The man, the woman

Bothering the saints

“She bothered the saints to obtain this or that grace.”

This testimony from Sister Eulalie in 1887 sums up the familiar and intense relationship that Mother Thérèse had with Heaven. The foundress did not hesitate to relentlessly seek the intercession of the saints. For her, the saints were powerful advocates, “more pleasing to God than we are.”

Foremost among these intercessors is her patron saint, Teresa of Avila. Mother Thérèse had a particular affection for the great reformer of the Carmelite Order, whose work “The Way of Perfection” appears on a list of books she compiled.

This devotion was not only personal. Mother Thérèse ardently desired that the fire burning in the heart of the Spanish saint would also inflame her own Congregation. On 15 October 1880, she confided to a sister:

“This morning, I asked Our Lord, through the intercession of St. Teresa [...], to pierce all the sisters of the Retreat, from the first to the last, with the dart with which St. Teresa was pierced, so that they might all be inflamed with the love of God.”

Bone statuette of Saint Teresa of Avila (7.5 cm).

This small bone statuette accompanied the founder until the end. A handwritten note tells us that Mother Thérèse kissed it “with love during the last days of her life.”

The archives preserve a few traces of this attachment, tucked away, for example, in her prayer books like intimate treasures.

Found in her book “Moyens de s’établir dans la présence de Dieu” (Ways to Establish Oneself in the Presence of God), this holy card bears the inscription on the back: “Feast of St. Teresa 1879. Souvenir of our arrival in Rome.” It was therefore sent to Mother Thérèse in memory of the arrival of the founders of the 1st Cenacle outside France, who arrived in Rome on the feast day of St. Teresa.

Image depicting Saint Teresa of Avila Source: Lyon, Mother Thérèse’s room.

In 1860, Mother Thérèse herself composed a novena to honour her patron saint. She focused on the “nine principal graces” of the saint’s life.

When she gave it to a sister, she simply said, “Here you are, little sister,” hoping, according to the recipient’s testimony, to “inspire” her to love God more.

Small booklet of a novena to Saint Teresa of Avila by Mother Thérèse, 1860.

Source : MM, FT 3, T.A.1.2.1.7.

Litanies of Saint Teresa of Jesus

These handwritten litanies were found added at the end of her Office of the Blessed Virgin.

A constellation of intercessors

While the reformer of Carmel occupied a special place in her devotions, Mother Thérèse called upon a large part of the heavenly court, as evidenced by the handwritten prayers (Litanies of Providence, of Saint Michael) and the devotional images she kept. Some were traditional to the Congregation, such as to Saint Joseph or the Jesuit saints.

The presence of a prayer to Saint Stephen, on the other hand, is more surprising but touching. He is the patron saint of Father Stephen Terme: a way for Mother Thérèse to continue to pray in union with the one who guided her.

Image of the Association of the Perpetual Worship of Saint Joseph. Source: Lyon.

Prayer to Saint Francis Xavier. Source: Lyon.

Reliquary (Saints Francis de Sales, Justin, Aurelius, Saints Chantal and Marguerite-Marie Alacoque). Verso. Source : Lyon.

Reliquary (Saint Francis de Sales, Justin, Aurelius, Saints Chantal and Margaret Mary Alacoque). back. Source: Lyon.

Note on Marian devotion:

Visitors may be surprised not to find any objects related to the Virgin Mary here. This absence is deliberate: for our founders, Marian devotion went beyond the realm of personal piety. Passed on to the entire Congregation and forming part of its identity, it is discussed in detail in the section dedicated to spiritual heritage.