Book review: The truth about Therese

Recently, I had the joy of traveling to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC to venerate the relics of Saint Therese of Lisieux. What is astounding is that it was my 2nd encounter with her relics in only 6 weeks! The first was in Lisieux where she has her own magnificent basilica.

I had long since read her priceless autobiography

entitled Story of a Soul but some power was drawing me to know more about her, why she is such a giant in our church and why I'm being drawn to her like as if by a tractor beam.

While at the shrine, I bought a couple of books about her. One, which is pictured above, is the one I just finished.

It was a riveting a truly misifying book befitting one of the most unlikely saints in the history of the Catholic church.

She died in September of 1897, at the age of 24, in obscurity, save for the nuns in her own convent.

God had very different plans and He worked those plans through the superiors in Therese's order and through the pen of the little flower herself.

Under duress, but in obedience to her superiors, Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face wrote a memoir of her life. It came to be titled Story of a Soul. On the occasion of her death, when it would have been customary to simply send her obituary to the various Carmelite orders, hither and yon, the prioress decided to send the manuscript instead.

It caught the world by storm. Therese of Lisieux is now a doctor of the church and a revered saint with thousands of miracles reported. Hundreds alone come from soldiers in World War I. Her basilica is the 2nd most visited religious destination in France behind only Lourdes.

The truth about Therese gives us a close of view of the unbelievable holiness, humility, self-denial and courage of this giant saint. I highly recommend it.