Celine Martin dressed as a bride on February 5, 1895, the day she received the Carmelite habit. Photo credit: Peter and Liane Klostermann, who photographed this portrait from an exhibit at St. Jacques Church, Lisieux. With thanks to the Carmel of Lisieux.

Celine Martin entered the Lisieux Carmel on September 14, 1894, six weeks after the death of her father.  Her postulancy was not easy, for her health was frail; she had trouble adapting to the new diet and to the straw mattress; and her feet hurt during the long hours of standing in choir.  But she emerged victorious.1  Less than five months after she entered, the Community approved her to receive the habit. The "prise d'habit" marked the end of her postulancy and the beginning of her year as a Carmelite novice. This day was considered the young woman's wedding day.

At that time the candidate left the enclosure, dressed as a bride, and participated in the Mass in the public chapel, kneeling on a prie-dieu which was cushioned and draped in white, with a tall candlestick nearby on which to place her tall candle.2  Therese had been escorted down the aisle by her father; Celine was no doubt accompanied by her uncle and guardian, Isidore Guerin, who, like her father, was a most generous benefactor to the Carmel.  In Celine's memoir she writes:

. . .  Ah! it was a day without clouds! . . .  the snow covered the earth. I did not need like Therese to ask for it to receive it; I did not ask for flowers either and yet I got many white sprays. There was one more beautiful than any of the others, made up of flowers like lilies, it was sent to me by [Henri Maudelonde, who had asked Celine to marry him]. I was touched by this homage to my divine Spouse and I prayed a lot for the donor.

Oh! my Mother, how happy I was when I saw myself as the bride of Jesus! I could not believe my good fortune. Was it really I who, after having attended so many human marriages, finally had my turn! Yes, I was the bride, I, advancing to the altar in the white wedding dress, was alone, no mortal was by my side and my soul was singing a mysterious song to the virginal Bridegroom . . . 

excerpted from the "autobiographie de Celine" on the Web site of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux.  Please read more of Celine's memories of that day.

Bishop Hugonin presided at the ceremony, as he had done for Therese, and dined afterward with the Guerin family.3  Father Alcide Ducellier, former vicar of St. Pierre's, preached the sermon. Therese had selected the text from the Song of Songs, 2:10-11: "The winter is past, the rains have ceased; arise, my beloved, and come."  The sermon included a magnificent eulogy for Louis Martin, who had died scarcely six months ago and whose Carmelite daughters had not been present at his funeral.  Therese prepared the outline for the sermon, emphasizing that, together with the gift of all his daughters, Louis offered himself to God. 

. . .  the memory of that venerable Patriarch, your beloved father, whom we remember on this solemn occasion.  [Evoking June 15, 1888, when Celine told her father that she wanted to become a Carmelite after his death]: . . . scarcely had you spoken - in words that he could not possibly have anticipated - than he took you in his arms and pressed you to his heart. “Who am I that God should shower me with such honour!” he exclaimed. “I am truly an exceedingly happy father.” And he asked you to go with him immediately and kneel before the tabernacle.

“Come, let us go together to thank God for all the special graces he has given our family.”  “God honours me by asking for all my children: I joyfully give them to him. If I possessed anything better, I would be eager to offer it to him”. Well! Even though he had nothing better to offer, and certainly nothing more dearly loved, he did have something more personal, which was himself. 

Excerpted from Fr. Ducellier's letter to Mother Agnes of Jesus and Sister Genevieve after February 24, 1895, on the Web site of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux.  Happily, Fr. Ducellier sent the sermon to Pauline and Celine a little later, and it has come down to us verbatim.  I urge you to read Fr. Ducellier's sermon in full.  

 Marie Guerin, who had a very sweet voice, sang a song by A. Gerbier, Il est a moi.  (Three weeks later Therese would use the same melody for her extraordinary poem "To Live by Love").4  After the Mass, Celine went to the enclosure door.  On the other side the community waited to receive her. As she stepped into the enclosure, she was presented with a cross, which she kissed.  Then the community went before her as, on the arm of her prioress, her sister Pauline, Mother Agnes, she followed the procession into the choir.  She knelt by the grille.  On the other side the bishop and priests blessed the habit and asked the novice certain questions according to the manual.  She answered, and, after the prayers, followed her prioress into a little room that opened out of the nuns' choir, where she was helped out of her wedding dress and into the Carmelite habit.  She returned to the grille.  With more prayers, the priest blessed the white mantle, the scapular, the belt, and the long veil, and Celine put them on.  The priest blessed her, and the Clothing ceremony was complete.5

 The Martin sisters had lost their father, and then Celine had at last joined them; only Leonie, pursuing her vocation as a Visitation nun at Caen, was missing.  Celine's sister Pauline was her prioress, and we can imagine that it was a happy family day for them.  The whole day was a feast in the Carmel.  Trying to console Celine, who had been forced to change her religious name,  Marie of the Holy Face, to Genevieve of St. Teresa, Therese had said "We will both have the same patroness now."  With unconscious prescience, Celine answered:  "You will be my patroness."6

Therese's gift to Celine was a poem, "Song of Gratitude of Jesus' Fiancee."  The nuns usually sang at evening recreation to honor the bride of the day, and Therese wrote this poem to be sung to the melody "O saint Autel," which had been the processional hymn on her First Communion day.7   Therese's sixteenth poem, it is believed to introduce the second, "majestic" stage of her poetry.8 Undoubtedly written while Celine was still called "Marie of the Holy Face," it begins:

"You have hidden me forever in your Face!"  

Speaking for herself as well as for Celine, Therese writes of

"the inexpressible grace of having suffered . . .

that by the Cross we save sinners . . .

by the Cross my ennobled soul has seen a new horizon revealed." 

This "new horizon" will lead Therese to other "inexpressible graces" during this year of profound grace, 1895.

I urge you to read the poem (six stanzas of only four lines each) at the Web site of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux.  Thanks to the generosity of the Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites, the text of Therese's poems may be read there online.  For a deeper understanding of these poems (most written in 1895, 1896, and 1897, the years we will, please God, explore for the next three years in our series "125 years ago with St. Therese"), it is indispensable to consult The Poetry of Saint Therese of Lisieux, tr. Donald Kinney, O.C.D. (Washington, D.C.: Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites, 1995).  The General Introduction by Jacques Longchampt and the introductions to each poem offer invaluable context for appreciating the poems.

 1.  Celine, Sister and Witness of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, by Stephane-Joseph Piat, O.F.M.  San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1997, pp. 62-63.

2.  "Cérémonial à l'usage des religieuses carmélites déchaussées de l'Ordre de Notre-Dame du Mont-Carmel érigé en France selon la première règle.  Nouvelle édition.  Paris: Mersch, imprimeur 1888.  On the Web site of the archives of the Carmel of Lisieux.  Book nine, chapter five.

3.  Sainte Therese de Lisieux (1873-1897), by Guy Gaucher.  Paris: Editions du Cerf, 2010, p. 415, note 3.

4.  Gaucher, pp. 415-416.

5.  "Cérémonial," book nine, chapter five.

6.  Piat, p. 63

7.   The Poetry of Saint Therese of Lisieux, tr. Donald Kinney, O.C.D. (Washington, D.C.: Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites, 1995), p. 85.

8.   Poetry, Kinney, p. 15.

     January 21, 1895, the feast of St. Agnes, was the feast-day in Carmel of Therese's sister, Mother Agnes of Jesus (Pauline Martin), who was then prioress.  It was the custom for the community to celebrate the feast day of the prioress with special festivities, in which the novices played a leading role.  For Mother Agnes's feast in 1894, Therese had already written and produced her first play about Joan of Arc, The Mission of Joan of Arc, or The Shepherdess of Domremy Listening to Her Voices.  At the end of 1894, for the community's Christmas recreation, Therese wrote and produced her second play, The Angels at Jesus' Manger.  Just three weeks later, for Mother Agnes's feast, she produced a second play about Joan:  Joan of Arc Accomplishing Her Mission. 

Since Celine had just entered in September 1894, four of the five Martin daughters were together again, and Celine played the role of St. Catherine.  By accident, the scene of Joan's martyrdom became a little too realistic:   Celine testified that Therese "was almost burned alive when a fire accidentally broke out. Upon Mother Prioress’ order not to move whilst others strove to extinguish the fire around her, she remained calm and still amid the danger, offering to God the sacrifice of her life," as she told Celine later.  (Celine's testimony in the Apostolic Process). The community received this play with enthusiasm, and for perhaps the first time Therese, who played Joan, was considered something of a "star" among the Carmelites, but she understood even better, as a result, the futility of human praise.

The text of the play is online thanks to the Web site of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux and the generosity of the Washington Province of Discalced Carmelite Friars.  For a full understanding of Therese's plays I strongly recommend consulting the book The Plays of St. Therese of Lisieux, for its General Introduction by Bishop Guy Gaucher, O.C.D. and the individual introductions to each play will greatly enrich your understanding of these least known of Therese's writings.

For the feast of St. Therese, I have the pleasure of sharing with you  the documentary "In Search of the Little Flower: Therese of Lisieux," produced for the September 2019 visit of the relics of St. Therese to Scotland by two brilliant young filmmakers, Brian Anthony Timmons and J. P. Mallon, of Sancta Familia Media in Scotland.  This free documentary, an hour long, fulfills a dream I have had for many years.  

In the bleak days of February, I suddenly learned from their post that Fr. Grant and Brian and J. P. had just arrived in France to film a documentary about the Martin family and about St. Therese as a tool to help the people prepare for the historic first visit of the relics of St. Therese to Scotland in September.  Inspired by their bold vision and their willingness to post the documentary online for all to view for free, I had the joy of writing to them throughout their stay in France with suggestions for sites to visit and what to film there.   The generous cooperation of the staffs of the Shrines at Alencon and Lisieux allowed them to capture all the footage needed for an outstanding film.  Their later work in Scotland produced it.  

On this feast day, being occupied with caring for a beloved family member who is seriously ill (for whom I ask your prayers), I can write no more.   But, thanks to God; Fr. Jim; Brian and J. P.; and all their collaborators (some of whom you will meet in the film), I have the joy of sharing their gift with you.  May St. Therese bless you on her feast.

July 16, 1894 was the 26th birthday of Sister Martha of Jesus, a lay-sister who entered three months before Therese.  This birthday furnished the occasion for Therese's seventh poem, "Song of Gratitude to Our Lady of Mount Carmel."  The poem takes its inspiration from the circumstances of Sister Martha's life. 

One of the best ways to understand Therese's way is to get to know the women with whom she lived in Carmel.  Learn more about the young woman who lived close to Therese for nine years: 

•  the short biography of Martha of Jesus
• her testimony at the diocesan process for Therese
• her obituary circular

Dr. Frances Therese Renda Photo credit: Sue Princiotto

It is with the greatest sadness that we announce the sudden death, on June 17, 2019, of Dr. Frances Therese Renda, the best friend St. Therese ever had.  Sue Princiotto announced her sister's death in these words:

Family and friends, it is with great sadness that our family announces the passing of Fran Renda, suddenly and peacefully in her sleep. I apologize for posting the news this way, but I wanted to make sure everyone hears before the funeral.

Please join us in paying last respects to Dr. Fran Renda on Tuesday, June 25th from 7:00 to 9:00 in the evening at The Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel, located at 1076 Madison Avenue in New York City.

On Wednesday, June 26, there will be a Funeral Mass held at 10:00 am at the Church of St. Joseph of the Holy Family (405 West 125th Street - NY, NY), led by the beloved Father David Nolan.

Immediately following the Mass, all are welcome to remain at the Church for a reception in honor of Fran where you are encouraged to share stories, travel tales, and fondest memories as a celebration of her distinguished, admirable and exceptional life.

At 3:00pm the same day (June 26), a burial service will be held at St. John's Cemetery (80-01 Metropolitan Avenue - Middle Village, NY). All are welcome.

I will write a personal tribute to Fran later.  Here I merely share some of the highlights of her long and generous apostolate for St. Therese.  Fran fell in love with St. Therese when she first visited Lisieux at the age of sixteen, and, for the rest of her life, during a distinguished career as a clinical social worker and psychotherapist, never stopped trying to make Therese known and loved.  I met her in 1988 at a symposium offered by the Carmelite Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary in Darien, Illinois to celebrate the centenary of Therese's entrance.  We saw each other at conferences and other events devoted to St. Therese. Fran had taught Therese in the seminary at Yonkers, and she also taught Therese to a group of women at St. Patrick's Cathedral.  They were so moved by what Fran communicated that in the 1990s, every day for seven years, they operated what was known as the "Therese desk" just inside the entrance of St. Patrick's Cathedral, offering for sale the best books and most beautiful medals of St. Therese.  A dizzying number of thousands of dollars worth of books were sold, and countless souls were brought to Christ. 

Fran was the moving spirit behind several important books about Therese and about the Martin family.  The first to appear was "Therese of Lisieux and Marie of the Trinity," by Pierre Descouvemont translated by Fran's friend, Alexandra Plettenberg-Serban, which appeared in 1997:

It is not widely known that Fran was the catalyst for the conversation that resulted in the visit of the reliquary of St. Therese to the United States in the autumn of 1999.  I was present in when Fran's group and her friends at the Cathedral made the visit of the reliquary of St. Therese to St. Patrick's Cathedral a unique grace.  The memory of those happy days will never leave me.

For years Fran encouraged her friend, Bishop Patrick Ahern, in the writing of his boook "Maurice and Therese," which appeared in 2001.

In 2005, "I Thirst: Saint Therese of Lisieux and Mother Teresa of Calcutta," translated by Fran's friend, Alexandra Plettenbrg-Serban, appeared in English. 

 Fran edited for publication the letters of Louis and Zelie Martin, the parents of St. Therese, which were translated by her friend, Ann Hess, and published in 2011:

 In connection with the publication of A Call to a Deeper Love, Fran was interviewed by Bill O'Donnell, host and producer of Spirituality TV in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Fran several times presented about St. Therese and the Martin family:

On January 15, 2012, Fran appeared on EWTN's Sunday Night Prime to discuss Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin:

Again, shortly before the canonization of the Martin spouses, Fran spoke with Jay and Fr. Robert Reed of the Catholic TV Network about them:

 For some years before Fran's death, she and Ann Hess had been collaborating again, this time on the monumental work "Therese de Lisieux," a long biography of Therese by Fran's dear friend and mentor, the late Bishop Guy Gaucher, O.C.D.

On June 9, 1897, the second anniversary of her Offering to Merciful Love, Therese wrote to Maurice Belliere words that might serve as Fran's farewell to us:

Dear little Brother, there are many things I would like to make you understand now that I am at the door of eternity, but I am not dying; I am entering into life, and all that I cannot say to you here below I will make you understand from the heights of heaven.