Saint Thérèse of Lisieux and Divine Mercy (Part 1)

Fr. Gorazd Cetkovský, O.Carm.

Bishop Gaucher once said that the discovery of the merciful love of God – the Trinity is the essence of Therese's journey of spiritual childhood, which made Therese so famous.¹

Because we have a tendency to simplify things into "black and white" schemes, I want to point out right away: it wasn't that Therese transitioned from the idea of a strict God to the knowledge of a merciful God! Therese's discovery lay in the fact that she, a weak child of God, as she inherently considered herself, discovered on her path to God that she does not have to climb a rough staircase, but God offers her a spiritual "elevator" that will lift her to God's closeness, while the thing that elevates her to God is the arms of Jesus. Technically speaking, we could say: the engine of this elevator is the great mercy of God.

Therese strongly recognized the role and measure of God's mercy only when she was twenty-one years old. At that time, she had less than three years of life left.² During those years, she could draw strength from this discovery.

1. Discovery of the spiritual elevator (and thus God's mercy)

Therese's discovery took place sometime toward the end of 1894. In what situation was she then?³

• She had been in the convent for six years; she came to become a saint.
• She had tried very hard for sanctity, suffered a lot, but compared to the saints, she always felt weak and miserable.
• She realized that it could happen that she would die young. It occurred to her that this way she would never achieve sanctity.
• But at her first Holy Communion, already as a child, she decided to never lose courage.⁴
• From Saint John of the Cross, she learned to believe that God does not instill desires that He does not want to fulfill.
• She was firmly convinced that she should not give up her effort for sanctity, but she thought about whether there might be some easier way: a direct, short one, some modern invention – since today walking up the stairs can be replaced by an elevator...

So what did Therese do? She searched⁵ for some hint of an elevator in the Scripture. She utilized Céline's notes from the Old Testament⁶ and found the verse: “Whoever is little, let him come to me" (Proverbs 9:4). And in another place from the Old Testament, she found what God will do with the little one who comes to Him: He will cherish them like a mother cherishes her child (Isaiah 66:12–13).

Therese accepted this as an answer and calmed down. Thus, Jesus' hands are the elevator that lifts her up! However, it is essential to remain small, i.e., to be humble. What had previously seemed an obstacle on her path turns out to be beneficial – an advantage! After all, the smaller the child, the more willingly the parent lifts them to carry them in their arms. “So I do not need to grow; on the contrary, I must remain little, shrink more and more. My God, you have surpassed my expectations, and I want to sing of your mercy” (AS 202).

Therese certainly quotes here (even though she does not indicate that she is aware of it) Psalm 89 (88), 2–3:

I will sing of the Lord's mercies forever,
to all generations I will declare your faithfulness with my mouth.
For you said: “Your mercy is built forever.”
In heaven, you established your faithfulness.⁷

This psalm is not found in the lay breviary. However, during Mass, the verse quoted by Therese is quite often used as a response after the reading from Scripture: I will sing of the Lord's mercies forever.⁸ You also know it musically among the songs from Taizé: Misericodias Domini in aeternum cantabo.

Here, Therese did not use the word mercy ambiguously, but in its true sense: the great God bent down to little Therese – that is mercy! The word mercy appears in both the text of the psalm and in the French original of her notes in the plural. Therese does not have in mind mercy as a divine attribute but refers here to many individual situations – manifestations of God's love.

Whereas at other times, Therese did use the word “mercy” in a broader sense: for (any) manifestation of God's love. For example, she refers to God's generosity: “What a merciful way God has always led me! Never has He instilled in me a desire for something He would not give,” (AS 147) or God's attention to her: when she said that if during Holy Communion she received only half of the host, it would be a sign that Jesus was approaching her reluctantly; instead, it happened that the priest inadvertently offered her two hosts (AS 165).

The growing realization of God's mercy then became a fundamental part of Therese's spirituality. Even though she had perceived this theme before, now it gained great importance for her, and she would often mention it (see right after the beginning of manuscript A). She was convinced that God's mercy is greatest towards the most miserable: it forgives sinners, gently bends toward the little and poor, as Isaiah 66:12-13 indicates. In this respect, Therese often used the metaphor of childhood.⁹

Several observations from our discussion about this at Third Order meetings:

• But this is also the case with "great" saints! None of them, with all their merits, are on par with God, but His mercy is still in play, bridging the distance between great God and little man.
• Emphasizing God's mercy could also be understood incorrectly. It could be invoked inappropriately: to excuse one's laziness and dullness. (The idea of God's mercy is not a remedy for all situations in our lives; it must be handled responsibly and wisely.)
• What exact meaning does the word mercy have for us? We denote it as love that "bends down" – from the great to the small, from the rich to the poor, from the secure to the needy, from God to man. Love that bridges the great qualitative difference between the loving and the loved.
• From the side of the "little one" (who receives mercy), the correct corresponding attitude is humble trust and surrender.

2. Manuscript A

In December 1894, the same time that Therese discovered the spiritual elevator of God’s mercy, her birth sister, who was also then her superior – Mother Agnes – instructed her to write down her childhood memories. Therese did not embark on this without thinking. She admits that she was reluctant to write because: “I felt that it would distract me to be preoccupied with myself” (AS 15).¹⁰

But ultimately, she did engage in writing – out of obedience and with the intention of focusing on God: to write about the graces ("mercies") that God had given her. Among those graces was her discovery of God’s mercy. Although she would not describe this discovery in this manuscript, she perceives all her writing of her memories as a song of God's mercy.

She writes about this right at the very beginning: “... I will do just one thing; I will begin to sing what I must repeat forever: ‘of the mercy of the Lord!!!’...” (AS 15.) Father Gaucher notes: “The instruction from Mother Agnes could not have come at a better time. Sister Therese, who had just discovered the depths of divine mercy, understands better the meaning of everything she has experienced until now.”¹¹ Therese looks back in her memories at her childhood and her whole life so far and writes even about the difficult events: about the deaths of her little siblings who were born before her, about the illness and death of her mother, about how she struggled with the departure of her sisters to convents, about the difficulties she had to overcome on her way to her religious vocation, about her father's mental illness, etc. But about all this, she now writes in the light of faith, that God has always faithfully stood by her with love. Thus her whole life was the Lord's “mercy”!

Interestingly, in manuscript A, Therese did not describe the moment of her discovery of the little way – Jesus' arms elevator and thus God's mercy. However, at the end of manuscript A, she described the inspiration to offer herself to merciful Love, which she experienced on the feast of the Holy Trinity in the year 1895. We will note this in more detail soon.

Therese concluded her manuscript A: “How will the story of this 'little white flower' end? (...) I am sure that she will always be accompanied by God's mercy (...) Forever she will sing (...) a new song of love...” (AS 172–173).

Thus, with a mention of God's mercy, manuscript A begins and ends. On the last page, she drew the coats of arms of Jesus and Therese, and in them, with various symbols, she reminded of the graces that the Lord granted to His little bride. On the preceding page, she listed detailed explanations of these coats of arms. She concluded with the words of Saint John of the Cross: “Love is paid for only with love”. The word love ends her notebook. In a total of 86 pages of notes, this word appears ninety-nine times.

Therese handed her written memories to Mother Agnes on January 20, 1896, the eve of Agnes's feast.

3. Grace on the Feast of the Holy Trinity in 1895

The zealous sisters at Carmel in Lisieux then offered themselves as a sacrifice to God's justice. Such an understanding of the effort for sanctity was then more generally widespread. It arose from the idea: the just God must necessarily be very upset and angry about the injustice and evil happening in the world. And in order for God's anger not to fall upon sinners and for God to relieve His anger and justice, zealous souls in convents and outside offered themselves as “holocausts” to the just God, that is, to God's justice.

A holocaust represented the most valuable sacrifice known from the old covenant Jewish worship in the Jerusalem temple. Of this sacrifice, neither the priests nor the offerer themselves received anything; the whole thing was burned – as a gift to God, “a pleasing aroma to the Lord” (Lev 1:9.13.17). Thus it symbolized complete self-giving to the Lord.¹²

At Therese’s time and in her environment, zealous souls longed to surrender completely to God's justice so that it "burned" them, meaning subjected them to suffering and death, thus providing a substitute for the penance that sinners do not perform, and effectively pleading for the conversion of sinners. This path to sanctity was practiced and praised by the sisters around Therese.¹³

Therese looked up to this piety with respect, but she felt that this was not a path for her. What she could and wanted to do for God finally dawned on her on the Sunday of June 9, 1895, when the feast of the Holy Trinity was celebrated. When she thought again about souls who offer themselves to God's justice, it occurred to her that also other divine attributes deserve great respect and devoted surrender. And she focused on God's mercy for herself.

After all, God is merciful Love and desires to pour His love into the hearts of people. Yet, He encounters rejection and indifference.

“My God, will your disheartened love remain in your heart? It seems to me that if you found souls who would offer themselves as a holocaust of your love, you would consume them quickly; it seems to me that you would be happy if you didn't have to suppress the waves of infinite tenderness that are in you... (...) Jesus, may I be that happy victim! Consume your holocaust with the fire of your divine love!...“ (AS 172.)

That Sunday morning, right after Holy Mass, Therese urged her birth sister Céline and they went to ask Mother Agnes to allow them to offer themselves to merciful Love. The superior allowed them to do so without hesitation, and only then did Therese explain more thoroughly to Céline what it would entail. She then wrote the “Act of Offering to Merciful Love” and they prayed it together on Tuesday, performing it. As we mentioned, Therese wrote about this on the last pages of manuscript A. The inspiration to surrender to merciful Love was expressed in her words: “He gave me His infinite mercy,” and she summarized this inner discovery briefly: “I understood more than ever how Jesus longs to be loved” (AS 171). A few paragraphs above in manuscript A, Therese emphasized that focusing on love freed her greatly (AS 170):

• now she considers loving as her only task in everything she does;
• she believes that the Love she has surrendered to can transform everything she finds in Therese's soul into itself;
• this especially liberates her from the fear of her failures and unfaithfulness: love consumes quickly!
• thus the way of love is “sweet,” leaving in the soul “only a humble and sweet peace within.”

This has specific manifestations: henceforth, it is no reason for concern and sadness for Therese that she sometimes falls asleep during meditation: I do not grieve... I think that small children are just as pleasing to their parents when they sleep as when they are awake... She no longer attributes her spiritual dryness to a lack of fervor and fidelity, but rejoices in it. Now I have no wishes; only to love Jesus to madness (AS 169).

Therese joyfully wrote that her offering to merciful Love caused enormous effects in her: she was flooded with an ocean of graces, merciful Love renews her, purifies her, and prompts her continually to carry out God's will with the utmost surrender. The offering to merciful Love is the last of the graces Therese mentioned in manuscript A (AS 170–172).

4. Act of Offering to Merciful Love

Therese's offering to merciful Love on Tuesday, June 11, 1895, represented one of the peaks of her life. It was not just some little prayer among many others, but a very important act that had an enormous impact on her life: “rivers or rather an ocean of graces flooded my soul” (AS 172). Therefore, this text of hers is published as part of her Autobiographical Writings.

Let’s highlight several thoughts from the Act of Offering to Merciful Love (AS 256–258):

• The very first thought: “I desire to love you and to cause you to be loved,” is absolutely not self-evident. We know from both the past and present that religion can be understood very differently: as a duty, as a tradition, as principles of moral behavior, etc.
• And the intention: “I desire to perfectly fulfill your will and to reach the degree of glory you have prepared for me,” thus the emphasis on what God wants and on fulfilling His plan with us represents an ideal that we often lose sight of.
• Therese knows her helplessness, and therefore she connects with the Lord Jesus, with the saints, and with the Virgin Mary and their love for God. And note: she perceives all of them as loving God.
• Therese (like the sisters, who offered themselves as a holocaust to God's justice) offers herself and gives God, representatively for others, for sinners: I would like to comfort you for the ingratitude of evil people... Her aim is: to make you happy, to comfort your Most Sacred Heart and to save souls that will love you forever.
• She does not want to accumulate merits for heaven, but to labor only out of love for Jesus. At the evening of my life, I will present myself before you with empty hands, for I do not ask, Lord, that you count my deeds. Her only wealth is simply Jesus and the love that connects her with Him.
• The act of self-offering aims to establish a lasting close relationship between Jesus and Therese: Stay in me like in a tabernacle, never depart from your little host. Similarly: In order to remain in the act of perfect love, I offer myself, my God, as a holocaust to your MERCIFUL LOVE and ask that you constantly consume me and flood my soul with streams of your infinite tenderness and that I may become a martyr of your Love...
• In this connection in mutual love, Therese wants to reach the very end of her life: When this martyrdom prepares me to present myself before you, may it finally cause my death, and may my soul throw itself into the eternal embrace¹⁴ of your Merciful Love!...“
• Therese envisions her eternity this way: shadows will vanish, and I will be able to assure you of my love in eternal face-to-face meeting!
• (But she is not yet in eternity, so now:) My Beloved, I want to renew this offering to you countless times with every heartbeat...