Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway

St. Therese of Lisieux by Br. Mickey McGrath, OSFS. Available at Trinity Stores.

The literary works of Thérèse of Lisieux

 Despite her short life, the literary work of Thérèse of Lisieux is considerable. Thérèse of Lisieux entered the teeming cultural movement of the 19th century, which she described as "a century of inventions." It was the time of Zola and Maupassant. In 1989, the publication of the critical edition of her work was honoured by the Académie Française with the Grand Prix du Cardinal Grente.

Her seminal work is Histoire d'une Âme, or Autobiographical Manuscripts, published a year after her death, which has spread in a meteoric fashion, with many editions still in print today. This story has been published in more than 80 languages and dialects worldwide, with millions of copies published, making it the second most popular book after the Bible. Thérèse of Lisieux shares her personal journey with readers and at the same time immerses them in the life of a bourgeois family and a convent in 19th century France. Through her work, Thérèse of Lisieux, in her own way, depicts the societyof her time like other writers.

The General Correspondence contains 266 letters from Thérèse of Lisieux and 199 letters from her correspondents. These letters depict a state of mind, the interplay of relationships between their authors, the search for that deep and lasting peace which reveals the heart of man and allows him to find reasons for existing...

 A collection of 54 poems reveals the soul of Thérèse of Lisieux, poet. Composed to the melodies of her time, they are conceived as odes to life, and to Love. Universal in scope, they are still attempts to respond to the spiritual quest of the persons for whom Therese wrote them, for whom they are primarily intended.

Her work is enriched by eight plays composed to delight and entertain her community. The young nun wrote, directed, and performed them herself, as an actress with other sisters. If these plays are performed during major feasts, Thérèse of Lisieux truly created an author's work, and each time she distils the universal message that lives within her, in favour of Love, Peace, Life, and Reconciliation.

As an artist, she loved to paint and would have liked to know how to do it better. Art is like an extension of her thoughts, allowing her to say and communicate more.

A woman of conviction, she is at the junction of different worlds, at the crossroads of religious, political, economic and social paths, in the middle of the Industrial Revolution. Her thought inspires social doctrine; it is an integral humanism and solidarity in favour of justice and peace between peoples, at the service of this call to universal love.

This article is excerpted from a press release published on the Web site of the Shrine at Lisieux (https://www.therese-de-lisieux.catholique.fr).   I reproduce it here with fervent thanks to the Shrine at Lisieux, the Shrine at Alencon, UNESCO, and all their partners in celebrating this worldwide honor done to Therese].  Look for more information about the universal significance of this award in the days to come.