The Life of a Saint érèse e Little Flower of Lisieux Text: Sioux Berger - Illustrations: Elvine Translated by Janet Chevrier Ignatius
3 Have you ever heard about the town of Lisieux? Thousands of people go there on pilgrimage every year. It was in this town in Normandy, France, that Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, known as the Little Flower, grew up. Today, Thérèse is known the world over. Yet, before becoming a great saint, she was a little girl just like any other. Here is her story . . . The Little Flower
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5 Thérèse was a very happy little girl. She lived in Alençon with her parents and her four big sisters, Marie, Pauline, Léonie, and Céline. One day, she found her mother lying in bed, looking very pale. “Mama, aren’t you well?” exclaimed Thérèse with surprise. “No, my little one, I’m not very well. You are going to have to be very brave. I’m very ill and am going to go to heaven.” Thérèse’s mother looked tenderly at her daughter and sighed. Thérèse was only four years old, but she understood that her family would soon be stricken by a great sorrow . . . When their mother died, Thérèse and Céline were still very little. What was to become of them? They so needed comforting! So Céline threw herself into the arms of her sister Marie and cried: “Well then, you will be my mama!” And Thérèse, who always did everything just like Céline, said: “Well then, Pauline will be my mama!”
Left alone with five daughters, Thérèse’s father worried about their education. He agreed to move to Lisieux, where his wife’s brother lived with his family. He found a house there surrounded by a big garden. “The house is called ‘Les Buissonnets’”,* he explained to Thérèse. “You’ll see, my little queen, we’ll be happy here.” “Oh, yes, Papa! Look how beautiful the garden flowers are!” Thérèse’s father smiled. A simple drop of water on a rose petal, and she was delighted! Yet, since the death of her mother, Thérèse often cried. She found comfort in talking to Jesus. She would then feel the sun dawning in her heart. One day, Pauline found her hiding behind her bed curtains. “What are you doing there?” she asked her. “Are you hiding?” “I was thinking”, answered Thérèse. “But thinking about what?” “I was thinking about the good Lord, about life, about eternity . . .” Secretly, Thérèse was already dreaming of giving her life to Jesus. *The French word for “little bushes”
8 The days passed so quickly at Les Buissonnets! When Thérèse was ten, Pauline decided to enter Carmel* to become a nun. “I want to go, too!” Thérèse said to her. “You’re too young!” replied her sister. “In the meantime, you can come and visit me.” Thérèse burst into sobs. She had already lost her mama, and now here was Pauline about to leave her as well! She was so unhappy she fell gravely ill. She seemed to lose her senses. She did not recognize anyone anymore. The doctor was very worried. “Let’s pray”, Marie suggested to her sisters. “The Blessed Virgin will console us.” And they knelt down before the big statue of the Virgin Mary near Thérèse’s bed. And on the day of Pentecost, a miracle happened: Thérèse smiled and began to speak again! That evening, Marie plied Thérèse with questions: “Thérèse, tell me what happened!” “The Blessed Virgin was so beautiful,” answered Thérèse, “more beautiful than anything I’ve ever seen before. Her face radiated such indescribable goodness and tenderness; but what went right to the depths of my soul was her ravishing smile.” *Carmel refers to a Carmelite convent
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Thérèse kept the Virgin’s smile deep in her heart. On the day of her First Communion, she was so moved, she wept for joy. Two years later, on Christmas, Thérèse felt the power of God within her, and this certainty made her stronger: she cried much less often and became very brave. From then on, she knew what she wanted to be when she grew up: she would be a saint! She wanted to be a Carmelite, for she was now sure that prayer could work miracles! One day, she asked Céline to have a Mass said for her intentions. “And for whom do you wish a Mass to be said, my Thérèse?” her sister asked kindly. “Well . . .” said Thérèse, “it’s for a criminal condemned to the guillotine. He refuses to see a priest before dying. His name is Pranzini. Oh, if only my prayer could save his soul!” That evening, Thérèse prayed very hard for Pranzini. The day after his execution, she opened the newspaper. What she read there made her melt in tears: just before dying, the criminal had asked to kiss the cross of Christ! “So Jesus heard me!” thought Thérèse.
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