In his research, the Salesian, originally from Normandy as was Saint Therese, refers to the “threefold educational experience of Saint Therese”: in the family, in the Carmelite convent as Novice Mistress and in spiritual direction. “If there is one expression that best characterises the spirituality of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, it is her ‘Little Way’” he says. The themes of spiritual childhood and Jesus' predilection for the little ones were central to her vision and she always spoke of the trust, abandonment, simplicity, righteousness and humility of the child, always taking them as a model.
The foundation of this “little way” is love.
I – A THREEFOLD EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE
1) In the family
“When we had our children, we lived only for them” Saint Zélie Martin, the mother of Therese and eight other older daughters, used to say. Little Therese, the youngest, was described by her father as a little queen, and enjoyed the affection of her parents, who loved to play with their daughters. The girls were taught obedience, in a spirit of truth and justice, but imbued with trust and love. Therese grew up with her four sisters, Louise, Pauline, Léonie and Céline (while the other daughters died at an early age). They were role models for her.
Let's listen to her speech on “camouflage”, with the story of the birds: “I remember that, among my birds, I had a canary that sang with pleasure; I also had a small linnet (songbird) to which I lent my maternal care, having adopted him before he could enjoy his freedom. This poor little prisoner had no parents to teach him how to sing, but when he heard his companion, the canary, making merry trills from morning to night, he wanted to imitate him... It was a difficult feat for a linnet, so his sweet voice had great difficulty matching the vibrant one of his music teacher. It was delightful to see the little one's efforts, which were crowned with success, because his singing, while retaining a much greater sweetness, was absolutely the same as the canary’s.”
And Therese concluded: “O my beloved mother! You taught me how to sing... It was your voice that enchanted me since childhood, and now I have the consolation of hearing that I look like you! I know that I am still very far from this, but despite my weakness I hope to sing your anthem forever.”
At the death of her mother, Zélie Martin, Therese was only four and a half years old, and it was Paolina, the older sister, who took up the role of mother.
Let's listen to what Therese had to say about her upbringing: “I consider it a real grace to have been educated by you to overcome my fears. Sometimes you would send me alone in the evening to look for something in a distant room. If I hadn't been so well guided, I would have become very shy, but now it's really hard to get scared… Sometimes I wonder how you could educate me with such love and delicacy without spoiling me, because it is true that you did not pass a single imperfection on to me, you never reproached me inappropriately, never went back on something you had decided. I knew it so well that I wouldn't be able or willing to take a step if you forbade me…”.
This education received in the family inspired the educational principles that became those of Saint Therese.
2) The experience as Novice Mistress
As Novice Mistress in the Carmelite convent, Therese did everything to ensure that her relationship with each of the novices was built on trust and that the freedom of each was respected. She intelligently adapted to every type of personality. “It is absolutely necessary to forget your tastes” she told us, “and your personal ideas, to guide souls on the path that Jesus has traced for them, without trying to make them walk on your path.”
And again she said, “First of all, I saw that all souls have more or less the same struggles, but that on the other hand they are so different (...) So it's impossible to treat them all the same. With some souls, I feel I have to make myself small, not afraid to humble myself by admitting my struggles (...) With others, I have seen that, on the contrary, to do them good I must be very firm and never go back on anything I say. To lower oneself would not be humility, but weakness.”
3) The Experience of Spiritual Direction
Thanks to her abundant correspondence, Therese became a spiritual guide for those who sought her out.
Let's see the advice she gave to her cousin, Marie Guérin, who confided to her the torments deriving from her scruples, fed by her time in Paris: “My dear Therese” she wrote, "I have come to torment you again, and I know in advance that you will not be happy with me, but, what do you want, I suffer so much that it is good for me to pour all my pains into your heart. Paris is not a cure for the scrupulous, and I don't know where to look; if I run away from one nudity, I encounter another, and so on all day long, there is something (...) I don't know if you understand me, I have so many things in my poor head that I can't solve (...) How do you think I can receive Holy Communion tomorrow and Friday; I am obliged to abstain, and it is the greatest trial for me.”
Therese answered her the next day: “You were right to write to me, I understood everything... You have not done the slightest thing wrong; I know so well what these temptations are that I can assure you without fear, after all Jesus tells me in the depths of my heart... You must despise all these temptations, do not pay any attention to them. Can I confide in you something that made me suffer a lot? It is that little Mary ceased receiving Communion. What scares Jesus, what wounds his heart, is the lack of trust.”
So, in her response, Therese made a change. Therese replied to her cousin concerned about her attachment to obscene images, that the real problem was her lack of trust in the love of Jesus.
