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CTS Children’s Books
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Contents A little flower ............................................3
Like the snow ..........................................16
Pauline her ‘mother’ ................................4
The Little Way ........................................18
Thinking of God ......................................6
Thérèse and the missions ........................20
A special day ............................................8
The sleep of Christ ..................................22
A gift from Jesus ......................................10 Above all things ......................................12
Some of Thérèse’s thoughts ....................24
On pilgrimage ..........................................14
Text by Silvia Vecchini Illustrations by Antonio Vincenti Translated by Simone Finaldi
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux: Published 2009 by the Incorporated Catholic Truth Society, 40-46 Harleyford Road, London SE11 5AY. Tel: 020 7640 0042; Fax: 020 7640 0046; www.cts-online.org.uk. Copyright © 2009 The Incorporated Catholic Truth Society in this English-language edition. ISBN: 978 1 86082 594 1 CTS Code CH 23 Translated from the original Italian Edition: Santa Teresa di Lisieux - ISBN 978-88-6124-063-6, published by Il Pozzo di Giacobbe, Corso Vittorio Emanuele 32/34, 91100 Trapani (TP), Italy © 2008 Crispino di Girolamo.
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hérèse was born on 2nd January 1873 into a prosperous and religious family. Her father was a watchmaker named Louis
Martin, and her mother was called Marie-Azélie Guérin. They already had four other daughters: Marie, Pauline, Léonie, and Céline. Thérèse was the youngest, and was well looked after as she grew up. Outside her large house, there was a lovely garden where Thérèse and her sisters spent a lot of time playing and looking after the flowers. She felt just like a flower herself, one of the small and common ones. Everyone loved her, and her early life was full of warmth and joy. 3
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hen Thérèse was just four years old, something very sad happened to her family: her mother Zélie died. The daughters,
who were sad because of the loss of their mother, tried to help, support and encourage each other. The eldest, Pauline, began to care for Thérèse, who still needed a lot of attention and looking after. Pauline became a second mother for her, and the relationship between the two became very close. Thérèse was a sensitive girl, but Pauline knew how to take care of her: she was patient with her sister, and tried to help her when times were hard. When Thérèse was unwell Pauline looked after her with kindness, and if she was sad her sister took her into the garden. Sometimes, they even went for rides in the wheelbarrow! Thérèse loved her and became more and more attached to her. 4
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Pauline listened to her little sister and answered all her questions. One day Thérèse asked, “How come some saints are greater than others and receive more glory from God? Doesn’t it make the lesser saints unhappy?” So Pauline took the glass their father drank from, and the small cup Thérèse used and told her: “Fill them both up with water.” “Now,” she said once Thérèse had filled them both, “Which one is fuller?” Thérèse answered, “Both of them are full!” “It is the same with people,” Pauline said, “God gives each person enough to fill them… The saints are all happy, because they all gave everything they had to God, and received everything they could from him.”
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t had been clear for some time that Pauline wanted to enter a Carmelite convent, and in the family, they talked a lot about what
she wanted to do, and about when she would enter the religious life. Thérèse listened carefully to all the talk going on within the family about Pauline, who had become very important for her. All the family had a very pious upbringing and little Thérèse wanted to follow the example of her older sisters: she waited for them to come back from hearing Mass and they would tell her what they listened to in Church, and she wanted to be with them when they prayed, even though she was not yet able to take part. Thérèse was also very moved by her sister Céline’s First Holy Communion. Even though she was little, Thérèse found ways to be like her sisters, and day by day, the wish to be with God and be consecrated to him, like her sister Pauline, grew stronger. 6
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One day, the teacher at the abbey where Thérèse was attending school asked her what she did during the holidays. Thérèse answered, “I go into my room, close the curtains and sit behind my bed, where there is a little space, just for me.” “And then what do you do?” “I sit and think.” “And what do you think about?” “I think about God, about life and about heaven,” Thérèse told her.
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hen Pauline entered the convent, Thérèse was nine years old. She
knew it was an important step for her sister, and that Pauline would be happy in the convent, but it was hard for Thérèse to be without her. Céline became her closest companion, as all her sisters did their best to help her. Thérèse missed Pauline a lot and often had headaches and cried for little or no reason. From the convent, Pauline watched over her sister, sending her notes and letters each week, to encourage her. When the time for Thérèse’s First Communion arrived, an event she had been preparing for with great solemnity with the help of her sister Marie, Pauline sent her a beautiful little book, full of pictures and images. 8
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Thérèse was overwhelmed with joy on the day of her First Holy Communion. When she received Christ in the consecrated host, Thérèse felt “like a drop in the sea.” An infinite love surrounded her and held her. Thérèse said she felt the “kiss” of Jesus. There was a great celebration in the family for her Communion, but the most beautiful moment was when they all went to see Pauline at the Carmelite convent. When Thérèse met her sister, she was pleased to see that both of them were wearing a white veil. Thérèse was wearing the veil because of her Communion, and Pauline was wearing the veil because she was preparing to be married to Jesus. 9
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fter Pauline, Marie also entered the convent and the desire to do the same continued to grow in Thérèse. Though she got older, her character remained fragile. She cried often and was affected by everything that happened around her. Despite this, she still wanted to become a nun. Thérèse knew something was not quite right, because the decision to become a nun is an important one, whereas she often behaved like a little girl. But help came to her in a very special moment.
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During midnight Mass of Christmas 1886, Thérèse heard Jesus call her, and something changed inside her. She felt loved and consoled. The death of her mother and the absence of her sister did not hurt her anymore. It seemed her tears had been dried and her weakness and fragility taken away. Finally, she felt strong and courageous. It was a gift which Jesus the Son of God had given to her, he who became small so that little ones like her could reach heaven. Thérèse understood that faith is a gift, and does not depend on how good a person is.
When she was older, Thérèse called that night, the moment of her conversion. 11