Poems of St Therese of Lisieux

by Thérèse of Lisieux, Tavia Gilbert (Narrator)

Saint Teresa of Lisieux was a nineteenth century Carmelite nun and, along with Saint Joan of Arc, is co-patroness of France. Her writings, including her Autobiography, Story of a Soul, have inspired countless numbers of people. Having only recently been translated from the original French into English, this collection of the poems of St. Teresa beautifully capture the longings and desires of someone who gave the majority of her short life to the contemplation of the divine and a life lived in singular devotion to God. Her own words perhaps best capture the thrust of this collection, "You alone are the object of my song in the place of my pilgrimage."

Genres: Poetry, Catholic, Religion, Theology, Spirituality, Classics, Nonfiction

Audio CD

First published January 1, 1873

About the author

Saint Thérèse de Lisieux or Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, born Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin, was a French Carmelite nun. She is also known as "The Little Flower of Jesus". She was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church May 17, 1925.

She felt an early call to religious life, and overcoming various obstacles, in 1888 at the early age of 15, became a nun and joined two of her older sisters in the enclosed Carmelite community of Lisieux, Normandy. After nine years as a Carmelite religious, having fulfilled various offices, such as sacristan and novice mistress, and having spent the last eighteen months in Carmel in a night of faith, she died of tuberculosis at the age of 24. The impact of her posthumous publications, including her memoir The Story of a Soul was great, and she rapidly became one of the most popular saints of the twentieth century. Pope Pius XI made her the star of his pontificate. She was beatified in 1923, and canonized in 1925. The speed of this process may be seen by comparison with that applied to a great heroine of Thérèse, Joan of Arc, who died in 1431 but was not canonized until 1920. Thérèse was declared co-patron of the missions with Francis Xavier in 1927, and named co-patron of France with Joan of Arc in 1944. On 19 October 1997 Pope John Paul II declared her the thirty-third Doctor of the Church, the youngest of all Doctors of the Church, and only the third woman Doctor. Devotion to Thérèse has developed around the world.

Thérèse lived a hidden life and 'wanted to be unknown' yet through her writings—as well as her spiritual autobiography she left letters, poems, religious plays, prayers and various notes, and her last conversations were recorded by her sisters—and thanks to the photographs taken inside the Lisieux Carmel by her sister Céline, she became known to, and later seen by, millions of men and women. According to one of her biographers, Guy Gaucher, after her death, "Thérèse fell victim to an excess of sentimental devotion which betrayed her. She was victim also to her language, which was that of the late nineteenth century and flowed from the religiosity of her age." Thérèsè herself said on her death-bed : "I only love simplicity. I have a horror of pretence", and she spoke out against some of the Lives of saints written in her day :" We should not say improbable things, or things we do not know. We must see their real, and not their imagined lives." The critic Marina Warner observed that the excesses sometimes associated with her cult should not blind one to the heroism of her, "struggle to be good, and the radical affirmation of ordinary lives that her sainthood stands for."

The depth of her spirituality, of which she said "my way is all confidence and love," has inspired many believers. In the face of her littleness and nothingness, she trusted in God to be her sanctity. She wanted to go to Heaven by an entirely new little way. "I wanted to find an elevator that would raise me to Jesus." The elevator, she wrote, would be the arms of Jesus lifting her in all her littleness.

The Basilica of Lisieux is the second greatest place of pilgrimage in France after Lourdes.

Reviews

[Ericka Alonso Clou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to read St. Thérèse's verses about religious ecstasy. Though I am also Christian, the happy verses make me feel very sad for her, I think because the entirety of her life was this religious dedication. It seems a very incomplete existence to me.

[Nadya Ismail · Rating 5 out of 5]

''Desejas teu coração no meu _ teu rosto
Sobre o meu desenhas _ e esse olhar que me prende
Sobe aos lábios _ com o beijo que me dás. Ama-me _
Dizes _ enquanto meus lábios desenham _ Jesus
_ A palavra que preferes.

Com essa palavra nos lábios _ cantarei
Aos anjos _ louvores sobre o amor sagrado.
Se não tardares a levar-me _ em breve serei
Um deles _ Jesus, não tardes _ Morrer de amor
_ Eis o que mais quero.

Não serei _ menos do que a borboleta
Atraída pela chama _ que a chama e inflama.
Mais fará o teu amor por mim _ Atrair-me-á _
Minh'alma dançará com ele _ cada vez mais perto
_ Até sermos uma só chama.''

~~

''Preciso de um coração _ cuja ternura queime _
Que nunca por nunca me deixe _ sem apoio _
Que ame tudo em mim _ a minha fraqueza incluída _

Que de noite _ que de dia _ jamais me deixe só».
Até hoje _ não encontrarei uma criatura desse modo
Que sempre _ me amasse e jamais morresse _
Preciso de um Amante _ que sinta como eu _
Que seja meu irmão _ e capaz de sofrimento.''

~~

"Minh'alma desidrata-se _ Não me deixes em sede _
Aumenta em mim _ Amigo _ o fogo desse segredo _
É uma sede que não se acalma _ um sofrimento
Que me acaba _ e me faz desejar ir ter contigo.

Entendes _ por que amar-te _ é doçura e martírio?
Quanto mais me incendeias _ mais doce és"

~~
Decididamente um dos livros que mais me atravessou nos últimos tempos. Depois de o ler, senti uma urgência tão grande de abraçar o livro que tinha em mãos...

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely collection of Saint Therese's poetry. What I especially liked about this book is that both English and French translations are included, so I was able to brush up on my French. Also, the French versions often rhyme, unlike the English translations. Being able to see those rhymes and plays on language would not have been possible without the French. A fun and enlightening read.

[Stuart Beavis]

I have not read this book. I could not find any way to open it!

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read though I wished they had it formatted differently (the original poems were in the back while you had the history and criticism with the English translation in the main part. I would have liked to been able to read the original and the translation side by side with the history first and the criticism last instead of the two intertwined).

A few poems showed Therese's humor quite well. Those were fun. :D

[Kavanaugh Kohls · Rating 4 out of 5]

While a great poet the Little Flower is not, her divinely inspired mind is as evident here as it is in any of her other works.

The notes from the translator range from merely helpful to beautifully poetic in their own right.

[Ilya Kozlov]

touching from the beginning.....french text in the back.....explanations....strange beauty

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

These were up lifting poems.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very peaceful and encouraging.

[Anne-Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful poetry by the little flower. Inspirational.