The History of Therese

Marie Françoise Thérèse Martin was born on January 3, 1873, the youngest child of the middle-class French family of Louis and Zelie Martin. When Thérèse was born, her mother was already suffering from the breast cancer that killed her, and therefore the infant, who was becoming malnourished because her mother could not nurse her, was sent to live with a wet-nurse in the country. When she was weaned, she was pulled from her familiar surroundings and came to live again with her family, only to once again suffer a terrible, wrenching loss – her mother died of cancer when Thérèse was only four and a half. She adopted her oldest sister Pauline as a "second mother" and grew into a sensitive, temperamental pampered child who would cry at the slightest provocation. In spite of these weaknesses she developed a deep yet simple love of God, nurtured by her devout father and her loving sisters. After her second mother left her to enter the Carmelite monastery, she developed an inexplicable illness that terrified her family. She was, for weeks, delirious, suffering from demonic hallucinations. The doctors were dumbfounded. Then one day she suddenly calmed, looked at the family statue of the Virgin Mary, sat up and was cured. She and the family attributed this miraculous healing to the intercession of the Mother of God, for Thérèse said that the statue suddenly appeared beautiful to her, and she was particularly struck by the Virgin's smile. She continued to remain healthy, but was still extremely sensitive, and after that frightening experience her family treated her emotions with great caution. Yet she also grew in her devotion to prayer and her relationship with Jesus grew deeper.

A monumental change occurred in Thérèse on Christmas Eve, 1886. After overhearing her father, who was tired after Midnight Mass, complain about having to play Father Christmas to her, a 13 year-old girl, she rushed upstairs in self-pitying tears, and threw herself down before the crucifix in her room. Then something miraculous happened. She describes it by saying in her autobiography, "In an instant, I grew up… I learned to forget myself, and think of others…" The transformation was instantaneous, and she was effectively cured of all her childish and wounded behavior. She went downstairs cheerfully, to the immense surprise of her older sister, Celine, and made her father happy.

From that moment, Thérèse was a different person. The salvation of souls became her ever-present objective, which she pursued with the fervor and energy that only a teenager can display. She "longed to snatch the souls of sinners from the eternal flames." Her "first child" was a murderer who was much in the newspapers and gossip of the day named Henri Pranzini. She surreptitiously kept up with his case, and prayed incessantly for some sign that God had pardoned this hardened criminal, who rejected all efforts by the priest to get him to repent before his execution. Thérèse was greatly touched by God's enormous mercy when, as Pranzini mounted the scaffold, he grabbed the priest's crucifix and kissed it three times. This was the sign she had asked for.

With this encouragement, Thérèse was on fire with her quest, and was determined to enter the Carmelite monastery at the unheard of age of fourteen, "in order to save souls." Her father, recognizing the authenticity of her call, took her to the bishop for permission, and then to Rome, where she broke protocol during an audience and begged the Pope to grant her permission. When neither avenue proved successful, she went home disappointed, but shortly afterwards she received a letter stating that permission had been miraculously granted. Overjoyed, she spent the next several months of waiting making little sacrifices that would please her "fiancé" Jesus.

Upon her entrance into the Carmel of Lisieux, she discovered how inept she was at all things practical, and suffered constant humiliations. However she was supremely happy, because, as she says, "It was in Carmel that I discovered that my faults caused God no pain…Fear made me recoil, but with love I actually flew." Thérèse grew constantly in love and grace, and began to discover the "Little Way" that was to become her great contribution to the understanding of how to live the Christian life. At that time, a Jansenistic spirit in Catholicism was emphasizing man's unworthiness, and many Christians considered themselves far away from God. Thérèse breathed new life into the Church by preaching a message of God's mercy and an acceptance of one's weakness as way of growing closer to Him. She embraced even her own sins as proof of her need for God. She saw herself as a "Little Flower", not a rose like the great saints who have changed the world, but rather a daisy, who must be content to do little things for love of God. Thérèse presented a way for ordinary people to become saints – Every activity of every life is an opportunity for grace.

This beautiful gift to the world would have perhaps been buried in the obscurity of a French monastery if her sister Pauline (also a nun in the same monastery) hadn't recognized her specialness, and asked her to write down her life story and her reflections. Thérèse obediently complied, and began her famous autobiography, Story of a Soul.

Then Thérèse contracted that scourge of the 19th century, tuberculosis, for which at the time, there was no cure. She gradually grew sicker, all the time continuing her writing, and finally, at the age of 24 succumbed to the disease, and died on September 30, 1897. Very few in the convent recognized the greatness of her soul, but when her autobiography was sent out to the other Carmelite monasteries in France, letters began to pour in concerning miracles that had occurred with her intercession. The book somehow spread like wildfire throughout the entire world, and the monastery was overwhelmed with testimonials and prayer requests. Devotion to this hidden young Carmelite multiplied everywhere.

Finally, in response to the unprecedented number of miracles and the exemplary life that Thérèse Martin lived, the Catholic Church declared her a saint in 1924. This means that, whereas in most cases we have no way of knowing for certain whether a soul is in Heaven or not, sometimes God allows it to be very evident that a person is with Him, through miraculous signs. Therefore, after much thorough investigation, the Church declares that, without a doubt, a certain soul is Heaven, and therefore a sure advocate and friend that the Faithful on earth can count on. Such a friend is Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, as millions all over the world, who have experienced her intercession with God, can attest to. Visit www.theresemovie.com for many stories of the miracles she has asked of God, and how He has answered her prayers.

Saint Thérèse was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II – one of  only 3 women to be given this honor in the history of the Church.

Saint Thérèse, pray for us!