Therese of Lisieux, virgin, teacher of the Church.

Holiday:October

* January 2, 1873 Alençon, Normandy, France
† September 30, 1897 Lisieux, France

Meaning of the name: huntress (Greek) or friendly and powerful lady (German)

Emblem: lily, rose (rose petals)

Patroness of missions, missionaries, aviators

St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese of Lisieux is one of the most revered saints. Born on January 2, 1873, in Alencon, France, she was the youngest of nine children, with four brothers dying in childhood. Her family was deeply pious, and all five sisters eventually entered the convent. After her mother Zélia’s death in 1877, her father cared for the daughters. He entrusted Therese’s education to his eldest daughter Paulina, who was twelve years her senior. Despite her youth, Pauline was a skilled educator, balancing affection and discipline. When Pauline entered the Carmelite monastery in 1882, Therese, determined to be an exemplary Christian, devotedly prepared for her First Communion, documenting 818 sacrifices and 2773 good deeds in her diary. Inspired by the positive response to her prayers for a death-row inmate, the 14-year-old Therese sought to follow her sisters into the Carmelite monastery. She even petitioned Pope Leo XIII for permission, and shortly after visiting Rome, the bishop granted her request.

Life in the monastery was not easy. The bed consisted of three boards and straws. Only the sick could eat meat. Fasting and silence were prescribed. However, Teresa was happy to accept it. Before the veil, each postulate had to state why she entered the monastery. Teresa said: “I came to save souls and especially to pray for the priests.” Even though she was only fifteen years old, she was not pampered in the monastery, on the contrary, the performances seemed to test her faith. It was difficult for her, but she endured it bravely. On September 8, 1890, she made her eternal vows as Teresa to the Child Jesus and the Most Holy Face. She wanted to go to the missions in Vietnam, but her poor health did not allow her to do so. Her father died in 1894. Her sister Celina also entered Carmel, and another sister Leona entered the Monastery of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary.

At the beginning of 1895, at the behest of Mother Superior Agnes (her sister Pauline), Terézia began writing her biography, which she called The History of Souls. There she wrote the memorable words: “My vocation is love.” I would like to love Jesus as fervently as no one has ever loved him. The smallest act of love benefits the Church more than all other skillful deeds.” She wrote to her sister: “If you want to become a saint, have no other goal than to make Jesus happy in the little things!” She herself was a role model in this. Furthermore, she patiently endured the daily whispering and interruptions of a certain sister who sat next to her in the chapel, or calmly endured the splashing of dirty water on her face by another sister while washing. She suffered a lot because of the poor diet, she had severe stomach pains. She also suffered because of the harsh winter, because the monastery had no heating at all. However, she never complained, only on her deathbed did she tell the matron about it. She got tuberculosis. She was coughing up blood. Furthermore, she died on September 30, 1897, at the age of twenty-four.

As she had predicted, she sent down a “rain of roses” from the sky. In 1923, Pope Pius XI. declared blessed and two years later a saint. On December 14, together with St. declared Francis of Xaver was the main patroness of the missions, although she had never been or worked in them. On October 19, 1997, Pope John Paul II declared a teacher of the Church, although apart from her biography and a few reflections and poems, she did not write anything theologically important.