By Natalie Salameh
During
this Year of Consecrated Life, a generous priest benefactor (wishing to remain
anonymous) sponsored us for a retreat in Lisieux, meditating on the
spirituality of Saint Therese of the Infant Jesus. Lisieux is the site where
Saint Therese lived as a Carmelite nun in the late 19th Century and
died at the age of 24 from tuberculosis.
St.
Therese is now known all over the world as the “Little Flower” who showed us
her “little way of spiritual childhood” to Jesus. She believed in doing small
things and offering small sacrifices with great love. She took her assignments in the convent of Lisieux as
ways of manifesting her love for God and for others. St. Therese knew from her
life that God is merciful love, and her confidence in His love knew no limits.
Her “little way” puts holiness of life within the reach of ordinary people, and
helps us to live with confidence in God’s love for us.
It was a
great privilege over the week of our retreat to pray in the great Basilica
dedicated to St. Therese that was built on the highest hill overlooking the
city of Lisieux. Construction of the
Basilica started in 1929 and finished in 1954, and can hold up to 4,000
worshippers. The Basilica features the most beautiful mosaics, and not only
holds relics of St. Therese, but also the mortal remains of Louis and Zelie Martin,
St. Therese’s parents, who will be canonized as saints in the Vatican on
October 18. We celebrated a beautiful Divine Liturgy in the Basilica on Sunday,
September 27, in honor of St. Therese’s feast day. It was so great to see the
Basilica filled with devoted pilgrims from every nation and race.
The Basilica is located close by the Carmelite Monastery, where St.
Therese spent 9 years as a nun. The Carmelite Monastery is currently the home
of the mortal remains of St. Therese, along with that of her three other
sisters who were also Carmelite nuns; Pauline, Marie and Celine. On the evening
of Saturday, September 26, we participated in a beautiful procession during
which the relics of St. Therese were moved from the Carmel Monastery to the
Basilica in honor of her feast. We experienced such a strong sense of “church”
that evening.
Part of the Carmelite Monastery has been transformed into a museum,
showcasing the belongings and writings of St. Therese, including the holy habit
she once wore. We spent a number of days looking and praying over these
belongings, and reading about the many favors and miracles St. Therese
performed for people all over the world. We had the great privilege of praying
Divine Liturgy in the small Carmel Chapel on several days, and listening to the
sisters offer Morning Prayer in French. The Lisieux Carmelite Monastery is
still the home of many nuns.
Our next stop in the journey and life of St. Therese was Les Buissonnets. Louis Martin and his
five daughters moved into “Les Buissonnets” in Lisieux in 1877 after the death
of his wife, Zelie. Therese, who was the youngest of the five Martin daughters,
was about 4 years old at the time, and she would remain at “Les Buissonnets”
until the age of 15 when she would leave for the Carmelite Monastery. In the
backyard of “Les Buissonnets” there was a very moving monument that depicted a
re-enactment of when Therese sat down with her father to ask his blessing to
become a Carmelite nun. They shared a very special father-daughter bond. She was
his “little queen” and he was her “king”.
It was also at “Les Buissonnets” that St. Therese says that she
received the greatest grace of her life on Christmas Day in 1886; the grace of
conversion. On that day, the then fourteen-year-old Therese hurried home from
Midnight Mass at Saint Peter's Cathedral. In France, young children left their
shoes by the fireplace at Christmas, and their parents would fill them with
gifts. By fourteen, most children outgrew this custom. But Therese, being the
youngest and most spoiled, continued to have presents in her shoes.
As she and her sister, Céline climbed the stairs to take off their
hats, their father's voice rose up from the parlor below. Standing over the
shoes, he sighed, "Thank goodness that's the last time we shall have this
kind of thing!" Thérèse froze, and her sister looked at her helplessly.
Céline knew that in a few minutes Thérèse would be in tears over what her
father had said.
During our visit to Les
Buissonnets, we prayed over the very fireplace that this event took place
and walked up the steps that Therese herself came down on that Christmas
morning having been changed by Jesus forever.
On our last day of retreat, which was the actual feast day of St.
Therese on October 1st, we visited Alencon, the birthplace of St.
Therese, and first home of Louis and Zelie Martin. Alencon is about a one hour
drive from Lisieux. St. Therese spent the first 4 years of her life in Alencon
before moving to Les Buissonnets. The home has been transformed into a Museum,
and boasts a very beautiful chapel in which we celebrated Divine Liturgy that
morning. It was absolutely amazing to see how everything has been preserved
including St. Therese’s toys; her father’s fishing poles, and her mother’s lace
work. It was here in Alencon that St. Therese gave the Maronite Servants a big
gift. The sisters at the museum granted us permission to pray in the very room
in which St. Therese was born, and in which her mother died. This room is
enclosed in glass and access is not granted to all pilgrims; this was very
special to us. I was personally very moved as venerated St. Therese’s cradle
and the bed in which her mother died.
Thanks be to God for such a wonderful retreat! Walking in the footsteps
of St. Therese, we felt she was walking with us. We took your intentions and
petitions with us at every holy site and prayed for them before every relic.
May St. Therese bless you all abundantly and shower down upon you bouquet of
roses! Next week’s blog will feature highlights from our pilgrimage in Paris
(October 2 – October 8).