St. Theresa the Little Flower

by Gesualda of the Holy Spirit, Margaret M. Repton (Translator)

English (translation)Original French

Genres: Nonfiction, Spirituality

204 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1991

Reviews

[Sophie Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely beautifully written book about how love encompasses all, her story is a testament to the idea that love is the most important virtue and the foundation of a life dedicated to God. I find myself thinking about passages from this book a lot. I read this book while I was travelling to Ireland, Prague and Germany. My father drove us to Germany from Prague where the scenery of these two countries was absolutely breathtaking. I saw so many types of flowers and understood what St Therese meant when she wrote ‘𝙸 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝙷𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚏𝚞𝚕. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚘 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚞𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚜𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚢. 𝙸 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚏 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚜, 𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚢, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚎𝚕𝚍𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚗𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚍 𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚜.’ This emphasises how we are all beautiful in our own way and the living garden of Christ on earth. A beautiful summers read.

[Laura McAninch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read "The Extraordinary parents of St. Therese of Lisieux" by Helene Mongin earlier this year and this was a perfect extension of reading on St. Therese.

This was written by Sr. Gesulda as an autobiography. The writing is very personal, but it is a challenge at times to follow the timeline of the stories.

I highlighted so many beautiful truths in this book! I can't recommend enough to take the time to read details of saints, no matter how complicated and challenging it might be initially. Such truths and such love of our faith by the Saints will give you guideposts in your own faith. Who better to change, mold, and better your heart than those whose hearts are purely His.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book was written thematically, so it didn't flow as smoothly as I would like, it had many very touching sections. For example, it included a letter which Uncle Guerin had written to Saint Therese shortly before she died (p.237). It was written in 1936 by Sister Jesualda and it includes a petition from the bishops of France praying for the intercession of St Therese for peace.