The Story of a Soul conveys St. Thérèse of Lisieux's "Little Way" of spiritual childhood - her "elevator" to Heaven, as she called it. This method was approved by Pope Pius XI as a way for all to grow in holiness through unfailing confidence and childlike delight in God's merciful love. Again and again in this book, St. Thérèse shows us how her "Little Way" of love and trust comes straight from Sacred Scripture. This book belongs in every Catholic home, for Pope St Pius X stated St. Thérèse of Lisieux the "greatest Saint of modern times". This is the original TAN edition now with updated typesetting, fresh new cover, new size and quality binding, and the same trusted content.
This is an autobiographical work by one of the most popular saints of the 19th century, St. Therese of Lisieux, who died in her mid-20s as a result of various maladies but impressed everyone with the power of her faith.
St. Thérèse of Lisieux (1873–1897) spent the final months of her short life in the infirmary of the Carmel of Lisieux, France. Those who attended her—including three of her older sisters by birth—were living in the company of one of God's saints, one prepared for our times. This volume, St. Thérèse of Lisieux: Her Last Conversations, serves as a sequel to St. Thérèse's autobiography, Story of a Soul. It contains the intimate words of her final conversations with her three sisters during the last months of her life, especially those three critical months in the Carmel infirmary from July to September 1897. Fortunately for us, her words were written down without the awareness that eventually a great multitude of friends of St. Thérèse would hunger for her spiritual teaching. 150 years after this great saint and Doctor of the Church was born into the world, the publication of this revised edition enables us to live in her company and enjoy her holy conversations and counsels. When we read her words with faith, her presence is at our side. She speaks to us directly, sharing her human experience: her joys, her sufferings, her love for God, and especially her trust in him amid her painful ordeal. This revised edition of St. Thérèse of Lisieux: Her Last Conversations reflects the extensive 1992 French critical edition of Derniers Entretiens in two volumes. That very complete and scholarly production has been edited here into its essential elements: + The entire text of St. Thérèse's words collected by the three main witnesses, Mother Agnes (Pauline), Sister Geneviève (Céline), and Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart (Marie); + The testimony of other witnesses when this does not repeat that of the three main witnesses; + Additional words of St. Thérèse as quoted in letters written during her last three months; + Comprehensive indexes of key names, topics, and biblical references.
Meet the family where the Little Flower took root. In her Story of a Soul, St. Therese relates how influential her family life was in forming her spiritual life. Now, the canonization of her parents Louis and Zelie and the cause for the beatification of her sister Léonie speak volumes for the robust sanctity of the Martin family. The Martins took no smooth path to sanctity. They endured the loss of four children, financial troubles, and the cancer that caused Zelie’s death. The key to their success was simply this: love. With love, they endured both great sorrows and the countless little troubles of everyday life. This is the story of a husband, wife, and five daughters who formed a close-knit, thoroughly Catholic family. Their lives set an example for anyone who seeks to raise a family in love, and to live the Faith in daily life.
Dorothy Day’s unpretentious account of the life of St. Thérèse of Lisieux sheds light on the depth of Day’s Catholic spirituality and illustrates why Thérèse’s simplicity and humility are so vital for today. Whether you are called to the active life like Day or a more hidden existence like Thérèse, you will discover that these paths have much in common and can lead you to a love that has the power to transform you in ways that are unexpected and consequential. Now back in print, this short biography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux by Dorothy Day expresses the surprising yet profound connection between Day—the founder of the Catholic Worker movement who was praised by Pope Francis for her passion for justice and dedication to her faith—and the beloved saint best known for her Little Way. When Day first read St. Thérèse’s autobiography, The Story of a Soul in 1928, she called it “pious pap.” At the time, Day—a social activist who had been living a bohemian lifestyle—had only recently been baptized a Catholic. Some twenty-five years later, Day’s perspective on Thérèse had so completely changed that she was inspired to write this biography. She did not find it an easy task: “Every time I sit down to write that book on the Little Flower I am blocked. . . . I am faced with the humiliating fact that I can write only about myself, a damning fact.” But she persisted, and despite numerous rejections eventually found a publisher for it in 1960. She wrote in the Preface: “In these days of fear and trembling of what man has wrought on earth in destructiveness and hate, Thérèse is the saint we need.” Written originally for nonbelievers or those unaware of Thérèse, the book reflects how Day came to appreciate Thérèse’s Little Way, not as an abstract concept, but as a spirituality that she had already been living. The Catholic Worker, which she cofounded with Peter Maurin, was dedicated to feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless. Day’s life, like Thérèse’s, was filled with all the humble, self-effacing jobs that were a part of this work. She found in Thérèse a kindred spirit, one who saw these simple hidden tasks as the way to heaven. “We want to grow in love but do not know how. Love is a science, a knowledge, and we lack it,” Day wrote. Just as Day had a conversion of heart about the Little Way, you, too, can be changed by Thérèse’s simple, yet profound spirituality.
A thorough introduction to the saint's life; The Story of a Soul unabridged; a rarely seen description of the saint's final days from the Sisters of the Lisieux Carmel; over seventy firsthand anecdotes recounted by the Sisters; a comprehensive selection of prayers, letters, and poems written by Therese.
This remarkable biography of Thérèse of Lisieux, one of the most popular Catholic saints of all time, was commissioned by her sister and religious superior and was the first published in English in 1928. Msgr. August Pierre Laveille was able to portray Thérèse, as well as her parents Zélie and Louis who were canonized in 2015, with exquisite detail, having interviewed those who knew them best. When the autobiography of the life of Thérèse of Lisieux, Story of a Soul, was first published a year after her death in 1898, the response was immediate and overwhelming, with tens of thousands of copies of her book sold in just a few short months. It was decided that an official biography should be written from the documents that had been gathered on the life of Thérèse Martin, whose cause for canonization was taken up without the customary fifty year waiting period. First published in French in 1925, the first English edition became available in 1928. This exhaustive record of the life of one of the most beloved of all Catholic saints includes biographical information about her parents and grandparents, her early years at home, her years in the cloister, her illness and death, and information about the miracles attributed to her after her death, when she made good the promise on her deathbed that she would "spend her heaven doing good on earth."
