Wolfgang Sauber / CC BY-SA

It was probably in the summer of 1895  that Therese wrote the poem "The Atom of Jesus-Host" at the request of Sister St. Vincent de Paul, a lay-sister who was evidently not enthusiastic about the monastery's receiving members of the rising bourgeoisie like the Martin sisters. 

Sister St. Vincent de Paul was remarkably devoted to the Eucharist, and she gave Therese her thoughts about herself as the "atom" of Jesus and asked for a poem on that theme.  The energy hidden in the atom had not yet been discovered; to Sister St. Vincent the word meant simply a tiny fleck of dust.*

When Sister St. Vincent de Paul entered the Carmel, she was distressed to discover that the grille between the choir and the sanctuary was covered with black cloth so that the nuns could not even see the tabernacle.  So great was her desire to be as near the Eucharist as possible that she used to spend the whole hour set aside for "mental prayer" in the evening before supper hidden in the corner of the choir closest to the little Communion grille.  This was one of the darkest corners of the choir, but was closest to the tabernacle on the other side of the grille. 

The editors of The Poetry of Saint Therese of Lisieux describe this as "second-rate poetry that we will quickly pass over."  They are not mistaken, for, when she writes according to a unique inspiration, Therese's poems are more spontaneously written and more deeply felt than when she writes to order.  But this poem is of biographical interest because Therese wrote it for Sister St. Vincent de Paul, about whom her sister Pauline, Mother Agnes of Jesus, said "[Therese]  told me she had to overcome more antipathy for Sister St. Vincent de Paul (who was very smart) than for poor Sister Marie of St. Joseph (a mentally ill sister whom Therese helped in the linen room in 1896-1897). "1  Yet Therese wrote four poems for this Sister, and they are not devoid of Therese's own sentiments about the Eucharist.

Sister St. Vincent de Paul and St. Therese

Zoe Alaterre of Cherbourg, orphaned at age eight, grew up at the orphanage operated by the Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul in Caen, where Leonie and Celine had boarded in the spring of 1889 to be near their father at the Bon Sauveur Hospital.  Entering at age 22, she was saddened that in Carmel she could no longer receive Communion every day.   She was talkative, had opinions about everything, and was called the "living encyclopedia."  Very courageous in suffering, she worked hard despite being chronically ill throughout her religious life.  Read about the phases of Sister St. Vincent de Paul's complicated relationship with St. Therese in her biography on the Web site of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux.  And read the brief and somewhat humorous obituary circular Therese's sister Pauline, Mother Agnes of Jesus, wrote when Sister St. Vincent de Paul died in 1905. 

i thank the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux for digitizing and sharing the documents that permit us to know Sister St. Vincent de Paul. 

______________

* The Poetry of St. Therese of Lisieux, tr. Donald Kinney, O.C.D.  (Washington, D.C.: Washingotn Ptovince of Discalced Carmelites, 1996), p. 106.

1.  Biography of Sister St. Vincent de Paul on the Web site of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux at http://archives-carmel-lisieux.fr/english/carmel/index.php/les-soeurs-dexperience/st-vincent-de-paul/biographie, accessed 8/5/2020.

Today, May 30, we observe the feast of St. Joan of Arc.  Because Joan was not beatified until 1909 or canonized until 1920, her liturgical feast was not celebrated during the lifetime of St. Therese of Lisieux.  Neverthess, Joan of Arc had a profound influence on Therese throughout her life, and Therese, in her poems and plays, presented Joan as one who both inspired and followed the way Therese was discovering of littleness, confidence, and love. 

By furnishing some background, guiding you to the texts, and presenting a couple of themes, this modest article highlights certain aspects of Therese’s relationship with Joan and empowers you to reflect on the texts and interpret them in the light of your experience.

St. Joan of Arc in Therese's childhood 

When Therese was a little girl, her study of Joan’s adventures brought her a sudden illumination of her own vocation. At age 22, in 1895, she recounts:

When reading the accounts of the patriotic deeds of French heroines, especially the Venerable JOAN OF ARC, I had a great desire to imitate them; and it seemed I felt within me the same burning zeal with which they were animated, the same heavenly inspiration. Then I received a grace which I have always looked upon as one of the greatest in my life because at that age I wasn’t receiving the lights I’m now receiving when I am flooded with them. I considered that I was born for glory and when I searched out the means of attaining it, God inspired in me the sentiments I have just described. He made me understand my own glory would not be evident to the eyes of mortals, that it would consist in becoming a great saint!

Story of a Soul, The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux, Third Edition.  Tr. John Clarke, O.C.D.  Washington, D.C.: Washington Province of Discalced Carmelite Friars, 1996, p. 72.  You may see this quotation in context at the Web site of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux.

1894, "Joan of Arc Year" in France

 Although Joan would be canonized five years and one day before Therese (on May 16, 1920), during the 1890s she was very much a “current event,” someone to whose canonization the Martin family could contribute (as we can now to that of Therese’s sister Leonie, Sister Francoise-Therese of the Visitation at Caen).  1894 was “Joan of Arc Year" in France.  On January 27, 1894, Pope Leo XIII, at whose feet Therese had knelt almost six years before, declared Joan “Venerable” (a title given to candidates for sainthood who are considered to have practiced “heroic virtue.”  We are now praying that the study of the life and writings of Leonie Martin may lead to her being named Venerable). 

Therese's First Play About Joan of Arc: "The Mission of Joan of Arc"

Six days earlier, Therese had produced her first play for the Carmelite recreations, “The mission of Joan of Arc, or The Shepherdess of Domremy listening to her voices.”  She wrote it for the feast on January 21, 1894 of her sister, Mother Agnes of Jesus, the prioress, and herself played the role of Joan. 

Note: You may read this and Therese’s second play about Joan in The Plays of St. Therese of Lisieux: “Pious Recreations,” with a general introduction by Guy Gaucher, O.C.D., translated by Susan Conroy and David Dwyer.  (Washington, D.C.: Washington Province of Carmelite Friars, 2008).  Bishop Gaucher’s general introduction to this volume and his short introduction to each play place them in the context of Therese’s life and spiritual development.  Further, this volume is a splendid way to become familiar with Therese’s least-known writings.  You may also read the text of the play (but not the introductions and notes) at the Web site of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux.

Although Therese will discover her “way of confidence and love” only toward the end of 1894, it’s clearly foreshadowed in this play. 

“I am only his little spouse,

and I will try to return to Him love for love.” 

“I, too, want to remain always very little and very humble,

so that I will be like Jesus and He will dwell in me.” 

As the play ends, Joan leaves to seek the Dauphin and take up arms, but Saints Michael, Catherine, and Margaret foresee her glorification:  “Come, save France a second time!”

May 8, 1894: A National Holiday for Joan of Arc in France

Very soon, events surrounding Joan began to accelerate in France.  From The Poetry of Saint Therese of Lisieux, tr. Donald Kinney, O.C.D. (Washington, D.C.: Washington Province of Discalced Carmelite Friars, 1996, pp. 46-47), we learn that Therese’s uncle, Isidore Guerin, wrote several articles about Joan for Le Normand.  Henri Wallon, whose biography of Joan Therese had consulted, presided over a commission that introduced into the National Assembly a bill proposing that May 8 be celebrated as a “national holiday” each year in honor of Joan of Arc.  Tension between the Church and the state continued to run high, and Uncle Isidore saw this holiday as a scheme by the freemasons to reclaim the saintly Joan for their cause and to secularize her. 

Lisieux shared especially in the enthusiasm for Joan, for, in a way, the town represented Joan’s “blood money.”  Pierre Cauchon, the pro-British bishop who had presided at the trial of Joan of Arc, was rewarded by being named bishop of Lisieux.  On May 8, 1894, a precious flag of “the glorious Liberatrix” was placed in the chapel Cauchon had built in St. Pierre’s Cathedral at Lisieux, the very chapel where Therese, as a laywoman, had participated in the weekday Mass.  Celine Martin and Marie Guerin joined a committee of young women recruited by the pastor of St. Pierre’s parish to prepare for the celebration.  They sewed twelve big banners covered with the fleur de lis.  On May 8 the church was brilliantly lighted, and five thousand people jammed inside. 

Therese's First Poem for Joan of Arc, "Canticle to Obtain the Canonization of Joan of Arc"

 On that same day, dedicating it to her sister Celine, Therese wrote her “Canticle to Obtain the Canonization of Joan of Arc.” (Thanks to the generosity of the Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites, it's online at the Web site of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux.  You may read the poem with complete notes in the book The Poetry of Saint Therese of Lisieux, referenced above).  Therese sees Joan’s path as her own: 

“A heart of fire, a warrior’s soul:

You gave them to the timid virgin.” 

She, who was especially united to the virgin-martyrs, shows the kinship between Joan and the Carmelites:

Sweet Martyr, our monasteries are yours. 

You know well that virgins are your sisters,

And like you the object of their prayers

 Is to see God reign in every heart.

She echoes the sentiment of her first play:

Come down to us, come convert France.

Come save her a second time.

Therese's Second Play about Joan of Arc, "Joan of Arc Accomplishing Her Mission"

Therese then began to prepare her second play about Joan, a longer and more ambitious work:  “Joan of Arc Accomplishing Her Mission, or: The Victories, the Captivity, the Martyrdom, and the Heavenly Triumphs of the Venerable Joan of France,” which would be presented for the prioress’s feast day on January 21, 1895.  This longer play was greeted with general enthusiasm.  To interpret the meaning of the play for Therese (which is beyond the scope of this article), I direct you to Bishop Gaucher’s introduction to that play in the book The Plays of St. Therese of Lisieux: “Pious Recreations,” cited in full above. 

Photographs of Therese in Her Costume as Joan of Arc

Sometime between January 21, 1897 and March 25, 1897, Therese put on her costume again (a brown wig worn over her  toque and a gold-paper costume worn over part of her Carmelite habit) and was photographed five times as Joan of Arc.  Although I have no permission to display these photos on this site, you need only click to see them (photos 11-15 in the catalog of the 47 photos of Therese) here courtesy of the Web site of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux.

Therese and Joan of Arc in 1897

Joan was always at Therese’s side, but in the spring and summer of 1897, as  Therese faced her own death, Joan became even more real to her.  On April 27, 1897, she wrote to Maurice Belliere, the seminarian who was her “spiritual brother”:

When I was beginning to learn the history of France, the account of Joan of Arc's exploits delighted me; I felt in my heart the desire and the courage to imitate her. It seemed the Lord destined me, too, for great things. I was not mistaken, but instead of voices from heaven inviting me to combat, I heard in the depths of my soul a gentler and stronger voice, that of the Spouse of Virgins, who was calling me to other exploits, to more glorious conquests, and into Carmel's solitude. I understood my mission was not to have a mortal king crowned but to make the King of heaven loved, to submit to Him the kingdom of hearts.

Letters of Saint Therese of Lisieux, Volume II, tr. John Clarke, O.C.D. (Washington, D.C.: Washington Province of Carmelite Friars, 1988, p. 1085).

Betrayal: Leo Taxil

Incredibly, one souvenir of Therese’s play inside the cloister became known in Paris.  Therese had learned of the existence of “Diana Vaughan,” a character who had supposedly forsaken a Satanist cult and converted to Catholicism.  Therese sent to "Diana" a copy of a retouched version of photo 14, of herself as Joan and Celine as Saint Catherine.  But "Diana" was a hoax.  She did not exist.  Leo Taxil, a con man, had made her up to ridicule the Church.  On April 19, 1897, “Diana Vaughan” was to appear at a big press conference in Paris to satisfy critics who questioned her existence.  Instead, they saw only Taxil, who projected the photo of Therese and Celine as Saints Joan and Catherine (courtesy of the Web site of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux).  Taxil told the press that the photo had been taken from a play about Joan of Arc that had been enacted in a convent.  One newspaper wrote “What convent? Probably Taxil’s house!”

Therese's Last Poem about Joan of Arc, "To Joan of Arc"

How acutely Therese felt this betrayal is shown in her last poem about Joan, “To Joan of Arc,” written a short time later, in May 1897.  Like her Beloved openly mocked by unbelievers, plunged into a trial against faith that brought her into solidarity with atheists, and facing her own death, she wrote to Joan:

At the bottom of a black dungeon, laden with heavy chains,

The cruel foreigner filled you with grief.

Not one of your friends took part in your pain.

Not one came forward to wipe your tears.

 

Joan, in your dark prison you seem to me

More radiant, more beautiful than at your king's coronation.

This heavenly reflection of eternal glory,

Who then brought it upon you? It was betrayal.

Therese and Joan after the Death of Therese

Therese spoke often of Joan during her own months in the infirmary.  We may note that her deep sense of kinship with Joan and with Joan’s mission was recognized by the Church.  Joan was beatified in 1909 and canonized in 1920.  On the day after Therese’s canonization in 1925 Pope Pius XI, speaking to the French pilgrims, called Therese “a new Joan of Arc.”  And on May 3, 1944, as France was overrun by German soldiers, Pope Pius XII named Therese secondary patron of France, the equal of Joan of Arc.  (The principal patron of France is the Blessed Virgin).  May these two sister-saints intercede not only for France but for the whole world and inspire us to carry out our mission with the same courage they showed. 

Note: I recommend the article “Thérèse of Lisieux and Jeanne d'Arc: History, Memory, and Interiority in the Experience of Vocation” by Mary Frohlich, which appeared in Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality, Volume 6, Number 2, Fall 20016, pp. 173-194.  Only the abstract is available online to the public, but you may access the full article online if you are affiliated with an institution that subscribes to Project MUSE.  If not, you may purchase the issue online.