Offering of Myself to Merciful Love, June 9, 1895
On Trinity Sunday, June 9, 1895, while in choir, St. Therese was suddenly inspired to offer herself to the Merciful Love of God. This offering was a unique grace for Therese, and she unhesitatingly invited her sisters and other Carmelites to join her in offering themselves. This article is to allow you to share the discovery of the Offering and to invite you to make it yourself. Because respect for intellectual property prevents my displaying all the necessary photographs and documents on this page, the article might look like a mere collection of text links. If you click on them, it is your gateway to a powerful interactive experience with Therese.
The morning of June 9, 1895
Therese's spontaneous offering of herself
Writing at the end of 1895 in the first manuscript of Story of a Soul, Therese describes this sudden inspiration. If you have not read the book at left, which I highly recommend, then, thanks to the kindness of the Washington Province of Discalced Carmelite Friars and the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux, you may see a photo of her handwritten narration online and read in English how, on the morning of June 9,1895, Trinity Sunday, "I received the grace to understand more than ever how much Jesus desires to be loved." She received this grace in the choir; whether it happened during the hour of silent prayer or the Mass is disputed. But she lost no time in putting it into practice. She offered herself spontaneously when the inspiration came to her, and she dated it for June 9 in her list of "days of grace." But there was more to come.
Sharing the inspiration with Celine
Her sister Celine tells what happened next:
"After Mass she took me with her to Mother Prioress; she seemed beside herself and did not say a word. When we found Mother Agnes, for it was she who was then prioress, she asked her if both of us could offer ourselves as victims to Merciful Love, and gave her a short explanation of what that meant. Mother Agnes was at a loss; she did not seem to understand too well what was going on, but she had such confidence in Sister Therese's discretion that she gave her full permission."1
The little corridor where this conversation took place may be seen in the book Therese and Lisieux, by Pierre Descouvemont and Helmut-Nils Loose (Novalis; Eerdmans; Veritas, 1996), p. 240. Although I've found no photo of that corridor online, I am sure that it opened out of the antechoir.2
Committing the offering to paper
Within the next two days Therese wrote the Offering out; see the manuscript and the English text of her "Offering of myself as a Victim of Holocaust to the Merciful Love of God." [This prayer has often been called the "Act of Oblation," but Therese never called it that. She spoke and wrote concretely or in metaphor, but not conceptually; she wrote only "Offering of myself"]. Then, on Tuesday, June 11, she and Celine met in the little antechamber to Therese's cell, where the statue of the Virgin of the Smile, long cherished by their family, was now placed. They knelt before the statue as Therese, reading aloud the prayer she had written, made the offering for herself and for Celine.
To see Therese's appearance at about this time, see the photo of the Carmelites of Lisieux taken closest to this date; Therese is in the second row, second from left.
The apostle of the offering
In the summer of 1895, Therese persuaded her sister Marie to offer herself to Merciful Love, and, on December 1, 1895, she knelt with Sister Marie of the Trinity to "offer you to Jesus as a little victim whom I prepared for Him." "We have nothing to fear from this offering," she often declared.
The critical edition of the text
The text of the Offering appears in Story of a Soul. For a fuller understanding of the Offering and its significance in Therese's life and spirituality, I highly recommend the marvelous little book The Prayers of Saint Therese of Lisieux (Washington, D.C.: ICS Publications, 1996), which contains the text of the several copies and adds rich commentary. If you are thinking of offering yourself to Merciful Love with Therese and want to understand the offering better, this book will be useful to you. For more information, please click on the image. The book also contains twenty other prayers written by Therese, and it brings her to life in a unique way.
Further resources about Therese's Offering of herself to Merciful Love:
A conference by Rev. Frederick Miller
Fr. Marie-Dominique-Philippe, O.P. 's article on St. Therese's Offering of herself - Part One
Notes
1 St. Therese of Lisieux by those who knew her, edited and translated by Christopher O'Mahony, O.C.D. Dublin: Veritas Press, 1973, p. 128.
2 Courtesy of the Web site of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux.