–> A Spiritual Testament as Literary Mastepiece (by Fr. R. Marcos) St. Therese of Lisieux.(1996). Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux, 3rd edition, trans. John Clarke. Washington: ICS Publications. Introduction The book Histoire d’un Ame took the world by storm when it was first released in 1898 following the death of its author, an obscure nun who lived nine years in a cloistered convent in France. The book would be instrumental in making the author a spiritual personage of high esteem, creating a wave of devotion according to her invitingly fresh look at the spiritual life and propelling her to greatness as the most famous Catholic saint of the 20th century. Therese Martin, later St. Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face became a most familiar figure in every place where the Catholic Church had a presence, thanks to the writings she left behind. The first edition of her work was made to appear as an intentionally written autobiography addressed to the author’s last superior in the convent. Another nun, the blood sister of the author lent her skill to the book by heavily editing the material. Reading through this earlier version, one forms the idea that the book was written as a composite whole. However, during the process of inquiry over the author’s saintly virtues, it was discovered that the material was in fact a collection of three separate manuscripts, written in three different times, and addressed to three various recipients. Thus efforts were made to make these needed corrections plain in the subsequent printings, beginning in 1914. Until now, however there are in circulation both in paper format or ebook, the older, unrectified version. The impact of the book on its author’s fame and influence did not stop with her eventual beatification and canonization. Academic studies were done on the saint’s writings and thus enhancement of the later editions of the book became possible. In 1997, then Pope John Paul II declared St. Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face a woman Doctor of the Church, alongside the great St. Teresa of Avila and St. Catherine of Siena. The Pope claimed that this recognition was bestowed in virtue of the eminent doctrine and certain wisdom that flowed from the saint’s simple yet profound composition. Read by the common faithful, studied by theologians, contemplated by religious men and women, and recommended by the highest authorities, the so-called autobiography of St. Therese continues to retain its power to inspire and to enthrall, to edify and to draw hearts to a surprisingly practical and attainable relationship with God. While the author herself has attained neither a university degree nor formal training in creative writing, her message and style show a literary sophistication and enduring appeal to readers of all ages and creeds around the world. I. Manuscript A: Dedicated to Reverend Mother Agnes of Jesus Alencon (1873-1877) Cloistered Carmelite nun Sister Therese of the Child Jesus of the Holy Face took up her pen and began to write select memories of her life and experiences upon the instruction of her superior and blood sister Reverend Mother Agnes of Jesus in January 1895. Done as an act of obedience, she sought to please God by paying tribute to the “mercies of the Lord” (13). She thus asked the blessing of the Virgin Mary and consulted the Gospels, on which her vocation was deeply anchored. Asked to write about her life, the author clarified that more important than her personal story were the thoughts on the graces of God that she has found in her own experiences:          “It is not, then, my life, properly so-called, that I am going to write; it is my thoughts on the graces God deigned to grant me. I find myself at a period in my life when I can cast a glance on the past; my soul has matured in the crucible of exterior and interior trials. And now, like a flower strengthened by the storm, I can raise my head and see the words of Psalm 22 realized in me…” (15). Resolved to be systematic, she planned to write of her journey from home to the monastery in three separate periods.  The first period she described as starting from the dawn of reason until the death of her biological mother. The setting was the village of Alencon, her birth place. Here, personal recollections of a distant early age were aided by the extant writings of her mother to her elder sister and other relatives.  Enamored by her four elder sisters, and her parents, the youngest of the brood exhibited a character independent and all her own. She found traces of both self-love and love of the good in herself (25). Asked by her sister Leonie to choose from a variety of accessories with which to play, the author reflectively considered and said “I choose all!” This little incident would become for her the summary of her life as she understood her childish attitude years later.          “Then, as in the days of my childhood, I cried out: “My God ‘I choose all!’ I don’t want to be a saint by halves, I’m not afraid to suffer for you, I fear only one thing: to keep my own will; so take it, for ‘I choose all’ that You will!” (27). Les Buisonnets (1877-1881) Therese remembered vivid details of her mother’s convalescence and eventual death. She recalled how she missed the moments she prayed with her and her siblings. Impressed on her mind were the increasing weakness of her mother, the moving ceremony of the last anointing, and the kiss she planted on her mother’s forehead shortly after death. At the loss of her mother, she transferred her filial sentiments on elder sister Pauline. Therese entered the second period of her journey, the most painful, as she described it. She started becoming more sensitive, taking refuge in tears, preferring to be alone, and becoming comfortable … Continue reading TRIBUTE TO ST. THERESE OF LISIEUX AND HER AUTOBIOGRAPHY