The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-09-02
THE LITTLE FLOWER"

l might add others that tell how Sis
ter Th6rese has made her presence
known in a supernatural manner to
those who invoke her; but in these
matters the greatest prudence is
necessary, and we give the contents
of the letters as they were given to
us, without in any way fOrestalling
the judgment of the Church. They
serve, at any rate, to prove the con-
fidence with which the little Carmel
ties clients bring her their anxieties
at this crucial moment.
A Supernatural Message.
A nun, known in the world as the
Comtesse de X, had two brothers;
both were officers, and both were
killed by a shell, in August, 1914 The
eldest was a practical Catholic, the
second had given his sister much
anxiety, and when he came to bid her
goodbye he refused to go to Holy
Communion like his elder brother, but
he allowed his sister to pin a relic
of SOeur Therese to his tunic and he
promised never to cease to wear it.
Some months elapsed, the two brothers
! have fallen in Alsace, on German
soil. 1t was only in March, 1916, that
Sister X. was informed of their deaths,
and with the news came a pencil note
from the younger, saying that he had
just received the Last Sacramento.
In your prayers" said the note, pray
for me; | could not die without telling
you that | am converted; my two legs
and one arm have been carried off. .
This letter reached Sister X. through
the Prioress Of Lisieux, to whom it
was sent by a comrade of the dead
officer. When she wrote to acknowl-
edge it, Sister X informed the Prioress
that she already knew Of it's contents.
She had been officially informed,
without any details, of the death of
her two brothers, and with her sorrow
for both mingled keen anxiety as to
the spiritual condition Of the younger
She became i'll from grief, and, having
daily recommended the younger to Sis
ter Therese, was almost inclined to
resent what she considered a betrayal
of trust on the part of her Heavenly
friend. On March 9Th, 1915, in the
evening, Sister x. had a strange eX-
per1ence. She saw a field of battle
and the PROSTATE figure of a soldier,
whose two legs and one arm were hid
den by bloody bandages. Near him
knelt a Carmelite nun. She turned
to Sister X, who recognized Soeur
Therese's sweet face, and said these
words: He went to Confession and
to Communion" Then the vision or
dream-call it as you will-passed
away. That same evening Sister x.
related her strange experience to her
Superioress, whose letter confirms the
circumstance. The next morning, a
Sunday, the same Superioress, much
agitated, put the dead officers pencil
note into the hands of Sister x. 1t
was written in Germany on August
Goth, 1914, had been sent to Lisieux
at the end of six months, and for
warded in a letter written by the
Carmelite Prioress to Sister KS own
Superioress.
A last anecdote was told me by
Mgr. de Tell. A party Of French sol
diers, separated from their comrades,
seemed hopelessly encircled by the
enemy, when one Of them called out:
Il propose that if we reach the French
lines safely, we should after the war
erect a statue of Sister Th6rese of
LisieuX. Will you make the promise?"
The promise was duly made, and the
little band of soldiers reached the
French lines in a manner that seemed
almost miraculous. They agreed that,
after the war, they would all sub
scribe to the statue, and they drew
lots to know in whose village it should
be erected. Mgr. de Tell has cor
responded with the particular soldier
near whose home the little Sisters
statue will one day stand. He is a
peasant from the North of France, the
father of family, and an excellent
Catholic; he gives, as to his escape
and that Of his comrades, minute de-
tails that point to a special protection
of Heaven.