Thérèse Brichtová, O.P.
Wasn't there enough "Thérèse literature"? Should we still publish another title? This is what we were contemplating until recently.
And yet, the most authentic texts should not be overlooked! So there was initially a timid attempt in 2001: Letters to priests – missionaries.1 Father Vojtěch Kodet, O.Carm., wrote a profound preface to it, in which his priestly and Carmelite heart speaks.
The favorable reception of this slim book encouraged us to finally proceed to the publication of the complete correspondence of our dear saint: Letters of Thérèse of Lisieux.2 As the author of the preface to this book, Guy Gaucher, states, to understand the development of Thérèse's thinking, it is necessary to know all her written expressions. Therefore, not even the most childish ones are omitted. Here we see how Thérèse's written activity progressed from completely childish attempts, where her older sisters guided her hand and where she did not worry about spelling and grammar, to deeper expressions of her overflowing inner life.
Family upbringing – extraordinary parents, sisters, the overall atmosphere of French Catholicism in the 19th century with its insularity – certainly shaped this sensitive soul and imprinted its character. Yet she finds her way, which must have been shocking to those around her. This is most evident in her extensive correspondence, in which she often does not hesitate to come forth unguarded, yet confidently, as a leader, a teacher. It is here, from these letters, that we see why she was rightly declared a Doctor of the Church. Among the many general, banal letters – congratulations on holidays, thanks for gifts, etc. – suddenly shines like a jewel, like an unexpected ray of sunlight, some surprising theological truth, revealing the curtain of Thérèse's inner life, shaped by the Holy Spirit.
Let us take, for example, her letters to her cousin Marie Guérin, who suffers from temptations in the Parisian Babylon, so much so that she fears going to receive Holy Communion. Well, Thérèse explains to her how it is precisely the Eucharist that is the remedy, the strength in the battle, and how Jesus is wounded by distrust, despondency. And this is at the end of the 19th century, still before Saint Pius X, in France, infected by Jansenism! (Letters 92 and 93.) Or look at how sharply she argues with relatives who are outraged when Céline wants to enter Carmel after their father's death! (If only all parents who resist their children's spiritual vocations would read letter 180!) This is not a "little doll," a "little flower," as popular piety wanted to make of her. This is a purposeful, heroic soul!
Some might find her apparent penchant for suffering bothersome, her love for pain, which is reflected in many of her letters. Thérèse cannot even imagine how she will be able to be in heaven without pain. She says, "Jesus will have to transform me." But this was not masochism; it was her inner conviction from childhood that God wanted to lead her this way, so she would be absolutely detached from everything. She herself says about her entrance to Carmel: "Suffering opened its arms to me, and I threw myself into them with love." This was a fifteen-year-old girl! It takes our breath away! And this tone resonates in her letters as well.
Thérèse lived love. Just as she loved Jesus, so she loved those whom He placed in her path, and she wanted to draw them all to Him. She rigorously followed her motto: "To love Jesus and strive to have everyone love Him."
Our book is particularly enriched by the numerous biblical references in the margins, which were added by French publishers. They reveal how Thérèse lived by God's word, how she let it permeate, shape, and lead her to the summit, and how she practically proclaimed it. Truly, a DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH!
