but I warmly recommend the Polish translation of Sister Thérèse's life. It is a long time since ascetic literature, particularly in Polish, produced such an instructive and edifying book. No one will read it without being edified and instructed.” - As will be seen...

113 - The English translation was a token of gratitude to the Servant of God offered by Professor Dziewicki, from the University of Krakow. Here is an excerpt from his request for authorization, dated May 74, 29:

"As a mark of gratitude to Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus for all the good she has done me, I have resolved to do everything that was in my power to ensure that this book is known in another language. . English, which I teach here at the University, is my mother tongue and I have already written several books in this language. So I approached Burns and Oates, Catholic booksellers in London, telling them that in translating the book I wanted no fee. They asked me to ask your permission for the translation of the book and the reproduction of the photographs of Sister Thérèse, etc..”

The work of the learned professor preceded that begun at the Boston Carmel, which was not completed, but replaced by the translation of the poems of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus.

The Irish Catholic newspaper, of Dublin, also reproduced for Ireland the "Story of a Soul", under the title of "The Little Flower of Jesus."
Another very complete edition is in preparation. - As will be seen...

114 - Two Italian translations have appeared, one due to Miss Teresa Canella, from Brescia, and the other, to the Carmel of Saint Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, from Florence.
Here are the terms in which the right to make the Dutch translation was requested, in May 1904:

“A father from our province of shod Carmelites is preparing the Dutch translation of the life of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus. Soon he will have finished it. However, it is indeed his desire to finish him off in all respects. But in order [75r] to spread with more fruit the knowledge of the extraordinary behavior of God towards this privileged soul, the copyright is strongly desired. This right being reserved to you, my Reverend Mother, you will greatly oblige me and the translator, the Reverend Father Pierre-Thomas Hikspoors, by granting him permission to translate, etc.
Eug. Driessen, Carme Oss (North Brabant).

115 - The German translation was offered from various quarters and very urgently requested by a princess of the royal family of Bavaria; it appeared in a very careful edition, published by the Albert Jacobi bookshop, in Aachen; it was preceded by that of Baroness Frentz. - As will be seen...

116 - The Portuguese translation was undertaken to generalize the good that the knowledge of the writings of the Servant of God had already produced in a privileged few, as indicated in the letter of the Reverend Father P. de Santanna, SJ:

“I have come from afar to ask you earnestly for permission to translate and print in Portuguese the admirable life of our dear little Thérèse, this angel of love full of grace and beauty, who now spends her heaven doing good. on the ground. As soon as a happy chance introduced her to me, here in Madeira, while I was busy preaching a retreat to the clergy of the Island, Sister Thérèse became for me a true sister and a sweet soul friend. . I have made it known to all the persons entrusted to my direction, and everywhere and always the reading of this book has produced the most abundant fruits of joy and grace. I am therefore urged to translate. I wish
have it printed immediately after my return to Lisbon, [75v] at the beginning of October. I therefore hope, my reverend mother, that you will grant me this grace for the glory of God and of your celestial child, the angelic 'little Thérèse'. P. de Santanna, S. 1. Funchal (Madeira), August 14, 1905.

117 - We are still waiting for the publication of the Spanish translation. Monsignor Polit, Bishop of Cuenca (Ecuador), the 1st collaborator so much appreciated in the translation of the complete works of Saint Thérèse undertaken by the Carmelites of the first monastery of Paris, had once conceived of it, then abandoned the project. He formulated his regrets in a letter addressed to the Reverend Mother Prioress of Lisieux on March 20, 1908:

... “It is a great pain for me to see that in the language of Saint Thérèse we do not yet have a good translation of the Life of the one who one day will be invoked everywhere as the second Saint Thérèse. I regret it all the more since six European languages ​​have already translated the beautiful masterpiece.
The Spanish edition is missing for 60 million Catholics. This translation must also be
perfect as possible. For lack of others more capable, oh! If only I could make this much-desired translation!
But this has become impossible for me, alas! As for my collaboration, I offer it to you full and
devoted and for our dear Teresa del Niño Jesùs, I will gladly cut off an hour of my sleep each day if necessary. The void will be filled; the last chapters of the translation revised by Monsignor MM Polit are printed.- As will be noted...

118 - Soon, thanks to the project of the Reverend Father Marmonier, of the [76r] Foreign Missions, we can hope that the Japanese will read in their language the “Story of a soul”, as the blind can read it reproduced in Braille writing. The Russian translation has just been started in Kief (March 1910). - As will be seen...

119 - While these various translations bring the edifying life of Sister Thérèse within reach of the faithful spread over so many countries, the Carmel of Lisieux remains the center of devotion to Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus.
The many pilgrims who go to kneel on her tomb, invoke her and very often thank her for the favors obtained, also come to pray in the chapel, where she has devoted herself entirely to the love of Our Lord.
They speak of her as a saint, and impatiently await the moment when they will see her raised on the altars.
Their testimonies are very often accompanied by marble ex-voto or precious objects, offered as tokens of recognition; they are kept in a special room inside the monastery. We find the same feelings in the letters that came from all over, often from the most distant missions, asking for prayers, copies of life, memories, images.
Suffice it, to give an approximate appreciation of this growing movement, to say that the complete French edition of the "Histoire d'uneâme" reached the sixtieth thousand, not counting the abridged edition, printed at four- twenty thousand copies.
In 1909 alone, it was necessary to send 112.000 images, 25.000 memories; every day, the post office brings, on average, to the Carmel of Lisieux thirty letters relating to Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus. In this daily correspondence are expressed the most touching feelings of confidence in the so-called “little [76v] Saint”, the story of the most diverse graces or multiple healings. - As will be seen...

120 - The main Catholic reviews, many newspapers and Religious Weeks, in France and abroad, have devoted articles to Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus; the Glasgow Observer must have a special mention. He published, each week, in 1909, Acknowledgments, as one does for the Announcements. Each simply said in a few lines that he had undertaken to make his recognition public and that he was coming to discharge his debt after having been favored with the protection of the "Little Flower of Jesus". is the charming name given there to the Servant of God. The September 25, 1909, issue contained twenty-one Acknowledgments; the newspaper declared that it would henceforth have to impose a small fee to cover its printing costs. - As will be seen...

Graces and miracles obtained

[77r]

THIRD PART

GRACES AND MIRACLES OBTAINED THROUGH THE INTERCESSION OF THE SERVANT OF GOD

The wonders wrought by God through the intercession of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus are numerous; she realizes, every day more, the wish of the end of her life: "I want to spend my heaven doing good on earth."

121 - Mrs. Héloïse Debossu, living in Reims, currently 9 rue Luiquet, and previously 5 avenue de Laon, suffered for about ten years from a fibrous tumor, located on the left side, a little below the ribs. Many doctors consulted insistently demanded an operation, becoming more urgent every day. The patient never wanted to consent to it. In desperation, she was subjected to various treatments of massage and electricity which gave her only very temporary relief. In January 1901, her condition worsened so much that she had to keep the room and even the bed almost continuously. The thinness and the suffering had become frightening. In the month of September 1902, peritonitis had even just declared itself. The doctors had condemned her and, even with an operation, did not answer for her recovery. It was then that, in despair on the land side, Father D. Petit, former director of the Versailles seminary, parish priest of Marnes-la-Coquette (Seine-et-Oise), sent the poor patient a lock of hair of the dear and venerated little [77v] Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, by urging her to join a novena that he was going to request from Carmel. The result was not long in coming. On the last day of the novena, the patient could go to her parish and make Holy Communion there in thanksgiving. Since then, her strength has only increased. Her face announces perfect health, and her thinness has given way to plumpness and a fresh complexion which leave no doubt about her recovery. All those who know this person, who have seen her so ill and so desperate, agree in proclaiming dear little Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus as the marvelous agent of her healing.

Impossible to say the gratitude of Madame Debossu for her benefactress. - As will be seen...

122 - The same Father D. Petit, parish priest of Marnes-la-Coquette, reported another cure the following year. Here is his story addressed to the Carmel of Lisieux:

“Marnes-la-Coquette (Seine-et-Oise),

23 January 1903.

A lady Jouanne, married to a gardener and mother of two children, the eldest of whom is ten years old, had to undergo, more than a year ago, an operation for a strangulated double hernia. She almost lost her life there. Since then she could hardly drag herself, and her thinness was extreme. About three weeks ago, this woman fell seriously ill again from appendicitis, complicated by complete peritonitis. The doctors declare that she is lost. One morning last week, the husband rushed to my house: “Come quickly, priest, she is dying.” A great surgeon from Paris, the same one who had previously operated on her double hernia, called by his colleague from Ville-d'Avray, had come [78r] the day before to attempt an operation. The patient had been asleep. We open her stomach, but we find ourselves in the presence of such abscesses and widespread pus, that we quickly give up any operation and that after a few stitches to join somehow the edges of the wound, we declare that 'She only has a few hours left to live, a day or two at most.

I arrive promptly. The patient could no longer speak, had a cadaverous complexion, was frozen and seemed to have only one breath left. However, she kept her knowledge. I address a few words to her from the bottom of my heart, I recommend that she place herself interiorly under the protection of our beloved little Thérèse, then I give her absolution and the indulgence of a good death. I had forgotten the holy oils, perhaps by God's permission...

The nun who was near her declared that she was sinking every minute. So I slipped, warning her, under the patient's bolster, one of the dear little sachets containing the leaves of the roses with which Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus had fondled her crucifix.

The same day, the vomiting, which for six days had been continual, ceased entirely; two days later, the doctors declared that she was out of danger and allowed her food. Five days later, the husband came to tell me of the patient's joy and of his gratitude for the dear little saint.

You see, my reverend mother, a nothing that this angel has touched has an inexpressible value and virtue....»

Of the same, 23 July 1907

« Madame Jouanne, the gardener's wife miraculously cured nearly five years ago by Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, has not lived in my parish for a long time; she currently lives in Versailles. I saw her several times in [78v] perfect health; She cherishes the liveliest and most lasting gratitude for our dear little saint. Like me, she attributes her surprising, dazzling and sudden recovery solely to the relic of Sister Thérèse. All the particulars I gave you at the time of his healing are most exact and I hereby confirm them again in his name and mine.

Abbot D. Small,

Priest of Marnes-la-Coquette.”

- As will be seen...

Nancy, May 5, 1905- 123 - “Mademoiselle Marthe Bourgon, a nineteen-year-old girl, very dear to my family, was suffering from appendicitis. When the doctors noticed the problem, it was already too late. However, after long hesitation, the operation was decided upon, but the gangrene had already spread to the surrounding parts, and the operation had to be cut short. Eight days later, the poor young girl was at her wit's end; and all that was expected was a speedy denouement. Moreover, a crack had occurred in the intestine and had singularly complicated the case: in short, according to all human forecasts, all hope was lost.

I hastened to take to the dying woman what I held most dear: hair from Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, and a novena was begun. Two days later, suddenly, the crack closed; and, since that moment, the better has continued, so well and so quickly that the dear invalid is absolutely out of danger, gets up several hours a day and only has to regain her strength. The astonishment of the doctors cannot be expressed. “I confess to you - said the chief surgeon - that I had never [79r] had the slightest hope, I thought it was quite lost... This cure is a phenomenon, it is beyond comprehension.

We, my reverend mother, understand well!

Mr. Robert.”

- As will be seen...

124 - Reverend Father Casimir Konopka, SJ provided the details of the following healing:

Krakow, May 19, 1906

“Brother Ignace Boron, coadjutor of our Society of Jesus, suffered cruelly from stones in the liver, from Christmas 1905 until March 20 of this year. Two doctors, professors of the University, MM. Parenski and Domanski had declared the disease incurable. Famous surgeon, Professor Kader. said that an operation was essential. After having made several novenas in vain, we have comstarted one at the Sacred Heart and at the very Blessed Virgin through the intercession of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus of Lisieux On the second day of the novena, the brother had a crisis, and on the third, he got up completely cured, to the great astonishment of the doctors who declared the fact unknown to medicine.

On May 19, 1906, Reverend Father C. Konopka went to the Carmel in Krakow to celebrate a mass of thanksgiving; Brother Boron took communion there. The latter said that he feels all rejuvenated, all renewed and healthier than he has ever been. - As will be seen...

125 - At the end of June 1908, Sister Catherine Clarke, then postulant to the novitiate of the Congregation of the Good Shepherd, in Finchley, London, slipped two steps of a staircase and sprained her foot badly. Rest and the various remedies ordered by the doctor brought no improvement, the foot remained swollen and discolored; the sister could not walk. By means of X-rays, the foot was examined at the Royal College Hospital, which was then enclosed in a plaster gutter. The surgeon ordered him to stay like that for six weeks. At the end of this time, the pain not having lessened, and the sister suffering greatly, a blister was tried to reduce the swelling, but without more success. Finally, the hospital specialist was called to Finchley. After consultation with the doctor of the convent, he gave a very serious appreciation of the evil, and declared that he only hoped to cure it under his particular and personal supervision.

Having learned that the parents of the novice, in Glasgow, wanted those was neat in them, the specialist talked about writing to a certain Scottish teacher, for advise him on the operation. Moreover, he warns that the greatest precautions should be taken for the trip, and that the slightest shock would be enough to aggravate the evil and make an amputation inevitable. The following Tuesday, November 3, the Reverend Father Clarke, brother of the novice, arrived from St. Patrick's Parish, Schieldmuir (near Wishaw), with the object of taking her home. He was very distressed at the condition of his foot, and seeing it so badly colored, swollen and completely deformed, he clearly understood that an operation was becoming urgent. Arrangements were made for an ambulance car to be ready on the invalid's arrival in Glasgow. Until then, the necessity of her departure had been concealed from Sister Catherine. She made representations to stay at the monastery, but the case was too serious and she had to accept the ordeal. So she said very sadly her farewell to the novitiate, and the car, which was to take her away from the convent she loved and [80r] regretted so deeply, was requested for the following morning, at half past eight.

During the accident, a medal of the Sacred Heart had been placed on the sick foot, and Lourdes water had been used for the dressings. Novenas were made to the Sacred Heart, to the Blessed Virgin, to Saint Gerard Majella, to the venerable Mother Pelletier, founder of the Institute of the Good Shepherd. Other saints were still invoked, but heaven seemed deaf to all requests.

On October 30, after the surgeon's decision, Sister Catherine, on the advice of her superior, began a novena to Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and placed among her bandages a rose petal with which Sister Thérèse had once embalmed and caressed her crucifix, on his bed of agony. In the convent, moreover, there was great devotion to this young nun.

"On Friday evening, October 30 - writes Sister Catherine - I began a novena to the "Little Flower" [name given in England to the Servant of God], with great confidence. I did not lose sight of her, for a single instant, always I begged her to have pity on me and to heal me, to save my vocation. On November 3, the day before my departure, I went to bed around 9 o'clock, feeling excessive pain in my foot. I then conjured the "Little Flower" to finally obtain my healing from Almighty God. Every time I woke up, I made the same entreaties to him. Around 3 am I woke up again, but this time my cell was filled with light. I did not know what to think of this exquisite clarity and I exclaimed: 0 my God! what is that?." JI remained in this light for three quarters of an hour, and I could not go back to sleep, despite my efforts. Then I felt the impression of someone taking the covers off my bed and urging me to get up. I stirred my [80v] foot, and what was my surprise to find the seven meters of tape, which had been tied very tightly and which I could not have done without, completely removed. I looked at my foot, it was completely healed. I got up, I walked, and no longer feeling any pain, I fell on my knees crying out: “0 Little Flower of Jesus, what have you done for me this morning? JI am healed!”

Around mass time, Sister Catherine was picked up to take her to the chapel, but she said she no longer needed the support of an arm, nor the cane she used to use. habit. She descended the stairs alone and ran towards her superior:

“The 'Little Flower' healed me! my mother,” she said, and immediately the news spread through the community like wildfire. A kind of fear hovered over the house with the feeling that God had passed by. Mother Provinciale soon came and saw for herself the event. To prove that she was well cured, the novice walked up and down outside the church, and showed that she was wearing her ordinary shoe, instead of the cripple shoe which had been prepared for her, due to swelling. Finally, she remained on her knees throughout Mass and walked with a firm step to receive Holy Communion from the hands of her brother. He was still unaware of the miracle, but he later confessed that never, since his first mass, had he received so many divine consolations as at that mass. Another touching testimony to Sister Thérèse's power of intercession in favor of the priests, for whom she loved to pray so much!

Immediately after Mass, the Mother Prioress went to find him and told him what had happened. Then, very moved, he intoned the Te Deum, which the novice continued standing with the [81r] entire community, in unspeakable joy and emotion.

Examination of the foot showed that the discoloration, swelling, blister marks and burning spikes were gone and it had returned to its natural shape. - As will be seen...

126 - Father Charles Anne, a seminarian from Lisieux, suffered several profuse hemoptysis in 1905, which marked the beginnings of the terrible chest disease. They reproduced, the year following, and here is how Doctor La Néele assessed the case, on August 24, 1906:

“I noted in this patient an inflammatory outbreak of tuberculosis, in the upper part of the right lung, around a fairly large focus of softening of the tissues. Serious bleeding, profuse expectoration, continuous fever and considerable oppression made the prognosis very serious. The following days, the lesions spread rapidly on the surface and in depth, the left lung took its turn and the upper part very quickly reached the softening period. The very abundant sputum contained Kock's bacilli. The temperature, in spite of the antithermics, remained always very high, the oppression still increased and haemorrhages threatened, at every moment, to abduct the patient. At this time, September 1, I was absent for a fortnight and I entrusted the patient to one of my colleagues.

Abbé Anne, who had promised to publish his cure if obtained, wrote:

“Then my parents, in tears, asked for my healing from Our Lady of Lourdes, through the intercession of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, and I passed around my neck a sachet of the hair of this little saint. During the first days of this [81v] novena, my condition worsened: I had such a violent haemorrhage that I thought I was going to die; a priest was hastily summoned; but, although I was urged to make the sacrifice of my life, I could not bring myself to do so and I awaited the end of this novena with confidence. On the last day, nothing better had happened. Then the memory of Thérèse presented itself to my heart, the words which so clearly outlined her great soul filled me with an indescribable confidence: "I want to cross my heaven." to do good on earth.” I took the young Carmelite at her word. She was in heaven, oh! yes, I was sure of it; I was on earth, I was suffering, I was going to die: there was good to do, she had to. Clasping therefore the dear relic tightly against my bosom, I prayed to the little saint with so much force that, in truth, the very efforts, made in view of life, should have given me death.

We began a novena again, this time asking for my healing from Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus herself, with the promise, if she answered us, to publish the report. The next day, the fever dropped suddenly, and the following days, after auscultation, the doctor concluded that he had recovered just as categorically as he had affirmed the end. Of the cavern of the lungs there was no longer a trace, the oppression had ceased and the appetite was noticeably returning. I was healed."

The substitute doctor, having also noted, “in addition to serious haemorrhages, advanced pulmonary lesions, of a tuberculous nature, had also carried a very serious prognosis.”

Doctor La Néele saw the patient again, around September 18, amazed to see him resist for so long. Here are the terms of his assessment: “The temperature had returned to normal since Monday, September 10; it had begun to descend on Monday, September 3. The cavern in the right lung had disappeared and I [82r] noticed a simple induration on the right vertex due to scar tissue. In the left lung there were rales of softening. These gradually disappeared and the patient regained his strength. The lungs have long since shown no trace of the extensive and serious lesions from which they were affected. I see the patient again every year, and he continues to enjoy excellent health. He adds: “This healing is absolutely extraordinary and inexplicable from a scientific point of view. In medical history, the most diverse forms of tuberculosis have been seen to recover naturally, but never when they present a character as serious as the preceding case. Acute form with very rapid progress, disease remaining in the latent state for a long time, and passing through its three degrees within a few days, this is what characterizes the most serious galloping consumption, and in the face of which medicine remains powerless. .

Lisieux, March 7, 1909.”

The young seminarian, who had become a priest, was curate in an important parish and sufficed without fatigue for a laborious ministry. - As will be seen...

127 - A prodigious healing took place in January 1907, for Sister Joséphine, aged 41, lay brother of the Carmel of Nîmes, exiled to Florence, villa Dolgoroucky. Here is the story of the mother prioress and the patient with the observation of the doctor of Florence:

“Sister Josephine, one of our lay sisters, was attacked, on January 18, 1907, by pneumonia declared infectious. In four days she was at her wits end, the fever rising to 43°. As soon as I understood the seriousness of the evil, I addressed myself with unshakeable confidence to the angel of [82v] Lisieux; I placed his image at the bedside of the patient who did not want to be cured. However, on the sixth day of the illness, the doctor left us with no hope, and warned us to give him the last rites, fearing a fatal outcome the next day. I wanted to spend this last night with our dear child; but our sisters forced me to go and take a little rest, which I did so as not to sadden them, but by redoubled my earnest prayers to our sister in heaven. Around two o'clock in the morning, I was awakened by a mysterious force, I had the intuition that our sister Josephine was in agony. I ran immediately and found her, in fact, on the point of breathing her last, she was black... her eyes glassy... In a stifled voice she stammered: "Mother, I cannot die!" .”

I said to Mother Saint-Pierre who was urging me to say the prayers for the dying: "No, little Thérèse will heal her" and I recited the Credo with all the energy of my faith. I had a kind of shock in my soul, as if our little sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus had touched me, to let me know that the miracle had been obtained. And I believed in this unforgettable touch and I said aloud: “Sister Josephine is saved!” She was, indeed. The fit of suffocation subsided, the eyes regained life and sparkle. The next day, the doctor came to see for himself the resurrection of the one whose death he thought he had seen.

Professor Maestro gave, in two successive assessments, this diagnosis of Sister Josephine's illness:

“Bilateral fibrinous pneumonia during influenza. Very aggravating conditions: continuous fever above 40 degrees, intermittent pulse, filiform, very frequent (more than 150 beats per minute), respiration of the Cegne-Stokes type, [83r] accentuated phenomena of asphyxia and bulbar intoxication , almost complete anuria. The patient was cured, on the seventh day, suddenly, contrary to my predictions, by help from above!

The patient's statement should be quoted to show her state of mind and what she felt at the time of recovery.

"In honor of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, I want to say to my great confusion that, throughout my illness, I did not say a Ave Maria to ask for my healing; I didn't look at his picture which was still hanging on our bed, I didn't want to heal, I didn't say thank you to him. Now I say thank you very much. May she do to my soul what she did to my body. As soon as I was sick, I understood that I was well enough to die, I had never had so much pain, but the night that our mother came, I was at the end of my strength, everything was destroying itself in me, and I felt that I could no longer live. However, a force kept me on the earth and I couldn't die, I was there suspended between the life that left and the death that didn't come, I suffered a lot, I didn't breathe, I don't remember the time it took lasted like that. But after a moment that our mother was at my side, I felt that I completely revived, it is what made me say that our mother, her, had cured me. She had prayed to the angel of Lisieux who brought me back to life. Afterwards I no longer felt anything, but I was very weak. As will be seen...

128 - Sister Sainte-Foy de Jésus, of the Carmel of Rodez, had suffered for six years from general weakness, to which [83v] had been added, for sixteen months, a total loss of voice. Human remedies had been ineffective and prayers had obtained no improvement. The reading of several favors due to the Servant of God's prayers led them to turn to her. A novena to the Holy Face of Our Lord through the intercession of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face was decided, with a promise, if healing was obtained, to work to spread devotion to the Holy Face and to make known the Servant of God.

The prayers began on April 26, 1908. From the second day the best was felt and the patient was able to hum these two verses of the canticle To live on love: "To live on love is not, on earth, to pitch one's tent at the top of Tabor."

The third, speech was distinct, but was tiring at chanting. On the fourth day, Sister Sainte-Foy was cured and regained full use of her voice; general health was also restored, no more weakness, even after heavy work, such as washing clothes; the voice itself is stronger than before the illness.

Monsignor the Bishop of Rodez, having noted what had happened, insisted on having a medical certificate. It was given, three months later, on July 27, 1908, and bears: that "Lady Sister Sainte-Foy de Jésus, born Louise Chincholle, Carmelite in the convent of Rodez, was affected for sixteen months by very marked general weakness, frequent coughing up of blood and a complete extinction of the voice, as many symptoms which made fear the existence laryngeal tuberculosis, especially since all the medications used had been ineffective... Since the end of April 1908, when the patient was no longer taking any medication, all the above symptoms [84r] disappeared: the voice returned to normal, the spitting of blood has stopped, the general condition has noticeably improved. Auscultation of the chest had never revealed any signs of lung damage, but sometimes traces of bronchitis which no longer exist today. The patient indeed presents some signs of neuropathy, such as ocular anesthesia and the abolition of the pharyngeal reflex, but all fear of tuberculosis seems to have to be dismissed. - As will be seen...

129 - Here is a medical observation of the young Reine Fauquet, aged 4 and a half, residing in Lisieux, suffering from phlyctenular keratitis and cured on May 26, 1908:

“Reine Fauquet has never been ill, except from measles when she was one year old. On January 11, 1906, she began to suffer from eye pain. Her eyelids were glued together and contained pus, her eyes were red and irritated. After two weeks, she was taken to Doctor D. who continued her care for more than a year. The patient had remissions for some time, then more acute crises occurred. She saw three oculists: Doctor D. in Lisieux, and Doctors M. and L. in Caen. These told the mother not to bring the child back, because her eyes were lost. They were indeed bloodshot and covered with whitish shrouds (about a dozen). The child suffered a lot, especially at night. She could not see to behave and could not distinguish any object placed in front of her. She kept her eyes closed and wore glasses to suffer less. Touched by this state, Madame Saint-Edmond, a nun of Providence in Lisieux and mistress of the infant class, advised the mother to ask Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus to heal her little cripple, and to carry it on her grave, advising him to have all the more [84v] confidence that his daughter was called Reine, a name that Monsieur Martin, father of Sister Thérèse, liked to give her. The mother hesitated. She made up her mind, however, after reading the abridged life of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, and took the child to the cemetery. She asked Carmel for a novena of prayers. The next day, May 26, 1908, two days before the Ascension, she attended mass at half past six and placed a candle to the Blessed Virgin in honor of Sister Thérèse. On returning home, she is told that her daughter has had a crisis of suffering stronger than the others. "Put on your glasses, since they relieve you," said the mother to the little girl. But this one exclaimed all joyfully: "Mommy, I don't need it anymore, I see as well as you now." Then the mother brings the child to the window and calls her husband: “Look at your daughter! You were laughing at my confidence, see his eyes! She is healed!” Indeed, the wide-open eyes were no longer red; there was no more pus, inflammation, or sores, and the child saw everything around him distinctly. Since then she has had no relapses. Doctor D. declared her completely cured of her phlyctenular keratitis and issued a certificate, dated July 6, 1908. This disease, very frequent in children with a weak and lymphatic constitution, is characterized by ulcerations of the cornea. subject to very frequent recurrences, at first, then at longer intervals as the child grows stronger. She can only heal very slowly, and it almost always leaves indelible traces, in the form of more or less opaque sheets.

Lisieux, December 7, 1908.

Dr. La Néele.”

The family went to show their gratitude to the Carmel of Lisieux and gave the nuns the details of the cure[85r]son that they wanted to know. In the summary of this interview which they wrote and signed on February 5, 1909, they express themselves thus:

“Marie Fauquet, aged 9 and a half, told us that she saw her little sister, on the morning of May 26, suddenly calm down after her great crisis, then stare at something, smiling, and making gestures of friendship with his little arm; Finally, fall asleep peacefully. 'I thought - she tells us that she was cured and looked at the objects at the back of the room. I then asked her what she had been staring at so much and why she had laughed. She replied: I saw little Thérèse, there, very close to my bed, she took my hand, she was laughing at me, she was beautiful, she had a veil, and it was all lit up around from his head. The child told us the same thing to ourselves. In front of us, her mother tried to frighten her by telling her to be careful not to lie, or else "little Therese" would take her eyes off her. She turned towards her mother and repeated to her with assurance: Yes, mum, it's true, I saw her... - How was she dressed, my little Queen?, we said to her. Similar to you! » - As will be seen...

130 - The Reverend Mother Prioress of the Carmel of San Pol de Mar (Spain), wrote to the Reverend Mother Prioress of Lisieux, on December 15, 1908, about the healing of a patient in her monastery:

Carmel of San Pol de Mar, Spain, December 15, 1908.

“My Reverend Mother,

I have the consolation of writing to Your Reverence the following: one of our sisters, Sister Marie-Michel du Saint-Sacrement, thirty-something years old, was recognized as tu-[85v]berculous by the doctor who gave her , at most, two years of life. We began a novena to the Immaculate Conception, through the intercession of your lovely little saint, and we ended it on September 20 with Holy Communion. The patient, seeing herself in the same state, said to me: “My mother, the 30th of this month is the anniversary of the death of little sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus. On that day, I believe she will do something for me. Seeing her confidence, we began a novena again and, the day after the last day, I called the doctor who, after examining our dear sister, said to me quite surprised: “But she is much better!” However, I thought it took a while to see a full recovery. In the last few days, I therefore had her examined again. After auscultation, the doctor turned to me and said: “No hay nada mas! He there is nothing left, she is cured!” He willingly promised me the certificate which I am sending you. You will read there that: “this healing, so prompt, seems strange and marvelous to him.”

Certificate of Doctor J. Marqués: “Sister Marie-Michel du Saint-Sacrement, of the cloistered convent of the Carmelite nuns of this city, was examined by me, on April 19 of the present year 1908, and found attacked with pulmonary tuberculosis; today, November 15 of the same year, she is in perfect health. Although during this interval of time the said nun was subjected to a medicinal and hygienic treatment, such as befits this disease, such a prompt recovery seems strange and marvelous to me.

In witness whereof I sign this certificate. November 15, 1908, Doctor Joseph Marqués.”

The cure has since been verified on several occasions, and again attested by the same doctor, in March 1910. - As will be noted...

[86r] 131 - Mademoiselle Marguerite Chabaud, born in 1884, suffered from stomach pain for four years. When she entered the Saint-Joseph hospital in Paris on January 1, 1909, she had already had several vomitings of blood. She was found to have a stomach ulcer.

After three weeks of treatment, his condition had improved; she left the hospital to enter the convalescent home of the nuns of Saint-Thomas de Villeneuve, in Issy-les-Moulineaux (Seine). The patient who said she was better still presented the symptoms of a round ulcer, transfixion, acid reflux, etc., observed by the doctor of the establishment. On February 8, she had a serious relapse with profuse vomiting of blood, repeated several times, and as her stomach could no longer bear anything, she had to be fed by artificial means. The tranquilizers were ineffective and the nights sleepless. In these circumstances, the superior had decided to refer the patient to the Bon-Secours hospital, not believing that she should keep someone so seriously affected in a convalescent home.

It was at this time that a novena was proposed to Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus; the whole community was to join in the prayers of Mademoiselle Chabaud, made in union with the Carmel of Lisieux. The Carmelites had sent a small sachet containing wool from the Servant of God's pillow, and the sick woman had immediately attached the relic to her scapular. The novena was made with fervor, but the pains continued to increase. Here is how Mademoiselle Chabaud recounted, shortly after, what happened at the end of the novena: "On February 21, the day when the novena ended, I absolutely wanted to go to the 6 o'clock mass, with the desire to go there. Communion, convinced that I would be cured. During the whole time of the mass, I suffered horribly, but I prayed with great fervor and my hope was very great. When I came back from the holy table, where I had dragged myself [86] very painfully, my sufferings redoubled. Finally, on the third Ave Maria what did the priest say at the bottom of the altar, I felt an excruciating pain in my stomach, this pain corresponded in my back; I felt like my stomach was being ripped out. I then had the very clear sensation of a hand resting on the diseased part and spreading a celestial balm there... then, nothing more, a great calm... I was cured!

I then felt that I was hungry and I swallowed a large cup of milk, which I found delicious. I then stayed at the 7 o'clock mass in thanksgiving, and I heard him on my knees. After this second mass, I went to the refectory where I took a large cup of chocolate, accompanied by two pieces of bread, I, who for four months, had not put a mouthful of bread in my mouth! And I was still hungry! Judging by the well-being I feel, I wouldn't believe I had been sick. I am absolutely healed."

She confirmed the dispatch, sent on February 21 by the Superior of the Sisters of Saint-Thomas de Villeneuve to the Carmel of Lisieux:

“Sick completely cured by Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus.”

From that day on the diet was absolutely normal. The doctor who had been informed of the novena said: “This sudden healing of a round ulcer is all the more astonishing since generally the improvement is slow and the healing takes a long time to come. Besides, the patient, examined from the nervous point of view, presents neither in her antecedents nor in her present state any symptom of neurosis. So sensitivity, to touch and sting, is normal.” He added: "Before deciding definitively, it will be good to wait a few months to see if the cure is really definitive."

[87r] Only on May 18 he wrote:

"Mademoiselle Marguerite Chabaud, aged 24, nurse, living in Issy-les-Moulineaux (Seine), rue Ernest Renan, whom I treated in February for a stomach ulcer and who had been cured Suddenly, continues to be well, She no longer experiences pain in the pit of her stomach or in her back, eats everything that is brought to the table, has no constipation, etc. In a word, she looks very good and exudes health.

Issy-les-Moulineaux (Seine), 18-5-09. Ember.”

132 - Here are the details given by Father J. Lamy, vicar at Saint-Jacques de Lisieux, on April 16, 1909, about the healing of little Louis Legot.

In March 1908, a five-year-old child was stricken with the most serious meningitis. I urged his mother to pray with confidence to Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus. A novena was started. The child was in a perpetual delirium, and yet, when they wanted him to kiss the relic of Sister Thérèse which he carried on his person, he held it back and pressed it to his heart. He was getting worse and worse. "He should have been dead two days ago," said the doctor. But her mother did not lose heart. As he was nearly dying and that For several hours he had been unable to articulate a word. She came to church, made her confession and, before returning, prayed to Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus: "Sister Thérèse, if I must believe that you Please cure my son, make sure that when he comes back from mass he asks me for a drink.”

"Mom, give me a drink", said the child, as soon as his mother had set foot on the threshold of his room.

From then on, he got better and better. I saw it myself, the [87v] next day, the dreadful pain had disappeared. Today he is doing well and is looking forward to going back to school. - As will be seen...

133 - The healing of Sister Marie du Calvaire, in Mangalore (East Indies), is thus reported by the Reverend Mother Prioress, writing to the Carmelites of Lisieux:

“Carmel of Mangalore, East Indies, June 7, 1909.

My Very Reverend Mother,

You will be happy to learn that your little sister, who loved the Carmels of the Missions so much, kindly favored us with one of her visits. We had one of our dear sisters very ill with pneumonia complicated by liver disease and kidney disease; the doctor had little hope, and all the less because our beloved patient did not want to be cured, being so happy to glimpse the sky, the object of all the desires of her heart. She had just received Holy Viaticum and Extreme Unction with touching piety, when the circular came to us relating the marvelous facts wrought by the powerful intervention, before God, of your amiable little saint. We began a novena in community to obtain the healing of our dear patient who wanted to join in our supplications, with the aim of glorifying the good God, and contributing as much as possible to the glorification of the Servant of God, by her healing. . She tells you herself how she was healed. This grace obtained at Carmel caused a great stir in the city and we are asked for novenas. We would be [88r] very grateful if you would send us some relics and images.

Sister Marie of the Child Jesus, Priory."

“Without realizing exactly what serious illnesses I was afflicted with, suffering greatly under the influence of a high fever, coughing up blood and like pieces of lung, I questioned the doctor to find out if my life was in jeopardy. danger, to receive the last rites. He replied that for three days I had been in this situation. I then expressed my desire to our Reverend Mother not to delay obtaining this grace for me and, in the afternoon of that same day, March 16, 1909, I received Holy Communion as viaticum as well as Extreme Unction. , and prepared myself as best I could for the great passage from time to eternity. Seeing that the doctor repeated his visits, three and even four times a day, and that he had joined another doctor in consultation, I was distressed by his solicitude in wanting to save me from death, I who felt so happy to leave this land of exile, and I expressed my sorrow to her, reproaching her for acting contrary to the designs of God who was calling me. He was saddened by my dispositions, contrary, he said, to the efforts of science to cure me. His piety, however, had more hope in the power of prayer than in human help. That very day, the community began a novena to request a miracle through the intercession of the Servant of God, Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus.

Long after the doctor had left, I felt something that cannot be expressed; I was alone and did not sleep; I felt like I was suspended in space. I saw nothing, but I heard myself asked: “Why-[88v]why do you want to die?.” Thinking I was talking to God, I replied: "To see you." But the voice resumed that it would be more glorious to God to abandon me to him, either to live or to die, and to unite myself to the novena that the community was making. I heard these words again: “What greater glory for God, for the Holy Church, for your Order and your community, if the miracle of your healing should hasten the glorification of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus!” As soon as my dispositions were completely changed, I replied: "No, I no longer want to wish to die, I am going to pray and start a novena."

When the doctor returned in the afternoon, I made amends for the reproaches I had leveled at him; the same day, at my request, I was given a picture representing Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, which I placed near my bedside. I prayed to her unceasingly, with great confidence, in proportion to my sufferings which became more accentuated as the novena approached its end. On the eve of the last day, March 23, around 5 o'clock in the afternoon, when the whole community was gathered in the choir for prayer, being alone with the nursing sister, I was suddenly taken by violent suffocations. At the fourth crisis, which was the last, I endured all the anguish of asphyxiation. Having lifted myself from the bed by the excess of the suffering, I hugged the sister who supported me in her arms believing like me that I was going to expire. I absolutely lacked the air to breathe. When I had recovered from this terrible struggle, as soon as I could speak, I invited the poor, deeply moved sister to thank God: "Since I did not die of it - I told her - it is proof that our prayers will be answered.” I had the hope that I would be healed the next day at Holy Communion. The night was very bad. At 3 o'clock [89r] in the morning I endured a real agony, I was flooded with a cold sweat, shivering despite the strong summer heat and the woolen blanket in which I was wrapped; I even asked for another warmer one. At half past three I suddenly felt an indefinable sense of well-being, I said to the nuns who lavished their care on me: "Retreat to your cells, go and rest, I no longer need anyone to watch over me, I'm cured! As soon as our mother is up, please let her know.”

Indeed, I slept soundly until the Angelus. The day before again, I received Holy Communion in my bed as a viaticum and could only swallow a portion of the Holy Host with difficulty. This last day of the novena, I got up, dressed, received Holy Communion and remained on my knees, without support, for about half an hour. At the end of my thanksgiving I sang one of the hymns composed by our dear Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus.

A few moments later, the doctor came to examine me and declared that there was no longer any trace of the pneumonia which had brought me to the gates of the tomb, and which was complicated by a disease of the liver and a disease no less serious about the kidneys. My health, so tried for several years, has been made much better for me. In a few days I was able to resume and carry out my office of portress without interruption along with other tiring occupations. On Maundy Thursday night, April 7, I was able to watch with the community before the Blessed Sacrament. I take the common food of our sisters in the refectory and do not feel any of the indispositions of the previous illnesses. I have since learned from a Third Order nun that, having questioned the doctor about my condition, the evening before my recovery, he had replied: "Perhaps she will expire tonight." Glory be to God and to the dear soul who deigned to intercede for her [89v] unworthy little sister! May she now complete her work by obtaining for me the invaluable grace of faithfully following in her footsteps in the practice of religious virtues.

Sister Marie du Calvaire.”

Letter of transmission of the doctor's certificate.

Carmel of Mangalore, East Indies, July 31, 1909.

“The health of our dear miraculous is good, very good; She, who for many long years endured cruel pain, deprived of community exercises, now comes everywhere. Joy is diffused throughout her being, one feels that a divine transformation has taken place in her. we will never be able to forget the expression on the face of our beloved sister, the day of her recovery; she was transfigured, as if in ecstasy, and still, when she speaks of her celestial benefactress, she is radiant with gratitude and love.

Sister Marie of the Child Jesus, Priory."

Here is the translation of the certificate from the community doctor, Dr. L.-P. Fernandez, dated July 31, 1909:

“In April of the current year, I had the privilege of treating Sister Marie du Calvaire, when she had an attack of pneumonia. The whole right lung was affected; the advanced age of the patient, 66, and her poor health in general, as well as the unhealthy condition of her kidneys, made her case extremely serious. To make matters worse, the good old sister had pronounced, herself, the death sentence and wanted to fly to heaven. Often she begged me not to prevent her from obtaining the realization of her happy desire. As the days passed, I lost all hope of his recovery. [90r] At the same time, the community and the sick sister made a novena to the venerable Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus for her healing. This holy protectress, I have no doubt, had interceded for my patient, because she had renounced her desire to die and wished to live a long time to suffer and deserve. On March 24, 1909, she was completely healed; and now she enjoys much better health than she had for several years before her illness. Signed: LP Fernandez. BALMS.”

In the month of January 1910, the protege of the Servant of God was mistress of novices and had experienced no suffering after her healing. As will be seen...

134 - A supernatural cure was obtained at the Convent of Perpetual Adoration, in Quimper.

On December 1, 1908, the sister of Coeur-de-Jésus, aged thirty-one, had been attacked by an infectious disease of the brain and spinal cord, the whole increased by phlebitis on both legs. On March 16, the doctor, having noted that the phlebitis had disappeared, but that the right leg was stiff, bent both legs himself in order to allow the sister to walk: this was a suffering added to so many others, because , when it was necessary to circulate the patient, the legs flexed and were unable to carry her. From the outset, we believed in weakness and we hoped that time would overcome it. Alas! the patient took on discolouration, plumpness, but remained impotent, and the doctor said that she would probably be paralyzed all her life and that only Our Lady of Lourdes could cure her. It was Thursday, June 3. On Friday, June 11, the patient, as soon as she woke up, felt [90v] even more tired than usual and suffered cruelly during Holy Mass. At the moment of communion, when the nurse picked her up to lead her to the holy table, she almost fell, her legs were so rebellious. Back in the infirmary, the sister said to the patient: "When you are alone, you should try to get up from the chair." She replied sadly: “I cannot! I try often, but it is impossible for me to move my loins. The nurse did not insist, persuaded, indeed, of her powerlessness; she took her by the arm and led her through the apartment. The coadjutor sister - help for the sick - arriving at this moment, said to the nurse: “Why are you so tired? We are no further advanced in getting the sister to walk today than on the first day. The nurse put the patient back in her chair, then went to get a book in which was the portrait of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, on one of her poems: “Angels in the manger.” She made the patient kiss this portrait and said to her, going a few steps away: "Now, come and get the picture."

Immediately the sister made a few efforts of the loins, leaned on the arm of the armchair, got up and followed the nurse, who, holding the picture in her hand, walked around the room. Strongly impressed, she said to the patient: “Go back to the chair and get up without leaning on yourself.” What she did!

Since that day, she walks, and follows the community everywhere. She has returned to her job and is doing very well. It never looks like she went six months without moving. Doctor Pilven, from Quimper, carefully described the illness and observed the cure: "I, the undersigned doctor, physician of the Faculty of Paris, declare that Sister Coeur-de-Jésus, nun at the convent of Perpetual Adoration in Quimper, was attacked, on December 1, 1908, by an infectious disease, with a sudden onset, and [91r] initially showed the appearance of typhoid fever in which the cerebral symptoms predominated: violent headache, vomiting, considerable prostration. Early epitaxis, diarrhea, and intestinal hemorrhage in the course of the disease tended to confirm this diagnosis. However, from the first days, the patient, in addition to headache, complained of intense pain in the neck, rachialgia, painful stitches in the lower limbs and presented with opisthotonas which persisted until the end. she uttered "encephalic" cries and her appearance was that of meningitis. It was then that I thought of the possibility of cerebrospinal meningitis, a condition hitherto unknown in our region and which I had never observed. However, the coexistence of intestinal disorders, so characteristic, did not allow me, despite the preceding signs and the considerable irregularity of the temperature, to stop firmly at this new diagnosis. Be that as it may, the illness diminished in intensity at the beginning of January 1909; but despite the drop in temperature, the patient retained a certain degree of stiffness of the neck, paresis of the limbs, mainly of the lower limbs, and her face remained dazed.

On January 16, phlebitis of the right lower limb appeared, and, 15 days later, the left lower limb was affected in turn. Both limbs had a considerable volume and the edema had spread to the lumbar region. A month later Sister Coeur-de-Jésus was subjected to massage; the ankylosis of the joints yielded to a certain extent, and some active movements became possible. However, the edema persisted and the paresis of the limbs was such that the [91v] patient could not get up spontaneously, nor support herself, when she was lifted from her armchair; Carried by two nuns, her legs moved forward, but these gave way, and the sister, deprived of this support, would have fallen. This state persisted until June 15, when the return to the normal state of motility so abruptly took place, at the same time as the edema of the lower limbs and of the lumbar region disappeared almost completely. When, the next day, I saw Sister Coeur-de-Jésus, she was walking with the greatest ease, and her face no longer showed the expression of torpor of the preceding days.

Currently, there is no other trace of his disease than a slight edema of the right leg, which is a little larger than the left leg. The differential diagnosis between typhoid fever and cerebrospinal meningitis could only have been established by laboratory analyzes which were almost impossible in Quimper. However, it was the undeniable existence of cerebrospinal disorders, of typhus or meningococcal origin, that made me carry a rather gloomy prognosis, concerning the paresis of the lower limbs, which so suddenly disappeared, without anyone can, in my opinion, invoke a very profound suggestion.

Quimper, July 28, 1909.

Signed: Dr. A. Pelvin.” - As will be seen...

135 - Healing of Brother Marie-Paul, Trappist.

Relation of the Reverend Father Abbot of Notre-Dame de Fontfroide, refugee in Spain:

Tàrrega, Spain, June 27, 1909 “During the month of September of last [92r] year, our good brother Marie-Paul (in the century Philippe Tobzane, born in Narbonne, diocese of Carcassonne, department of 'Aude, June 12, 1877, entered religion on May 9, 1905), lay brother of our monastery, felt in the region of the heart the first attacks of an illness to which, at first, he did not take heed. But what, at first, was only a simple oppression changed little by little into pain so intense that any prolonged and too painful work became impossible for him. The doctor, consulted, declared that the evil came from the stomach and subjected the patient to an exclusively milk diet. After six months of this treatment, an improvement having occurred, our good brother thought he could resume community life. But two months had not passed when the pains woke up sharper and more intense than the first time and we had to resort to the same remedies. This time, none was their effectiveness; the disease worsened every day and the sufferings sometimes became so cruel that, to relieve the patient, we had to employ injections of morphine.

Our good brother then had to stop all work, because he was extremely weak; to eat was for him a real torture; his stomach could hold nothing, not even a few spoonfuls of broth which only served to make him feel violent pains. Sometimes also the patient spat like minced flesh; and, moreover, his breath was so fetid that charity alone could keep us near him. After a new examination, the doctor concludes with an ulceration of the stomach which, easily, could degenerate into cancer and warned me of the advisability of an operation in the case of serious complications. To be able to sustain the patient in some way, the doctor prescribed enemas with eggs and milk, but this mode of feeding [92v] could not last long, because our brother was visibly weakening and wasting away. To comply with the doctor's prescriptions, our dear patient took a short walk every day. On Monday, May 3, he came back more tired than usual; and yet it had not lasted a quarter of an hour. Meeting then the sub-prior, he said to him: "Pray for me, my father, because I feel that it is all over...."

All hope was not lost, however, and the Lord would, the day after that day, bring to light the power that the intercession of his little Thérèse has over his merciful Heart. - "Since human means are powerless to relieve you - said our nurse father to the patient -, make a novena of prayers to Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, nun of the Carmel of Lisieux, who died a few years ago, in odor of holiness." The proposal was accepted with all the more joy because the good brother had great confidence in the "little White Flower" whose life he had read in the little brochure entitled: "Appeal to little souls." Since that day, in fact, he carried with him a photograph of Sister Thérèse, saying that she would bring him good luck. She did not deceive his confidence. The next day, Tuesday, May 4, our patient could not keep the enemas, the pain went to the kidneys with such acuteness that this time again he had to have recourse to morphine: the poor brother could take no more. "This cannot last - he then said to the nursing father: "If you would like to ask my father X for me... a relic of Sister Thérèse, I will apply it to my pain, and I trust that 'She will cure me.' In the evening, the nursing father gave him the relic and advised him, at the same time, to take another enema.

[93r] But our patient had his own idea; full of confidence, he had resolved to drink the liquid. He begged the "Little Flower" to restore his health to help his brothers already so overwhelmed with work; then he detaches a few particles of the relic and puts them in his drink. After having swallowed a few mouthfuls, he is afraid of committing an imprudence by wanting to absorb such a large quantity of liquid (3/4 of a litre). But, still full of confidence that he will heal, he adds a few new bits of the relic and drinks it all down. He waits... No more suffering! no more cruel stomach aches! The evil is completely gone, our good brother is cured. He then goes out, takes a long walk, climbs without experiencing either discomfort or fatigue, the plateau which dominates our property. He then returns all cheered up, feeling strong, vigorous, and immediately asks for food. 'Take some eggs,' the nursing father told him. And our good brother, whose stomach could not bear the slightest food, takes not only eggs, but also fried potatoes, raisins, nuts, dried figs, and finishes his meal with a good drink. of wine, a drink from which he had been obliged to abstain for eight months... Not the slightest suffering!

Our happy brother told me about his recovery, which delighted me supremely, and the next day he resumed community life, followed its austere regime and resumed his painful work. He continues his novena, transforming it into thanksgiving. At the end of the novena, the healing having been maintained, I thought it my duty to send you my first report. Today nearly two months have passed since the signal favor of which our dear brother was the object, and we can all certify here that he does not feel his illness in any way, has resumed good colors and continues with generosity. and joy the work that obedience imposed on him.

[93v] In our abbey of Notre-Dame du Suffrage on June 27, 1909.

R.P. Marie Havur, abbot of N.-D. of Fontfroide.

(Refugee with his community at Notre-Dame du Suffrage).

The doctor, Mr. Alexandro Ubach, had been treating the brother for nine months; he declared and signed that the monk was seriously ill in the stomach and that, from the symptoms, he could suspect the existence of a stomach ulcer. He adds: “that the case was serious, because the affected organ could not tolerate any food; and the patient had arrived at such a state of exhaustion that he was fed only with enemas; the suffering was calmed a little by injections of morphine. At the sight of such a state, the doctor proposed, as a supreme resource, an operative intervention which was not carried out, because in spite of the gravity of the disease, and without any change in the treatment, which had always shown itself powerless, the sick recovered suddenly, and endured all food, having suspended all medical treatment. The improvement obtained continues to this day, although it has already been a month since the sudden and favorable change in the state of health of the religious.

The doctor adds "that having questioned the Superior about this sudden and extraordinary change in Brother Marie-Paul, it was shown to him that it had coincided with the celebration of a novena in honor of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus. , to obtain through his intercession the healing of the sick.” The attestation was signed in Tàrrega, on June 15, 1909, by Alexandro Ubach. As will be seen...

136 - Sister Marie-Bénigne wrote this report about the healing, which occurred at the moment when Sister Françoise-Thérèse (Mrs. Léonie Martin), the Servant of God's own sister, intervened.

[94r] “Monastery of the Visitation of Caen (Calvados), July 25 1909.

Around December 1908, I began to have stomach problems; however, I was still able to continue the work of our lay sisters until the month of February. But at the beginning of this month, I was seized with pains so acute that it seemed to me that an animal was devouring my stomach. When these pains took me, I could not walk any more, and when I had to take a little food, they still increased. The doctor, having recognized a stomach ulcer, condemned me to the most complete rest and put me on a diet which consisted in taking only milk mixed with Vals water. But soon the vomiting resumed and became more frequent; four to five times a day I rejected the little milk I took and each vomiting was mixed with blood. Seeing myself in this sad state, I was inspired to make a novena to Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus. We began it on Thursday, June 24; our sisters did it with me. During the novena, the suffering only increased, despite this my confidence was unshakeable. On the last day of the novena, around noon, I had a very strong crisis; I felt like my stomach was being torn out, the pain was the same in my back; this lasted about a quarter of an hour. At 1 a.m., Sister Françoise-Thérèse, sister of the beloved little Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, gave me to drink a little water in which she had put a rose petal, of which Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus had used herself to caress her crucifix, and at the same time, our mother, full of faith in the powerful intercession of our little saint, knelt down and said a praise and Glory Patri. His con-[94v]fiance was not disappointed... As soon as I took this miraculous water, I felt something very soft healing the wound. From that moment, I no longer felt any pain. I immediately drank a cup of milk which went down very well, then, until evening, I drank a liter of it without feeling any pain. The next day, at lunch, I was served like the community: I ate omelets, peas, salad... in short, today I am in one of the best states of health. I made a novena of thanksgiving to thank my dear benefactress, but my heart will be eternally grateful to her.

Sister Marie-Bénigne.”

The certificate of doctor, du 29 July 1909, declares that “Sister Marie-Bénigne Martin presented, from the month of February to 2 July 1909, evident signs of stomach ulcer, with profuse vomiting of blood and that, since July 2, these accidents have completely disappeared.”

The health recovered so suddenly has always been maintained. - As will be seen...

137 - Recovery of Miss Mary Antes.

Report sent by Sister Antonia, Dominican nun of the Convent of Holy Cross in Brooklyn, Montrose and Graham Avenues, of the healing of her sister Mary Antes.

" New York, 12 August 1909 To the glory of Almighty God and of his servant Therese, the little Flower of Jesus, I will relate the great favor received through the intercession of the holy little Carmelite. This grace obtained is the extraordinary healing of my [95r] mortally wounded sister. This dear sister was walking the streets of New York on the morning of July 30, 1909, when an untamed horse rushed at her and trampled her. His face was horribly bruised and his head was hit so badly that it was all bloody. Nay more, the broken ribs pierce the lung; the heart was also injured and compressed; in a word, she presented the most pitiful aspect. In her intense agony, however, she did not lose consciousness and was able to confess in the street to the priest who had come from the nearest church. New York ambulance doctor didn't think it was possible for her to make it to the hospital alive et, for all hope, say only that one in a thousand could survive such terrible brokenness. All day the poor young girl remained suspended between life and death and, around midnight, all hope of recovery was abandoned. Each breath seemed to be the last. She remained in this agony until August 3. It was then that a nun, very devout to Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, advised us to place all our hope in her and to begin a novena to her. I gave my sister a relic image of the little saint; she applied it, with the greatest confidence, to her crushed body. On the last day of the novena the patient was saved.

Sister Antonia.”

- As will be seen...

138 - Healing of Henriette Luchini.

Report addressed to the Carmel of Lisieux.

“Carmel of Piacenza, Italy, September 25, 1909.

A person has just come to the monastery and told us that he had received a grace signaled by the intercession of our dear [95v] little saint. It is the healing of one of his grandchildren, crippled from obstinate enteritis. How was this woman able to find out about our sister Thérèse? Here is the fact: I don't know if it was through thoughtlessness on the part of the postman or through some other incident, but the little parcel from Sister Thérèse that you sent to me was given to the nuns of the Sacred Heart of this city. One of them, in good faith, distributed the relics and images to the aforesaid person, who is her cousin. In vain, I claimed the objects which belonged to me: any restitution was limited to the small book of the relation of graces and to the paper bearing above my very clear and precise address. The good Lord will have allowed all this for his glory and for the glorification of his faithful servant. May he be blessed!”

Here is the relationship of the parents of the miraculous:

“Our little Henriette, aged 11, had been ill for two years with obstinate acute enteritis. All the remedies employed had been powerless to cure her, even to improve her. She remained in the hospital for a month, undergoing treatment by the most distinguished doctors, but the illness only worsened. No food could stop in the intestine and the poor little patient had come to an extreme weakness. Emaciated, discolored, she had only to close her eyes in the sleep of death. He was prescribed sea baths, the baths of Salsomaggiore; nothing benefited him. The doctor stamped his foot when he saw the failure of science. Afflicted, discouraged, we no longer thought either of doctors or of remedies. It was then that we were providentially given an object that had belonged to a Carmelite nun, Thérèse of the Child Jesus. A novena was started and on the last day the healing was perfect. [96r] Today, after two months, our little Henriette is as well as if she had never been ill; no relapse, no threat of relapse. It is a miracle for us, because the long duration and the gravity of the evil, the sudden cure when the disease seemed to worsen, this is a fact that we cannot explain by our short human reason.

Mr. M. Luchini." As will be seen...

139 - Cure of Madame Antpballadum in Smyrna.

“Smyrna, Asian Turkey, October 18, 1909.

I, the undersigned, for the greater glory of God and the glorification of his saints, declare the following:

Last June, my sister-in-law, being in her fifth month, received a serious blow from her two-year-old first child who, while having fun, lunged at her. There followed such sharp pains that the doctor, called in haste, declared that there was to be feared, for the time being, a terrible accident or else that the child would be born crippled. I immediately recommended the dear patient and her child to the prayers of the Carmelite nuns of this city, who asked God for the healing of the mother at the same time as the perfect condition of the child, through the intercession of Sister Thérèse of the Child. Jesus, who died in the odor of holiness in the Carmel of Lisieux. At the same time, they gave me for the patient a piece of clothing of the said saint. As soon as the relic was applied to the pain, the pains ceased and the mother got up the next day to resume her usual occupations. Since then, everything has been fine and the pain never reappeared [96v]rut. The mother was saved... It remained to examine the state of the child. It was a little girl who came into the world on October 13, in a perfect state of health and in no way crippled, to the great astonishment of the doctor. As a sign of gratitude, the whole family has unanimously decided that the child will bear the full name of Thérèse of the Child Jesus.

Antpballadun, chaplain of the Carmel of Smyrna.” - As will be seen...

140 - Healing of young Pichard.

“Nogent-sur-Seine (Aube), November 2, 1909.

Last August 2, my five-year-old boy was stricken with peritonitis from measles. Despite the doctor's care, the child grew weaker day by day, so that people feared for his chest. He had a high fever, a sore spot in his side and had become extremely thin. After two months, the doctor having declared that there was no doctor or drug capable of curing him, we had recourse to a specialist who only confirmed the doctor's diagnosis, not hiding from us that the child was lost, and the only thing to try was the great outdoors and overeating. We understood that only a miracle could save him. The Superior of Carmel advised us to make a novena to Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, whose powerful intercession she had felt for herself. God has answered us! On the eighth day of our novena the dear child gets up, his appetite returns, and the intestinal obstruction disappears, it's a real resurrection. What gratitude we owe to Sister Thé-[97r]rèse! May God grant us her speedy beatification so that she may be known and loved by all!

A.Pichard.”

- As will be seen...

141 - Healing of Monsieur Adrien Henri, professor at the seminary of Nice.

“Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), November 21, 1909.

Most Reverend Mother,

I have come to fulfill a very sweet duty imposed on me by my conscience by writing you these few lines. Affected for more than twenty years by a stomach illness, I thought I was at the end of a long period of suffering, because, last July, my illness worsened in a worrying way and my doctor only kept a faint hope. The medications no longer worked and brought me no relief. My appetite was zero and I had no more sleep. The teachers and students were to leave, around July 8, for summer camp, and I had long since given up the pleasure of following them so II was exhausted, since my poor stomach could no longer bear any food, even a few sips of milk. I then received a visit from a young seminarian who over there, in very moving terms, of devotion to Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus; he suggested that I join a novena of prayers made in Carmel for my healing. I prayed with all the confidence that my friend had inspired in me, and on the evening of July 6, I asked the radiant little queen to be able to sleep until five o'clock the next day. I, who no longer slept, woke up the next day only at the appointed time. Better still: the appetite had returned and the 8 July, in the morning, I left for a long journey. [97v] Fifteen days later I was able to follow an excursion and cover 40 kilometers on foot in a single day! Many friends who had seen me so close to death would willingly testify today to the miracle of my recovery. I hope that Sister Thérèse will be known, venerated and soon glorified on our altars.

Adrian Henry.

- As will be seen...

142 - Sister Thérèse's protection is felt in Madagascar.

“Ambatolampy, Madagascar, December 19, 1909.

Our little saint continues to work hard on the mission and makes us see once again the truth of her words: “I want to spend my heaven doing good on earth.” This good, I see that she especially likes to do it among the smallest, the poorest, the most disinherited of the goods of fortune and even of grace. I had a poor cripple who for more than ten years could not move. After several novenas to Sister Thérèse, she was cured and can now walk. She had just been baptized and took the name of Marie-Thérèse. But I have another marvel to tell you: a month ago a poor Madagascan came to me carrying in her arms a healthy baby whom I had just baptized death on my lips. And, presenting it to me, as well as a picture of Thérèse which we had given her as a remedy, she said to me: “The beautiful lady you gave me cured my son during the night; I thought he was dead and I was already crying, and she arrived wearing a white dress that she put on him, and when my little one woke up, he was cured.

[98r] Isn't it true, my reverend mother, that these are beautiful traits to insert in the "Rain of Roses"?

Sister Berchmans, Superior of the Mission.” - As will be seen...

143 - This letter from the Reverend Mother Prioress of Gallipoli reported to the Carmel of Lisieux a very extraordinary personal fact, which has already been the subject of an investigation by the local ordinary "'. [Follows the letter of Sister M Carmela of the Sacred Heart (of the Carmel of Gallipoli) to the mother prioress of the Carmel of Lisieux (f. 98r-99r) It is reproduced in article 145(bis) and this is why we omit it here .]

[99r] 144 - Account of the healing of Mrs. Dorans, in Glasgow (Scotland).

Madame Dorans suffered, for eleven years, from almost incessant pain, caused by the development of a tumour, resulting, it is believed, from an excessive effort that this lady would have made, while caring for her husband, during the deadly disease that prevented him from serving himself. The tumour, located on the right side, grew deep roots. For several years, Madame Dorans was nevertheless able to take care of domestic duties and the care of her large family. As time passed, the pains became more intense and the tumor larger. During the last three years before recovery, the patient had not an hour's respite; she spent sleepless nights, plagued by incessant pain, never sleeping more than seven minutes at a time.

[99v] She became so ill, the pains were such that, towards the end of April 1909, the doctor gave her no other hope of relief than a stay in the hospital to undergo an operation.

Madame Dorans was examined by the chief surgeon and several others and it was realized that any operation would be fatal, the tumor had affected all the organs of the body. This is why the poor invalid returned home towards the middle of May. From that moment, until the day of her miraculous recovery, she gradually weakened, not ceasing to suffer greatly; the stomach could no longer hold anything; the patient did not take any solid form of food for ten weeks, she could only drink carbonated water with a little alcohol added, or suck a little ice, and this light diet caused her bouts of vomiting. The tumor, which had become enormous, pressed on the internal organs and paralyzed all their functions.

In the successive novenas for the sick, many priests, nuns and friends joined, but without apparent result. His life seemed to be coming to an end and they were about to administer the last rites to him again. The Sacred Heart, Our Lady of Lourdes, Saint Joseph and all the saints she loved most had been invoked for her. On August 22, 1909, she seemed to be waiting only for God's call; the doctor had said that she could not live long, when one of her friends came to see her. They had known each other for a long time, and the visitor, knowing how full of faith the poor dying woman was, immediately suggested that she begin a novena in honor of Sister Thérèse, “the Little Flower of Jesus.” Madame Dorans asked for nothing better, provided she did not lack confidence in the Sacred Heart, the Blessed Virgin and Saint Joseph. [100r] We agreed to have recourse to them, through the intermediary of the holy little Carmelite, so that she would ask for the healing of Madame Dorans to the most loving Heart of Our Lord.

So the novena was started on Sunday, August 22, 1909. During the four days that followed, the patient fell rapidly and, on Thursday, those who watched over her did not expect her to live until morning. . His sufferings were acute. The confessor, who visited her regularly and zealously took care of her soul, once again offered to give her the last rites. The dying woman, thinking that she would pass the night well, begged him to wait until morning, for she desired the help of the Church, at the very moment of the last passage. An hour before midnight, having taken a little ice, the patient had a vomiting which exhausted her completely; then she fell asleep around eleven-thirty. The eldest daughter was resting in an adjoining room, while the youngest watched over their mother: both were overwhelmed with fatigue. The patient, who had hardly been able to see for two days, slept peacefully for the first time, after many sleepless nights, until about half past five in the morning, it was Friday the 27th, when she was awakened by a slight touch on the shoulders, as if someone were bending over her; she felt, at the same time, a gentle warmth, like a breath, and understood that there was near her a presence invisiblewheat. Opening her eyes, she distinctly saw all the exterior objects, even the design of the wallpaper on the walls. All pain, all suffering was gone; she felt perfectly well, could freely move her limbs. Near her the dear little sister had come to spend a few moments of her heaven, bringing her health and restoring happiness to this afflicted family. Madame Dorans, whose [100v] heart was overflowing with gratitude for the favor she had just received, and the full extent of which she could not yet understand, looked at a painting of the Sacred Heart, opposite her bed, said an act of fervent thanksgiving, and then fell asleep again, for about twenty minutes.

When she woke up, she put her hand on the place of evil, and noticed, with great astonishment and great joy, that the terrible swelling, from which she had suffered for so long, had completely disappeared. She called her daughter, who woke with a start, fearing when she saw the big day that she had been unintentionally negligent. But her mother reassured her, telling her that a refreshing sleep had done her good. She then asked for a drink and was able to swallow a large glass of sparkling water, then rested for half an hour.

When she woke up, she was so well and so ready to eat that she asked her daughter to make her some good tea and give her a fresh roll. The young girl thought she saw in this a whim of a dying person, and, in order not to upset her mother, she consented to it, not without fearing the consequences. Madame Dorans was able to take tea with pleasure, for the first time in three months; she ate half the bun, much to the astonishment of her family, to whom she had yet told nothing of the great change in her condition, and then lay down with a feeling of well-being. Instead of the unfortunate results that were dreaded, the better was accentuated and there was a natural movement of the digestive functions. Then Madame Dorans sent for the doctor without delay, wishing, in reality, that he examine her and discover, himself, the cure which she knew had been wrought in her.

The doctor arrived immediately. expecting to find the patient in agony, if not dead. What was his astonishment, on entering her home, [101r] to see her cheerful and full of life! He asked her what had happened. "But it's up to you - she told him - to realize it." The doctor devoted himself to the examination for an hour; he called the young girl and said, in the presence of both of them, that the patient was certainly better, and that the heart, the lungs and all the organs were functioning well. The swelling was gone, without visible means, leaving nothing but a small lump on the side, like a small marble, as if to prove that the tumor had existed. There no longer remained any traces of these roots which had previously been observed, even on the patient's back.

The doctor was very intrigued and, although a Protestant, he said that if they brought another doctor to Madame Dorans, telling her of the patient's condition a few hours earlier, he would not believe it. He says, moreover, that it had surpassed the help of medicine and that a higher power had wrought this cure, which could not be produced by human means.

On January 21, 1910, the doctor gave this general assessment: "I hereby certify that I have treated Mrs. Dorans, living at 9 Stanley Street (Glascow), for the past eight years and that I have always found her in a very poor state of health. I learned that before this period, she was so bad that there was very little hope of seeing her recover. She has been to Western Infirmary, three times; the last time, since the beginning of the month of May 1909. She was sent back, around the twelfth of this month, after having resided there for less than a fortnight, since Professor Samson Gemmil judged that she had not few days to live. She was bedridden from then until August 27, being in a state of extreme weakness, to all appearances, on the verge of death. There was a considerable abdominal tumour, evidently caused by a neoplasm.

[101v] On the morning of August 27, she felt remarkably better and more at ease; up to this day she had only been able to take a very small amount of food, but since August 27 she has been able to take her regular food and can now move about at ease, not only at home, but even outside."

She goes to mass every day and attends to all her occupations. - As will be seen...

145 - It is the truth that God granted many graces, and that he often performed other prodigies or miracles through the intercession of his servant Thérèse of the Child Jesus, as will be reported by the witnesses.

Hos Articulos pro nunc, salvo semper, etc. "'.

The text of Articles of the first edition (1910) ended there. Then followed the Table of materials in this edition.

[Session 79: - August 7, 1911) at 2h. of the afternoon]

[New Items]

[The following new Articles are added to those already produced in the second session by the Vice-Postulator]:

[105v] 145[bis] - This letter from the Reverend Mother Prioress of the Carmel of Gallipoli informed the Carmel of Lisieux of a very extraordinary personal fact, which has already been the subject of an inquiry by the local Ordinary.

“Carmel of Gallipoli, Italy, February 25, 1910.

My Reverend Mother,

The Heart of Jesus wanted to use me, the most unworthy of this community, to bring out his infinite mercy. I send you the account of the miracle performed in our favour. But there is in Rome a great document signed not only by all our sisters, but also by the illustrious Monsignor the Bishop and a commission of reverends. On the night of January 16, I found myself very ill and preoccupied with serious difficulties. Three o'clock had just struck, and almost exhausted, I raised myself a little on my bed as if to breathe better, then I fell asleep and, in a dream, it seems to me, I felt myself touched by a hand which, bringing back the blanket on my face, covered me with tenderness. I thought one of my sisters had come to give me this charity, and without opening my eyes, I said to her: [106r] "Leave me, because I'm all sweaty, and the movement you're making gives me of air." Then a soft unknown voice said to me: "No, it's a good thing I'm doing." And continuing to cover me: “Listen... the good Lord uses celestial inhabitants as well as earthly ones to help his servants. Here are 500 francs, with which you will pay the debt of your community.”

I replied that the debt of the community was only 300 francs. She resumed: “Well! the rest will be extra. But as you cannot keep this money in your cell, come with me.” How do I get up, being all sweaty?, I thought. Then the celestial vision, penetrating into my thoughts, added smiling: “The bilocation will come to our aid.” And already I found myself outside my cell in the company of a young Carmelite nun whose clothes and veil let through a brightness of paradise, which served to enlighten us on our way.

She led me downstairs to the tower apartment, made me open a wooden box in which was the note for the community's debt, and deposited the 500 francs in it. I looked at her with joyful admiration and I prostrated myself to thank her, saying: "0 my holy mother!..." But she, helping me up and caressing me with affection, continued: "No, I do not am not our holy mother, I am the servant of God, Sister Thérèse of Lisieux. Today, in heaven and on earth, we celebrate the Holy Name of Jesus.” And I, moved, troubled, not knowing what to say, I cried out even more with my heart than with my lips: "O my mother..." but I couldn't go on. Then the angelic sister, after placing her hand on my veil as if to adjust it and giving me a fraternal caress, slowly walked away: "Wait, I said to her - you could be on the wrong path." But with a celestial smile, she answered me: “No, no, MY way [0v] IS SURE AND I WAS NOT DECEIVED IN FOLLOWING IT.”

I awoke and, despite my exhaustion, I got up, I went down to the choir, and I made Holy Communion.

The sisters looked at me and, not finding me as usual, they wanted to call the doctor. I went through the sacristy and the two sacristans were very insistent on knowing what was wrong with me. They also absolutely wanted to send me to bed and have the doctor called. To avoid all this, I told them that the impression of a dream had moved me a lot and I told them in all simplicity.

These two nuns then urged me to open the cassette, but I replied that one should not believe in dreams. Finally, at their entreaties, I did what they wanted: I went to the tower, I opened the box and... I really found there the miraculous sum of five hundred francs!... I leave the rest, my reverend mother, in your consideration... We all, we feel confused by such immense goodness and we yearn for the moment to see on the altars little Sister Thérèse, our great protector.

Suor M. Carmela del Cuore di Gesù, rci, prioress.”

ADDITION TO THE SECOND EDITION

ARTICLES

Similarly, September 1910.

“My Reverend Mother,

It costs me a great deal to tell you what my dear little sister Thérèse has done for us since January. But I can no longer resist your prayers nor my little saint, who wants to oblige me to manifest the wonders that God has wrought through her. At the end of January, despite the care with which [107r] our custodian sister, the keyboardist and the two sisters of the lathe keep their account books, we found a surplus of 25 lire in the recipe that we did not could not explain to us, except thinking that Sister Thérèse had slipped it into our box. So, our bishop, my lord, wanted me to separate the money for the community from the two notes that we had left of the ten brought from heaven.

At the end of February, March and April, we noticed the same strange thing; only the sum varied. In May, I saw my little Thérèse again; she spoke to me first of all about spiritual things, and then she said to me: "To prove to you that it was indeed I who brought you the surplus of money noted at your various settlements of accounts, you will find in the cassette a 50-fr note.” Then she added: “The word of God works what it says.” Shall I confess it to you, my good mother, for my great confusion? This time again, I didn't dare go and look in the cassette; but the good Lord, who wanted me to see the new marvel, allowed that one of the following days, two sisters came, out of devotion, to ask me to see the two miraculous notes again... And, my mother, what can I say to you? I? You can guess our emotion: instead of two tickets, there were three!...

In the month of June, we found 50 francs in the ordinary way. On the night of July 15 to 16, I saw my beloved sister again, she promised to bring soon 100 fr. And then she wished me happy birthday, giving me a 5 lira note. But I dared not accept it, and so she placed it at the foot of the little statue of the Sacred Heart which is in our cell; and shortly after, the alarm clock being sounded, I did indeed find the note where I had seen her deposit it. A few days later, our bishop, while chatting, told us that he had lost a 100-fr. note, while doing the accounts for his clergy, and that he hoped that Sister Thérèse would bring them to us. .

August 6 arrived; it was the eve of the birthday of Monseigneur, who is called Gaétan. I still saw my beloved sister Thérèse... she was holding a 100 fr. note in her hand!!! She then said to me, "May the power of God withdraw or give with equal ease in temporal things as well as in spiritual things." Having found this note of 100 fr. in the casket, I hastened to send it to Monsignor with the wishes of the community; but he sent it back to me immediately.

Since that time, she has not brought us any more money, because our distress having been known by all these marvels, we have received some alms. But on September 5, the day before her exhumation, I saw her again and, after speaking to me as she always does about the spiritual good of the community, she announced to me that we would find " barely his bones.” And then she made me understand something of the wonders she will do in the future. Be sure, my dear mother, that his blessed bones will work brilliant miracles and will be powerful weapons against the devil. Almost every time, she made herself seen towards dawn, in some moment of special prayer. Her face is very beautiful, brilliant; her clothes shine with a light like transparent silver, her words have the melody of an angel. She reveals to me her great and occult sufferings borne heroically on this earth... My little Thérèse suffered a lot, a lot!!! What else should I tell you? It is enough for you to know, my dear mother, that we feel around us the spirit of your angelic child. All the sisters affirm, with frank and tender veneration, that, in addition to the temporary [108r] graces granted to the community, each one has received intimate and very great graces...

Suor M. Carmela del Cuore di Gesù, rci, prioress.”

145a - The ecclesiastical tribunal, charged by His Majesty the Bishop of Bayeux to instruct the process for the beatification of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, having taken cognizance of these stories, requests me, as vice- postulator of the cause, to go there, in order to specify several important details. By special permission from Monsignor Gaetano Muller, Bishop of Gallipoli, I was authorized to enter the Carmel, to see the nuns and to examine the places where the supernatural events in question took place. I entered the cloister on October 22, 1910, with Canon Cavallera, Penitentiary of the Cathedral of Gallipoli, appointed to accompany me and act as interpreter. This monastery of old construction is very poor, the rooms are small, the garden is limited to the land between the cloisters, because space is limited in this part of the city of Gallipoli built on a small rocky island, connected to the land by a bridge of a few arches; it is located on the Gulf of Taranto, in southern Italy.

On the first floor is the cell of Reverend Mother Marie-Carméla of the Heart of Jesus, prioress. She received us with two of her companions in this first station of the apparition. Her emotion was visible and it took the obedience due to her bishop to repeat the favors which she had been the object of, and which were recorded in the canonical inquiry opened on the prudent initiative of Monsignor Muller. The account was in all respects in conformity with that addressed to the Carmel of Lisieux; but this oral account, on the very scene of the facts, had an intensity of life, an accent of precision and perfect [108v] sincerity, in spite of the trouble the Reverend Mother felt in enumerating the details which touched her so closely. The monastery of Gallipoli did not know the Carmel of Lisieux before the holidays of 1909. At that time, Sister Maria Ravizza, of the Congregation of the Marcellines of Milan (*), a religious teacher at the boarding school of Lecce, accompanied some young girls to the baths sea. During her visits to Carmel, she spoke with communicative affection of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, and left the Italian translation of the “Story of a Soul.” This reading was edifying, without provoking any special confidence.

When the hardships of January 1910 came, misery had reached the point that the sisters had only one kilogram of bread per person, each week, with some pasta in proportion. Sometimes even, finding nothing on the tables, at dinner time, the Carmelites went to the chapel to pray. We then remembered the Servant of God. The mother prioress and some nuns took her as mediator in a triduum to the Holy Trinity; it was at this moment that she showed herself the advocate of this humble Carmel and its special protectress.

Now informed about the circumstances in which the Servant of God had been known and invoked, I asked to follow the path taken by the apparition. the lathe piece. It is poor in appearance and of modest dimensions. There we see a sort of fairly low secretary, with several drawers; the last, opening, forms a writing table and, at the bottom of this drawer, a small box has been made with a special lock, the key of which does not leave the Mother Prioress. It is the place of a box covered with fabric, where [109r] the money of the community must be deposited. On January 16, it was reduced to seven sous, and much less still, since alongside these few copper coins were the notes of the creditors insistently demanded.

The brilliant apparition, dressed in the costume of Carmel, had the prioress open the casket and herself placed in the box a roll of ten fifty-lire (franc) notes from the Bank of Naples. The other banknotes brought later were also found in this same box. If repeated material help was extended to each Carmelite, if the mother prioress was favored with special directions for the conduct of her sisters, each one too was pleased to recognize that she had benefited from special personal graces. They developed in the monastery a deep gratitude for their celestial benefactress and a generous will to follow her way of holiness. - As will be seen...

145b - Here is a new fact that happened in Gallipoli on January 16, 1911, the anniversary of the first apparition:

Monsignor Nicolas Giannattasio, Bishop of Nardo, near Gallipoli, has studied the life of the Servant of God and her intervention on January 16, 1910, in this Carmel of southern Italy. For him, the response of the apparition: "My way is safe” - in order to reassure Mother Carméla, concerned that she would not go astray, by withdrawing -, had to be taken above all in the spiritual sense of the way of trust and abandonment to God, so recommended by Sister Thérèse of the 'Baby Jesus. He had always regretted that this interpretation had not been brought out and highlighted in the canonical inquiry: these words thus heard would indicate one of the main purposes of this marvelous manifestation [109v] and of the repeated interventions which followed it, in favor of the same monastery.

Under the influence of this idea, and to further conciliate himself, as well as his diocese, the protection of the pious Carmelite, he resolved to celebrate the anniversary of January 16, 1910. He would offer the Carmel the same sum of 500 lire , and it would be deposited in the round piece, under the same conditions as the previous year.

Monsignor Nicolas Giannattasio was then unaware of the words of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus to some of his novices: "Believe in everything I have told you about the trust that one must have in God and in the way that I taught you to go to him, only by abandonment and love. I will come back to tell you if I was wrong and if my way is sure. Until then, follow it, faithfully” - HA ch.12 - “'.

Here is how his project was carried out: He had just received an offering which he could entirely dispose of as he pleased; he took a 500 lira note, and placed it in an envelope; he also slipped in, without being seen by anyone, one of his business cards, on which he wrote:

«In memory!” MY WAY IS SURE, I AM NOT DECEIVED.

Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus to Sister Marie-Carméla, in Gallipoli, January 16, 1910.

“Orate pro me quotidie ut Deus misereatur mei.”

And on this envelope, which remained open, the replica of the title: " In memory!” The first envelope was then enclosed in another larger one, of strong English paper lined inside, and [110r] sealed with a wax seal, bearing the arms of the Bishop of Nardo. Instead of the address, the person to whom she was entrusted, at the end of December, saw this recommendation written: “Da riporsi nella solita cassettina e da aprirsi dalla madre priora suor M. Carmela del S. Cuore di Gesù, il 16 gennaio 1911” (* To be placed in the ordinary little box and to be opened by the mother prioress, Sister M. Carméla of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, January 16, 1911.)

They were accompanied by the oral recommendation that his wishes should be followed. Monsignor Giannattasio did not think, in the preparation of all these details, of provoking any response or confirmation of his personal interpretation, but simply of offering a testimony of his trust and his devotion to the Servant of God.

A few days later he went to Carmel; there was question of the spiritual exercises that he was to give. Mother Carméla proposed the date of January 16, as favorable to maintain the grateful fervor of the nuns and pleasing to the preacher. The latter was aware, it must be said, of the desire of several Carmelites to make a decoration in the poor chapel of the convent, the expense of which would amount to about three hundred francs; we didn't have them. Also the mother prioress had opposed the project; she had then authorized her daughters to invoke their little sister of Lisieux, their insignia benefactress, to obtain them.

On January 16, 1911, Monsignor de Nardo went from the bishopric of Gallipoli to Carmel; he soon learned that his letter was intact and still in the box in which it had been deposited, in accordance with his request. The mother prioress then took it out and brought it, begging him to open it. He wanted her to do it herself. He watched her attentively, through the gate of the parlor. She first tore a corner of the envelope, and opened it [110v] with her finger at the upper edge, then she passed it to Monsignor Giannattasio, saying to him: “Please take, Monsignor, what belongs to you.”

What was the astonishment of this one to find, with the small envelope which he recognized well, four new banknotes: two of hundred liras and two others of fifty, which made a surplus of 300 francs. Before having taken his 500-franc note from the little envelope, Monseigneur thought at first that it had been replaced by others of lesser value. But the Prioress resumed: “This money is yours, Monsignor, but please count... If there are 300 lire, wouldn't that be what the community asked Sister Thérèse with so much confidence?... If you want it, I will call the sisters and you will give it to them yourself. This was done, to the great gratitude of all the nuns, and the gift was handed over to the mother prioress. Before that, while recounting the banknotes, Monsignor having noticed that one of them exhaled an odor of rose, had piously kept and replaced by another. His Majesty examined the envelope with the greatest care: the imprint of the stamp on his coat of arms was intact, the folds which formed the envelope had not been unstuck, it had not been opened. By what means, then, had these notes been introduced there?...

Reverend Mother Carméla confessed that, having looked at this envelope several days before, it had seemed larger to her than when she had placed it in the casket, and that she had therefore sensed the help brought to her by her well-being. beloved Sister Thérèse, in response to the prayers of her sisters. Monsignor Giannattasio then told her that he saw, in this extraordinary intervention, a second cause of greater [111r] significance: the Servant of God seemed to him to want to confirm by this prodigy the spiritual meaning of the words: "MY WAY IS SAFE...."

He then showed the mother prioress his five hundred lira note with the inscription he had put on his card. This new manifestation of the Servant of God's protection, in the given circumstances, could not go unnoticed.

An investigation as severe as possible was conducted by Monsignor Muller, Bishop of Gallipoli. After having studied the facts and the eminent quality of the witnesses who oppose any thought of fraud, he notes with gratitude, for a year, the protection of the Servant of God, Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face. . It procured for the Carmel of Gallipoli, placed under the papal cloister, important resources, of which we do not know the source, it thus drew it from the distress and the misery in which it was reduced; finally, according to the testimony of the best judges, she carried all the nuns towards a greater perfection and caused the most exact observance to flourish among them. These are undeniable facts. - As will be seen...

SIGHT RETURNED TO AN OLD MAN

146 - “Saint-Jean-de-Luz (Basses-Pyrénées) July 23, 1910.

My Reverend Mother,

Finally, I address to you under this envelope the account of the truly marvelous healing of my sight. I left to time the leisure to stamp this healing with the stamp of reality and perseverance. If, immediately after the first [111v] improvement and even following the still more astonishing progress of my sight, I had published this marvelous benefit, one would have rightly wondered what, first of all, I wondered myself: "Is it not one of those momentary and purely accidental eases of seeing which sometimes occur in old people of my age (I am in my 76th year), passing glimmers which do not prove Nothing?."

Here is the fact, in all simplicity and truth:

In the spring of 1900, Dr. X., of C., whom I was consulting about anemia, looking me incidentally in the eye, said to me: "Do you know that you are threatened with a cataract?" "A cataract, me?" - I replied -; but I still see fairly well for my age, and no one in my family has ever been afflicted with this disease.” "Say all you want - he insisted -, you have a well-characterized onset of cataract." I thought it was an error on the part of the doctor. However, finding myself, the following September, in Paris, I went to consult the distinguished oculist Abadie, of the Boulevard Saint-Germain. I was received by one of his aides: "I don't see anything, said this one to me, but come..." And he ushered me into the dark room. There he examined my eyes carefully, under the electric light. “Yes - he then agreed - you have the beginning of a cataract; but don't worry, it will come to you later... and in about ten years, when it is ripe, you will come to us and we will perform the operation for you free of charge.”

The beautiful consolation card! I thought as I walked away. - Live ten years with the prospect of having your eyes butchered for free! And what will be the result? Since then, I have not consulted any oculist or doctor about my eyes, nor used any remedy. I was waiting for the cataract to be "ripe." However, the prognosis of Mr. Abadie's help [112r] was not long in coming true. Weak at first, the disorder of my sight gradually became such that, from the year 1906, I could only read and write with difficulty, even with sturdy glasses. I had a veil over my eyes, and this veil grew thicker in the following years.

From the beginning of 1908, I could no longer recognize my best friends at twelve paces. When dusk came, I no longer dared to venture outside for fear of bumping into passers-by, missing the sidewalk and being run over by cars. In May 1909, an optician passing through here, wanting to sell me glasses, made me read with his instruments, at various distances, prints with graduated characters, alternately with both eyes and with each eye separately. He ends up telling me: right eye completely extinguished and the other eye very sick.”

He had exaggerated somewhat, because of a person placed a stone's throw from me I could still see, with this single right eye, the silhouette, but a vague, imprecise, shapeless silhouette, of which I could not have been able to tell if it was of man or of what. The vision of the left eye had become so weak that on Palm Sunday 1909, I fell down the steps of the choir, which I could no longer distinguish, and that in front of the whole parish. Since then, I trembled to go down the steps of the altar, which I was obliged to grope about with my foot.

In short, I was threatened with complete blindness in the near future, and felt on the eve of no longer being able to recite my breviary or say holy mass. I was already contemplating with anguish the trip to Paris for the famous free operation, an operation in itself scabrous and of dubious luck. But divine Providence, which disposes everything with suavity, had, without my knowledge, put me in contact with the sisters of an “oculist” who [112v] knows how to restore sight to the blind, without ointment or surgical scalpel.

Last spring, the reverend mother prioress of the Carmel of Bordeaux, exiled in Zaraüz, in Spain, appealed to my talent as a beekeeper, and I had to explain to her the sad state of my sight which made me unable to accede to her desire. . Then she, with her robust Carmelite faith, answered me: "Since prayer is all-powerful, we are going to do violence to the good God, and he will be very obliged to restore your sight." A few days later, I was amazed at the ease with which I could read and distinguish the steps of the altar at my feet. So I went to the Carmel of Zaraüz, and there I learned that the community had made a novena to obtain the healing of my sight, through the intercession of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, of whom until then I had ignored existence.

It was therefore from a priest who did not know her, who had not asked her - him personally - for anything, that your angelic sister had obtained from her divine Spouse an insignia improvement of his view. I say "improvement" because, however great and surprising this change for the better was, I had not recovered clear and full vision. We therefore agreed, the Reverend Mother and I, to make a second novena, and she gave me a relic image of the one whom from then on I called "my celestial oculist", recommending that I apply it to my eyes, every evening of the novena. However, this novena was not finished, that already I could easily read the "Decrees of the Sacred Congregation of Rites" which are printed in very fine characters at the top of the Roman Breviary of Tournai (1902 edition, of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist) and which, before, presented to my eyes only an indecipherable smudged page. Even more, since then I recognize people at more than a hundred paces.

[113r] We began this novena in the octave of Pentecost (May 19). Around mid-June, I returned to Spain to put the Carmel hives in order. We then decided to make a third novena, in thanksgiving this one, and at the same time to obtain a more perfect lucidity of sight. And, this time again, my celestial oculist answered our prayers! Having regained my sight, I wanted to become a beekeeper again. So I buy a colony of bees; a few days later, I visited my hive and found several queen cells there, some of which contained larvae already hatched and others of simple eggs. Oh! the sight of those tiny bee eggs, like little bits of thin, bluish-white sewing thread! For years I had been unable to see them, even with strong glasses, and now I saw them again. the naked eye! So with what gratitude my eyes were instantly raised to heaven, where my celestial oculist had just realized in my favor her resolution to do good on earth.

There is therefore no longer any possible doubt: the healing of my sight is real and persevering. And this healing, incontestably marvelous since it is obtained without the intervention of any help or human remedy, I obviously owe it to the intercession of the one we had invoked: Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, who died in 1897 , at the Carmel of Lisieux.

Glory to God! and gratitude to my celestial oculist!

Father Ch. Weber, regular priest.”

AN APPARITION OF THE SERVANT OF GOD

147 - The Servant of God liked to repeat that one of her intentions, on entering Carmel, had been to intercede [113v] for priests; she endeavored to help them in their works by her prayers and her sacrifices, and, since her death, she never ceased to show them a pious interest. Here is proof of this in his intervention of January 16, 1911, with Canon Rossignol, an octogenarian priest, retired to Saint-Martin-de-Beaupréau, diocese of Angers, in a retirement home for the clergy.

For twenty-six years he had occupied, with remarkable competence, the chairs of dogma and morals at the major seminary of Luçon, and, after a life of works and priestly zeal, he enjoyed all the lucidity and the strength of his intelligence.

Despite the terrible rigors exercised on his weak body, despite his prayers and prayers, which were his only occupation during the day and a great part of the night, he trembled at the thought of the judgments of God and he dreaded his last moments. These terrors had haunted his life: his directors of conscience revealed it, after his death; for him, he concealed them from those around him and he was a subject of constant edification. He had a great devotion to Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, who insisted so much on the path of abandonment and trust and loved to say. “I hope as much from the justice of God as from his mercy; it is because he is just that he is compassionate and full of gentleness, slow to punish and abundant in mercy, for he knows our frailty, he remembers that we are only dust. As a father has tenderness for his children, so the Lord has compassion on us” (Ps. 102, 8-13, 14) - LT 226 - .

She did not want to abandon this pious old man in his last days. On January 16, 1911, she appeared to him, as he confided, a few hours later, to one of the elderly priests who had his confidence, Father Frappereau, whose story follows:

[114r] “It was the morning of January 16, after breakfast, we were going back to our rooms. I ask him how the night had been, so bad for him, for so long. "Thank you - he said to me -, the night was good, very good, given my usual state, but what was especially good and very good was my waking up and getting up this morning, I saw little sister Thérèse! It was really her, I saw her and recognized her, just as her photographs show her. She stood at the bedside of my bed, looked at me with a smile and made me understand by her signs and the expression of her whole face, that she had come to tell me: I'm taking care of your business... it's coming. .. count on it!!” He left me, looking quite happy, telling me not to tell anyone about his vision. Death, which happened two days later, allows me to say, today, what he wanted to hide, I have no doubt about it, out of a spirit of humility. That same morning, Canon Rossignol went to confession at La Trappe de Bellefontaine, to the Reverend Father Arsène and confided in him the same; to the testimony of this religious, “his habitual fear of divine justice seemed to have disappeared and an air of unusual confidence radiated through his sweet joy.” Two days later, January 18, in the presence of Abbé Frappereau, his first confidant, he was seized with pains in the heart of such violence that they foreshadowed an imminent end. As they were exhorting him to offer them to Our Lord, who perhaps wanted to call him back to himself, he interrupted the sentence and, rising in his armchair, his face transfigured, he enthusiastically offered the sacrifice of his life and died a few hours later.

The priests around him, made aware of what had happened, did not doubt the reality of the apparition. As will be seen...

[114v] INSTANT CURE OF ONE

FIBROMA AFTER SEVERAL YEARS OF

SUFFERING

148 - Sister Marie-Dominique, from the congregation of Saint-Gildas-des-Bois, has been employed at the Vertou hospice (Loire-Inférieure) for 23 years. This 52-year-old sister had a lot of stomach pain. At the slightest exaggerated fatigue, at the slightest shock to the diseased part, she was obliged to stop, and sometimes for several days. In March 1910, under the influence of a more acute crisis and a general condition which seemed more worrying, Dr. H. was called to examine him. "I noted - he said - the presence of a fibroid occupying the entire left iliac fossa and the size of the head of a newborn child. Sister Dominique had lost weight and lost her appetite, she took on a sallow complexion and serious accidents were to be feared. In the month of May, I saw her again, finding her condition more serious and faced with the impossibility of instituting a medical treatment which, in my opinion, could not bring any result, I advised her to have an operation.

In front of the apprehension of the sister for any idea of ​​operation, her superior made her consult, on May 26, doctor B. surgeon, by concealing to him the diagnosis established by his colleague. He also noted the presence of a fibroid and declared it urgent to perform the operation as soon as possible. On June 3, further consultation with Doctor P., surgeon and professor at the Nantes medical school; he only confirmed the diagnosis and the first two opinions; he even insisted on an operation the next day or one of the following days. "If the tumor is not removed - he said - it will cause serious accidents." Nothing could determine the sister, she dreaded the surgical intervention so much.

When I refused - she wrote, the doctor added: "You [115r] can wait six months, unless there are complications, but if you have a fever, come and see me immediately, I'll do the operation." These words put a little balm on my poor heart, and I resolved to take advantage of this delay to ask God for my healing with more insistence. My companions, sharing my concerns, promised to pray with me. We first made three successive novenas to little Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, through whose intercession I wanted to obtain my healing. In the moments when the evil was more violent, in my frequent insomnia, I liked to invoke the dear little sister, begging her to plead my case with the good Lord. Often I had his relics touched with great confidence to the sick part.

The three novenas ended, the evil did not diminish; we then made a novena of communions and always my sisters and I continued to invoke the dear little Carmelite. The pain was getting worse and I felt the forces betray me. So, I say to myself: I am going to pray to the Blessed Virgin, but in order to be answered more surely, I will beg Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus to ask this good Mother for my healing. We did three other consecutive novenas in this way, without any improvement and yet without losing hope. The more the time granted by Doctor P. approached its end, the more I felt my fervor redouble; I begged little Thérèse of the Child Jesus to ask Mary to cure me, without an operation.

“Come on, said my companions to me one day, you're going to have to decide on an operation; for five months you have been praying without obtaining relief, why persist in asking for a miracle?»

"Oh! so give the good Lord time to listen to me! I replied. Still continuing to suffer, I still hoped and said, looking at the picture of little Thérèse: [115v] “Oh! please ask the Blessed Virgin to heal me.”

I suffered a lot, in the last week of September and especially the first two days of October. On the 2nd, which was Holy Rosary Sunday, I had prayed a lot and always through the intercession of my little intermediary. The pains forced me to go to bed early; they were so violent that I could not rest at first. Sleep finally came and I slept very well. During the night, I woke up, lying on my left side, to my great surprise, because, for a very long time, I could not lie down either on that side or on my back: I no longer felt any pain. I lay down on my back and found myself very comfortable there. I put my hand on the diseased part... no more growth! I was completely cured!

The thought occurred to me to call my sisters, who slept in the same dormitory, but, fearing that my unenthusiastic superior might not believe my words, I kept silent. In my gratitude, I repeated, without tiring, to Marie-Immaculée and to Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus how much I thanked them for having obtained this signal favor for me, I begged them, at the same time, to return Thanks with me to Our Lord.

In the morning, I made a prostration in order to make sure that I was really healed; I did it with as much ease as if I had never had a tumour. So I told my superior about my recovery; she didn't take my word for it and told me not to cry miracles before the doctors had verified the disappearance of the disease. While doubting my recovery, my superior and my companions were greatly surprised to see, from the very same day, that my face no longer had the expression of suffering of the previous days and that I was working without fatigue.

Here is the written assessment of Dr. H.:

[116r] “I did not see Sister Dominique again until the first days of October and was called upon, almost by surprise, to examine her. What was my amazement to find her in a very satisfactory state of health, fattened, and with a very colored complexion, facies indicating excellent health; the examination of the belly revealed no trace of tumour. I looked closely at the skin and found no signs of surgery. Believing that I had made a mistake in my diagnosis, I did not really know what countenance to hold, when I was relieved of embarrassment by telling me about the examination carried out by my two colleagues, their diagnosis absolutely identical to mine, Sister Dominique's novena, her stupefaction on waking up in the morning on the left side and no longer finding the lump, and the very rapid recovery of his health, which enabled him to resume all his tiring occupations. I immediately concluded that the sudden disappearance of his tumor, without any medical or surgical intervention, could only be attributed to a miraculous intervention.

The two surgeons consulted also noted the complete disappearance of the disease, and devotion to Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus only increased in the congregation of Saint-Gildas-des-Bois. “The more we pray to her, the more we feel inclined to invoke her,” the superior recently wrote. - As will be seen...

HEALING AND RECONSTRUCTION OF AN OLD MAN'S TONGUE, PARTLY DESTROYED BY GANGRENE, AT THE SAME TIME AS THE PREVIOUS HEALING

149 - Ferdinand Aubry entered the Little Sisters of the Poor old people's home in Lisieux in May 1910. He was very weak, speech had become difficult to-[116v]then a stroke of paralysis caused him to would have taken for an old man of 80, he was only sixty. On his arrival, we noticed spots on his tongue and we feared a serious illness. The sufferings of the beginning increased rapidly.

The doctor of the asylum recognized at a first examination, at the end of August 1910, a thickening of the whole tongue, accompanied by abundant salivation, difficulty in swallowing and rather sharp pains. Soon the patient could take neither meat nor hot food, his tongue presented a thick and dark coat of saburral on the surface. On September 24, it had become enormous, the old man could not close his mouth; an ulceration, estimated by the nurse to be at least two centimeters wide, over three centimeters long, occupied the end of the tongue and extended quite deeply to the left edge. All this ulceration, which rested on an indurated base, was covered with a thick layer of sphacelous tissue: it was gangrene, following a chronic inflammation of the tongue. The lymph nodes in the neck became more swollen, breathing became very difficult and, despite frequent washing with hydrogen peroxide, the wound gave off an absolutely unbearable smell.

The doctor ordered the transfer, urgently, to a surgery department at the city hospital; but, owing to administrative formalities, admission was delayed. Aubry urged not to leave the Little Sisters house and stayed there. THE 25 September, the chaplain could only give him Holy Communion with difficulty, with only a very small portion of the Holy Host.

The Little Sisters of the Poor had been inspired to invoke the Servant of God and brought poor Ferdinand, during his thanksgiving, one of her images with a relic. They knew that this soul, so pure and so fervent, had something of the compassionate kindness of Our Lord for the poor and for those who suffer. The [117r] Mother Superior had fortunately chosen in the story of a soul, to read to her patient the passage (ch. 11) where Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus speaks of a poor, infirm old man whom she had wanted to help herself, every child, by bringing him alms; the memory of him had remained engraved so deeply in her little six-year-old heart that she had prayed especially for him on the day of his first communion.

The good Ferdinand was won over, he had found a saint who loved the sick and the poor, he gave her his full confidence. His companions joined in a novena begun for him, the 25 September, by a pilgrimage of two of the Little Sisters, to the tomb of the Servant of God. The evil progressed rapidly, it took on even more painful aspects: the tongue was disintegrating, shreds had come off and made it possible to better realize the ravages produced, medicine was powerless to stop them. On Wednesday 28, the Little Sisters asked Carmel for a petal of the roses with which Sister Thérèse had embalmed her crucifix on her deathbed. They placed the relic near the old man in a small closed and sealed bag; and he, in a thought of faith, broke the seal and swallowed the petal. Immediately the improvement took place and was maintained, the pains subsided, but the patient did not speak. On October XNUMX, he suddenly declared: "JI'm healed! - And since when? - asked the sister. - Since two days." There was still a black dot on the tongue. On October XNUMX, this black dot had disappeared.

On the last day of the novena, the doctor was called; he found it hard to believe the nurses' story. But when Aubry, with visible happiness, opened his mouth [117v] to show his tongue to the doctor, the latter was able to observe the healing. The progress of healing was clearly indicated by the appearance of fleshy buds and the disappearance of the preceding phenomena: sphacelus, repulsive odor, etc.

Then, in a voice made barely intelligible by the disappearance of a noticeable piece of the tongue which the ulceration had destroyed, the old man asked the doctor: Will my tongue grow back?

- Oh! for that no, my friend - answered the doctor -, do not count on it, it is impossible.»

And yet, from that day on, a new intervention by the Servant of God began, in favor of this poor old man. He had begged her, saidhe, with two hearts; he obtained by a second prodigy even more astonishing, the realization of his desire so explicitly translated by this question: Will my tongue grow back? The tongue, mutilated by the gangrene, gradually grew back and, three weeks later, the doctor noted the almost perfect reconstitution of the tissues, that is to say, with the same volume, the same shape, the same consistency and the same color. , without any dividing line that could distinguish the new part, as shown in the photograph attached to the doctor's certificate.

Ferdinand Aubry had not wanted to ask for healing from the consequences of his paralysis, he especially wanted not to die of his cancer, because he thought he was suffering from cancer of the tongue. After having been some time in a stationary state which allowed the whole asylum for the aged and many witnesses to admire the effects of the intercession of his celestial benefactress, he gradually weakened, without any relapse on the side of the language. On December 8, he was still able to drive to the cemetery to thank the Servant of God. It was his last outing. On December 18, 1910, he died peacefully. During his ago-[118r]ny, he was encouraged by the thought of going to see his angelic protector in heaven, so he asked in a thought of humility: "But will I be able to enter in the apartment where she is?...." - As will be seen...

ENTRY INTO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

OF A PROTESTANT PRESBYOPY MINISTER-

NOTHING FROM EDINBURGH

150 - After bodily healings, it is good to show, in a recent example, how the Servant of God acts on souls to lead them to the truth. These graces, which are more numerous than cures and the relief of temporal ills, usually demand discretion for the confidences which have revealed struggles and victories. The need to express deep gratitude to Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus, and the hope that this personal event might involve other souls, inspired Reverend AJ Grant to write the following letter, addressed to the Reverend Mother Prioress of Carmel of Lisieux, asking that she be published:

“34 Warrender Park Terrace, Edinburgh, 23 April 1911.

My Reverend Mother,

It is now more than a year since I first became acquainted with the autobiography of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus (English translation). I opened it at random and immediately stopped before the beauty and originality of the thoughts. I found that the work of a genius had fallen into my hands, as well as that of a theologian, of a poet of the first order. I then returned to the beginning of the book and read it through. The impression was as lasting as it was extraordinary. I felt what a person feels to whom the invisible world suddenly appears, and at one point I exclaimed: “Thérèse is in this room!” The thought of this beautiful soul haunted me. At certain times it seemed to me that I paid her a cult which almost bordered on idolatry, so lovable she seemed to me. Then, frightened, I stopped on this dangerous path, accusing myself of being superstitious... It was useless. Soon her image came back to my mind and my heart was again her slave, for she absolutely refused to leave me, saying: “This is how the saints love in Christ Jesus. Listen to me! Choose my little way, because it is safe and it is the only true one.

Under the spell of these sweet words, I answered: “Well! my "Little Flower" (* As we said above, this is the name given in England to Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus.), I will try to follow your advice, if you help me , because, since I know you, my soul sighs after your so beautiful and so divine way. You really changed my heart.”

These few words render very imperfectly the impression produced on my mind by this angelic soul, especially since the day when, for the first time, I opened this incomparable book: the "Story of a soul" (French edition), which, by the designs of Providence, I bought on the very day when a novena to "little Thérèse" ended, a novena made without my knowledge by certain friends. But it's only recently, to tell the truth, that I've begun to invoke his help.

For a Protestant minister, it was not at first easy. My prejudices - fifty years old - were there to defend me. After some effort, however, I was able to continue with a joy that I refuse to describe. One day, being about to pray to her, she suddenly said to me: why ask me-you to pray for yourselves, if you do not want to [119r] know and invoke the Blessed Virgin?.Immediately - for it was like a flash that crossed my mind - I understood how illogical it was to invoke Thérèse and to neglect the Mother of God. The light had come and immediately, I addressed myself to the Blessed Virgin. The promptness of the response surprised me. Instantly my soul was overwhelmed by a passionate love, a newborn love that has grown and is now an abyss. My prejudices disappeared and I no longer doubted that I had to treat Marie as a child caresses its mother. The consequence of this new state of mind was that I launched myself into a more serious and in-depth study of the Catholic faith.

The following Saturday, in my trip to X ***, where I was to preach, I took with me several Catholic books which I read on the way and at the parsonage. The study of these volumes engraved more deeply in my soul certain favorable impressions. However, I was far from a resolution to embrace the true faith. A mass of notes taken then - they are still on my table - show me how undecided I was still, but at the same time how much my attachment to Protestantism was weakening and how much the attraction of Catholic Church.

The struggle was becoming acute, and in less than a week I saw that I had to overcome it. It was a week of anguish, an agony of uncertainty, which lasted another eight days. Many times during this fortnight, I had to undergo attacks from Satan. He whispered to me that it was all madness, that I would gain absolutely nothing from it. The anguish was such that I almost lost my reason and I was more than once close to following the advice of the tempter and turning back.

Then Therese intervened. With what penetrating sweetness, [119v] she whispered to me: " Follow me! My way is sure." At the same time these words of the Gospel resounded in my ear: “He who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Therese triumphed! I decided to enter the true Church and, to cut short, once and for all, the attacks of the enemy, I immediately wrote to my then superiors, announcing that my relations with the Protestant Church were finished.

By a striking coincidence, not the first, - but which was not noticed until later, it was on April 9, the very day when your child broke the ties that kept her away from Carmel, that I broke mine. to save me in the blessed ark of the Catholic Church. After a few days of instruction. I entered the only true sheepfold, Thursday, April 20, taking as my baptismal names, those of my celestial liberator: Franciscus-Maria-Teresia.

What a solemn hour for me! It was the most touching of my life. I will never forget him. And even less the morning of the following day, when I made my first communion. But Thérèse said it well: "These things cannot be expressed" - MSB 2,1 - "'.

Now, how can I ever prove my gratitude to him?... I owe him all the joy of faith; she was the star that led me to Bethlehem... Without her, I would still be an unhappy Protestant, wandering in the deep night. Without her - and I want to repeat here what I published in the press and proclaimed everywhere, what I will always confess - without her, I would never have listened to the voice of Catholic truth. It would therefore be doing me a favour, my reverend mother, to publish, you too, the immense grace of which I have been the object, so that we know better [120r] the power of intercession of the saint of Lisieux and that, through her, other souls may be enlightened and saved.

Please accept, my reverend mother, expressing my deep respect and praying for me, so that I may learn to understand more and more the doctrine of my celestial mistress, making myself, by her example, a little child in the hands of God, for is this not the " sure way” in which, with so much insistence, she urged me to walk?...

FRANÇOIS-MARIE-THERESE GRANT (*).”

[* The Rev. Alexander J. Grant, member of the United Free Church, Free United Church, Scotland, was received into the Catholic Church by Rev. Father Widowson, SJ, April 20, 1911, Edinburgh.

He is the first minister of the United Free Church, who became a Catholic. The Rev. AJ Grant is Scottish, born in Caithness. He was educated at the College of the Free Church, Edinburgh, under the most distinguished masters, of whom he constantly showed himself worthy as much by his work as by his talents.

At Fort William, Inverness, Ullapool and Tiree, where he successively exercised his ministry, he won the esteem and affection of all by his remarkable qualities of mind and heart. Appointed, in 1896, minister at Loch Ranza, Arran, he remained there for twelve years. However, while he was in this post, his wife embraced Catholicism. The event made the position so difficult, within a population absolutely refractory to Catholic ideas, that the Rev. AJ Grant decided to resign and go and settle in Edinburgh. He continued to preach for the United Free Church in and around the city, for he is famous as a speaker and very well known for his learning, until the day when the truth appeared clearly in his mind. The letter reported above revealed the different stages of this conversion.

Cf. - Glascow Observer, April 21, 1911. Tablet, April 29, 1911. - Review of the Archconfraternity of Our Lady of Consolation, for the return of all English-speaking peoples to the Catholic Faith, May 25, 1911.]

151 - It is the truth that God makes more manifest, day by day, the credit of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, in favor of those who have recourse to her intercession: she obtains the help of the souls in the most diverse difficulties and to guide them in the practice of the virtues, she consoles the afflicted and, when she does not obtain healing or relief for the body, she makes [120v] accept suffering with resignation in union with Our Lord. - As will be seen...

Hos Articulos pro nunc exhibet salvo semper.... etc.

R. de Teil

vice postulator