Evening star., 1925-05-24

|
/ tiful and inspiring splendor
as 1t is this month.
Blessed Therese, the patroness of
the poilus, the child Carmelite,
known to devout Catholics all over
the world as the Little Flower" was
raised to sainthood on May IT.
Never in the history of the Catho-
lie Church has one of her children re-
ceived the matchless honor of canon
ization after so short a lapse of time.
She was born as recently as 1873, in
Alencon, France, this little Marie
FRANCHISE Therese Martin, of well-to-
do, highly cultured, and deeply re
ligious parents. At the age of Is she
entered the Carmelite Convent at
Lisieux by special permission of Pope
Leo XIII. Only 2S years in all have
elapsed since the day of her death,
October /, 1897. until her elevation
to the sacred altars.
When it is remembered that the
canonization of Joan of Arc did not
take place until nearly five centuries
after her tragic death we can realize
the extraordinary swiftness with
which the Little Flower" has been
made a member of the shining com
pany of the saints.
But behind this movement, which
lifts little Therese to equality with
Tie ldlileu Hdlu OI DOHlrSIlV, are lne
prayers of hundreds of thouSa nds of
French soldiers who went through
battle with pictures of the beloved lit
tie nun pasted in their army identif-
cation books or carried in their hands.
Generals and priVates alike called on
the holy child of I,isieuX. They will
tell you that they owe their lives to
/ the intercession of the little sister
who died with the promise on her lips
hnt he 80. -
| heaven doing good on earth"
1t was her sweet simplicity and her
| 'nearness" to them that endeared her
| to the poilus. Theirs were not or
| dered prayers, so the story goes.
| They would cry in the stress of bat
| tie, while the screaming shells rained
about them, "Ah little one, / must
| get out of thisi' or "Oh, little sister,
| look herer' Where are you now?"
| They named batteries and regi-
mentS after her. There is on her tomb
at Liseux a holy water font in oak
carved by the commander of a ship
| in Thanksgiving for a miraculous es-
cape at sea. There is also a model in
copper of an airplane given by officers
of the air forces.
| < < x x
THE alteration of the little saint is
| letters sent to the Mother Superior
at Carmel during the war. They
come from obscure and illiterate
privates and from generals who were
| noblemen in civilian life.
Here is a typical one:
From the Field, June 19, 1918.
MY Reverend Mother: l beg to for
ward to you my military cross and to
ask you to Re so good as to place it
| ex-voto in the Carmel near the picture
| of Sister Therese.
| 'At present l am adjutant in a fly
| ing squadron. For nearly three years
l have fought for France, and the dear
| little saint has never failed me. Her
! protection was most notable in No
| vember of 1916. at the time of the ter
rible retreat which the French divi-
| sion that l was attached to in Serbia
| had to make over the snow-clad noun
tains of Albania, and in the month
of May. 1917, when fell from height
of 5000 feet. My machine was com
| pIetely shattered, but 1 got off with
out the slightest hurt. l was twice
mentioned in the dispatches and
twice commended by the divisiona
! comma nder.
MAURICE ARNOLD,
| Pilot Squadron 49,