Therese: Doctor of the Church?

St Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897) was not formally educated. She did not write theological dissertation, or treatises on the life of prayer and virtue. All that represents her thought to us is an informal autobiography, a collection of poetry and drama, and her correspondence. Why is it, then, that she was made a Doctor of the Church by St John Paul II in 1997?

St John Paul II, in his Apostolic Letter Divini Amoris Scientia which officially declared St Therese a Doctor, admits that “in the writings of Therese we do not find perhaps, as in other Doctors, a scholarly presentation of the things of God.” But we do find in her writings “an enlightened witness of faith, which, while accepting with trusting love God’s merciful condescension and salvation in Christ, reveals the mystery and holiness of the Church.” 1

In Therese’s day the subtle heresy of Jansenism had contributed to a widespread view of a God who is violent and punitive, demanding acts of self-violence in atonement for sins. 2 In our modern era, which is so marked by violence at every level of human existence, this view of God makes Christianity most unappealing. What Therese offers the modern world is the Gospel truth that “God’s love is without violence”, and Jesus wills that “all his children love him, themselves, and one another without violence.”3 In this way, Therese “has made the Gospel shine appealingly in our time”. 4

1 Apostolic Letter of John Paul II, Divini Amoris Scientia

2 Cf New Catholic Encyclopedia vol.7, “Jansenism”, (McGraw Hill, New York, 1967) pg. 825

3 Joseph  F. Schmidt, FSC,  The Gospel According to St. Therese (Word Among Us, Guilford,2017) pp.52-53

4 Apostolic Letter of John Paul II, Divini Amoris Scientia