Story of a Soul, The Autobiography of St Thérèse of Lisieux
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Third Edition Translated from the Original Manuscripts by John Clarke, O.C.D. ICS Publications, Washington, DC, 1996 Original manuscript published as “Histoire d'une Ame” by St. Paul Printing Company, Bar-le-Duc, September 1898 Reviewed by Mattye Thompson, LC - O.Carm This beautiful book is a labor of love requested of St. Thérèse of Lisieux by her blood sisters who were cloistered with her at Carmel. It was requested two and a half years before her death by tuberculosis on September 30, 1897, at the age of 24. She dedicated and entrusted her work to her sister, Mother Agnes of Jesus (Pauline) upon its completion, three months prior to her corporeal end. St. Thérèse of Lisieux's own words in regard to the manuscripts were: “I feel that my mission is about to begin, my mission to make God loved as I love Him, to teach souls my little way.” She describes her “little way” as the “way of spiritual childhood, the way of trust and absolute surrender” Her instructions to Mother Agnes were implicit...”After my death, you must not speak to anyone about my manuscript before it is published; you must speak only to Mother Prioress about it. If you act otherwise, the devil will lay more than one trap to hinder God's work, a very important work!” This incredible work of St. Thérèse of Lisieux is divided into three Manuscripts: A, B, and C. |
Manuscript A encompasses most of Thérèse's life, from her birth through the age of twenty-two. During these years we learn of her conversion step by delicate step from the impetuous child she was to the obedient servant of God she became. Here we learn of her passion for Christ and her thirst for solitude in Him. She teaches us here how to begin our walks with God – releasing everything to embrace ALL of Him.
Manuscript B focuses on her twenty-third year, in which she discovers her true vocation, and first enlightens readers to her littlest ways. These pages speak tomes of what it is to truly love as Christ loves in the science of love. It is a work of humility and beauty. Thérèse reveals what it is to prepare oneself to fully embrace being the bride of Christ as she bares her spirit in this text. Much of what she shares here is written in the style of a parable.
Manuscript C reveals her trial of faith in her final and twenty-fourth year. Two very key points discussed here are the concepts of poverty and charity. Thérèse defines them on levels that are so very basic yet universally expansive through her little way. Here too, we first learn of her impending death beginning with her reaction to the first hemoptysis and her attitude to suffering in death as she finally succumbs to her Beloved.
The footnotes are not wont to be missed or glossed over. They contain very pertinent information supportive of the text. The Appendices also are treasures not to be forsaken.
Level of Difficulty: Beginner/Inquirer – a great book to begin one's journey to Carmel.
Listen to the Silence: A Retreat with Père Jacques
Translated and Edited by Francis J. Murphy
Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites, Inc. 2005
Reviewed by Seola “CeCe”. Edwards, T.O.Carm.____________________________________________
This small book is a complete transcription of a retreat given by Père Jacques to the Carmelite nuns of Pointoise, France in September 1943 during the time of the German occupation. The Pointoise Carmel is 20 miles northwest of Paris and dates back to 1605. It is the oldest operating Carmelite community in France. Père Jacques was a Carmelite priest who was born Lucien-Louis Bunel in Barentin, France (near Rouen) January 29, 1900. He was ordained a diocesan priest in 1925, but longed for a stricter, more contemplative life. So in 1931 he entered the Carmelite monastery in Lille and made his first Carmelite profession of vows there in 1932 and final vows in 1935. He was an outstanding teacher and lecturer. The Carmelite leadership asked him to found a premier Catholic preparatory school for boys. His Petit Collège Sainte Thérèse de L’Enfant-Jésus in Avon became a model of educational excellence, one of the most highly regarded schools in France. However, things changed drastically after the Germans took over in 1939. Père Jacques had hired a Jewish professor to teach science at the Petit-Collège. He was sheltering three Jewish boys who were in grave danger of deportation and death. All were arrested, including Père Jacques, on January 15, 1944. The Jewish professor and 3 students were deported directly to Auschwitz and executed upon arrival. Père Jacques was condemned to the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria where he quickly won the respect of his fellow prisoners for his selfless care of the sick and dying, and to whom he gave half his meager ration of food. All were freed when the Americans liberated the camp in May 1945. By then Père Jacques weighed only 75 pounds and had terminal pneumonia. He died 4 weeks later in Linz, Austria. His remains were returned to France where he was buried in the monastery garden of the Petit-Collège. He was posthumously honored by both Israel and the United States for his efforts on behalf of the Jews during the war. The cause for his Canonization was opened in 1990.
Listen to the Silence: A Retreat with Père Jacques is rich in meditation material. It places us with the Carmelite nuns in their Pointoise Chapel receiving this incredible retreat. Père Jacques’ talks are inspiring, warm reflections on topics of interest to his audience such as: contemplative prayer life, solitude, Christ the object of our prayer, His Blessed Mother, the Holy Spirit among many other subjects. The transcription texts of that September 1943 retreat were preserved in a “curiously providential way” as the editor/translator, Rev. Dr. Francis J. Murphy, tells us in his Introduction,
“… It was the custom of that era, before the invention of tape recorders, for one of the sisters in the community to record the retreat conferences in shorthand and subsequently to type up her notes. Then copies of the text of each conference would be given to all the sisters for their future reflection and meditation. The resulting transcription is, on the whole, remarkably complete…”
Beginning on Monday September 6, 1943 for seven days, Père Jacques gave two conferences each day, for a total of 14 conferences. He begins by telling the nuns:
“Since God is invisible he needs intermediaries who lend him their lips, their bodies, their hearts and their minds. The priest is such a person. By a kind of “surrender of his own personality,” the priest puts his whole being at the disposal of God. The priest should then say only what God wishes to be said. Therefore, do not focus on the human person who will be speaking to you. Rather, listen to the voice of God and you will discover, at one moment or another, something amazing. The message of the retreat will prove to be so applicable to your needs, your present situation, and your personal concerns, that you will have the impression that the retreat master is speaking to you and you alone, without being aware of it.”
Several pages of photographs from the period of the retreat are included: one shows the entrance to the Pointoise Monastery Chapel (on the left is the shutter for Père Jacques’ guest room window), another photo is of the chapel where he gave his conferences and another is of the chair and grill where he gave counseling and the Sacrament of Penance to the nuns.
At the beginning of the 6th conference Père Jacques advises the nuns to focus their full attention on the living presence of God and also to link themselves with “the Virgin Mary, whom we solemnly honor today on the feast of Our Lady of Pointoise.” In the footnotes we find that September 8 was celebrated locally as the feast of “Notre Dame de Pointoise”. I had never heard of Our Lady of Pointoise.
The most explicit reference to World War II, then at its height, occurs in Conference 8 when Père Jacques says, “While I was speaking to you this morning, several bombs landed only twenty odd miles from here. Countless victims died. They then had to appear before God and render an account of their lives. We will likewise be called one day to render an account of our lives. If we fail the test, we cannot begin all over again.”
A few months after completing this retreat Père Jacques returned once again to the Pointoise Carmel to give another retreat in January 1944 and this would be his very last one, for he was arrested a few days after completing it.He was sent to the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria. The cruelty and harshness of his imprisonment resulted in his death June 2, 1945. This book is an otherwise lost opportunity to hear God speak through Père Jacques. It is like being there with him and the Pointoise nuns making the retreat.It is a spiritual experience you won’t forget.
