“The Story of a Soul”: A Book Review

“I believe that if a little flower could speak, it would tell very simply and fully all that God had done for it . . . The flower who is now going to tell her story rejoices at having to relate all the kindnesses freely done her by Jesus.”¹

Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin was born in 1873, entered the Carmel of Lisieux at age fifteen, and died as a nun just ten short years later, at the age of twenty-five.² Few knew her while she lived, and few cared when she died: yet today she is honored worldwide as Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, and was called “the greatest saint of modern times” by St. Pius X. ^³ What made this young French saint so known and loved? In obedience to her superiors, Saint Thérèse wrote her autobiography, “The Story of a Soul.” This book became one of the most beloved spiritual classics of all time and inspired thousands with a special devotion to the “Little Flower” who told her story in this book.⁴

Part of the appeal of “The Story of a Soul” is the simple but lovely style of Saint Thérèse’s writing, which makes her story easy to understand and relate to even in modern times. The content of the book is captured by its title: it is the story of Saint Thérèse’s soul, an account of the many graces which Jesus showered upon His little flower. The book has been divided into eleven chapters, by the advice of Thérèse’s sisters Pauline and Marie, who played a crucial role in getting St. Thérèse’s whole story written and eventually published. ^⁵

Young St. Thérèse

            The first eight chapters of “The Story of a Soul” cover the story of Thérèse’s life from her earliest memories to the time when her closest sister Celine entered the Carmel following her father’s death. Thérèse divides her life into three different periods. The first period extends from her earliest memories to when she was four and half years old and her beloved mother died. Nearly all of Thérèse’s memories of these period were happy, for she was blessed with two holy parents and four loving sisters—Celine, Leonie, Pauline, and Marie—who reared her in an atmosphere of true sanctity. Thérèse was a bright, lively, joyful child during these years, though she recalls some weaknesses of character which showed themselves even in these early years, such as pride, stubbornness, and anger. However, she was quick to repent of naughty deeds, and her family was equally quick to forgive, so Thérèse’s life continued to be joyful during this time.

Thérèse’s Mother, St. Marie-Azélie Guérin

The second period of her life began with the death of her dear mother and lasted until she was fourteen years old. This was a time of real trial for all of the family, and it changed Thérèse from a lively, happy child to one who was extremely timid and overly sensitive. A disapproving glance was enough to make her cry, and she suffered from great scrupulosity. Her father and sisters continued to help her through this difficult time, and she made spiritual progress despite her fragility, especially in detachment from the world, love for Jesus, and the desire for heaven. This time saw the joyful feasts of her First Communion and Confirmation, and a special miracle by which Our Lady preserved Thérèse from dying of a severe illness; but it also saw the sad trial of Pauline’s entrance into Carmel, lonely times for Thérèse at school when no one wished to be her friend, and finally the heartbreak of Marie’s entrance into Carmel. This period ended when Our Lord gave her a special grace on the Christmas of 1886 which cured her of her extreme sensitivity and her tendency to cry easily.

St. Thérèse’s Father, St. Louis Martin

            The third period which Thérèse described stretched from that happy Christmas to the end of the first eight chapters of her story. During this time, Thérèse progressed greatly in her spiritual life as she discerned the call to enter Carmel at the early age of fifteen and encountered resistance from the Prioress, the Bishop, and even the Pope, though her loving family supported her in every possible way. After a great deal of suffering, alleviated somewhat by the inward peace of giving her best efforts to do God’s will, Thérèse was finally allowed to enter Carmel at age fifteen. Though she often experienced spiritual dryness and many other afflictions within the convent, Thérèse describes herself as living with great joy amid her greatest tribulations, including the agony through which her father passed in the final three years of his life, culminating in his death in 1894. This bittersweet event of his passage into Heaven was followed, after a period of struggle with external resistance, by the long-desired entrance of Celine into Carmel, to the great joy of her sisters. This event concludes the first eight chapters of Thérèse’s story.

Chapters Nine, Ten, and Eleven of Thérèse’s story take on a new tone, for they were written at a later time, as she was slowly dying of tuberculosis. The theme is the same, that of the special graces God has given her, but these graces are given in the context of a dark night of the soul she is experiencing. She speaks of this, and of her peaceful but daily struggles to move forward in charity and faith even when heaven no longer seems real to her. She teaches the younger nuns and instructs them, despite the dryness which she feels, and finally she writes down many things which Our Lord has revealed to her in prayer and in dreams, which Marie asked her to share with her sisters before she died. Thérèse concludes her story with a fervent prayer for “little souls” like her, and leaves the reader with a sense of wonder at her great love and humble sanctity. ^⁶

            “The Story of a Soul” is a true spiritual masterpiece. In reading it, I was swept away by the simple but sweet language which contained so many profound thoughts of a soul so dear to Jesus. The structure of the book is fairly informal, and Thérèse makes many digressions, but this only contributes to the beauty of the story. It is a story of the wonderful graces Jesus bestowed on one of His little flowers and of her cooperation with these graces. It is a love story between His Soul and hers. I have found the book to be truly edifying as a guide to what one may expect in a loving relationship with Our Lord, and I found it truly uplifting as the tale of a little one who went before us and was given the grace to become a great saint despite her shortcomings.  The book’s conclusion is thrilling, for it suddenly connects us directly to St. Thérèse in a very powerful way. The Story closes with a prayer which St. Thérèse addresses to Our Lord on behalf of little souls just like ours:

“O Jesus . . . I beg You to choose in this world a multitude of little victims worthy of Your LOVE!!!” ^⁷

 So ends the story of St. Thérèse’s soul . . . and so, perhaps, with her help, begins a new chapter in the story of our souls!

1. St. Thérèse of Lisieux, The Autobiography of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux: The Story of a Soul, trans. John Beevers (New York: Doubleday, 1957), 21.

2. John Beevers, Introduction, The Autobiography of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux: The Story of a Soul, by St. Thérèse of Lisieux, trans. John Beevers (New York: Doubleday, 1957), 9.

3. John Beevers, Introduction, 9.

4. John Beevers, Introduction, 15.

5. John Beevers, Introduction, 13-14.

6. St. Thérèse of Lisieux, The Autobiography of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux: The Story of a Soul, 19-159.

7. St. Thérèse of Lisieux, The Autobiography of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux: The Story of a Soul, 159.

Images:

1. “By Unknown - scansione effettuata da me medesimo, Public Domain” [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2963642]

2. “By Hamachidori - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0” [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5286076]

3. “Public Domain”
[https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1888611]

4. “By unidentified photographer - http://www.ouest-france.fr/actu/actuDet_-Les-parents-de-Thérèse-de-Lisieux-beatifies-_3636-725020_actu.Htm, Public Domain” [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8336949]

5. “By unidentified photographer - http://www.devinrose.heroicvirtuecreations.com/blog/2008/07/04/blessed-louis-and-zelie-martin-and-saint-damien/, Public Domain” [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8337051]

6. “By Unknown - scansione effettuata da me medesimo, Public Domain” [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2963642]

7. “By Celine Martin (Sor Genoveva de la Santa Faz) - Archivos del Carmelo de Lisieux, CC0” [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35129680]