Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway

I am happy to announce that Experiencing Saint Therese Today has been reprinted by Christus Publishing and is available to readers again in hard copy and as an e-book. This collection of essays about Saint Therese's contemporary significance is based on conferences given at a symposium sponsored by the Carmelites of the Ancient Observance near Chicago in 1988, to mark the centenary of Therese's entrance into Carmel,

Since they were first published by ICS Publications in 1990. these articles have lost none of their freshness and vigor. Among other topics, Fr. Jim Geoghegan strikingly compares Therese with the photographer Edward Weston. Fr. John Russell examines, probably for the first time in English, the eight "pious recreations" (plays) Therese wrote for the Carmelite recreations. (These plays were later published by ICS Publications under the title The Religious Plays of Saint Therese of Lisieux).  Joann Wolski Conn's "A Feminist View of Therese" finds Therese a mature adult who authored her own life vision and created relationships of mutuality. Fr. Redemptus Valabek's "Therese's Approach to Gospel Living" explores Therese's spirituality and reveals the warrior saint beneath her image.  Sister Margaret Dorgan's "Therese and John of the Cross" explores one of the most intriguing aspects of Therese. Professor William Thompson's "Therese: Challenge for Doctrine and Theology" is a rich and provocative look at Therese's theological significance. Gracefully written and perceptive, this short essay plumbs the depths of Therese and suggests she is a forerunner to a "third Vatican Council," that Vatican II was insufficient to permit the Church to "catch up" with the young woman who has since become its newest Doctor.

Peter Mongeau of Christus Publishing is to be congratulated for reissuing this valuable book.  Christus has published many books in Carmelite spirituality and has recently reprinted most of the ICS Publications backlist.