The Story of a Soul
St Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897) became a Carmelite nun at the age of 15, after having appealed to her local bishop and the Pope himself in order to be able to enter at such a young age. During her entire life, and especially her time in Carmel, St Therese resolved to do little things with great love. That is, she would perform the lowest and simpliest tasks out of pure love for God. Her spirituality, called the Little Way, was based on complete trust and childlike confidence in God. She spent nine years as a religious and died at 24 of tuberculosis. During the last two years of her life, she suffered overwhelming doubts against the faith, but persevered in her belief and in the performance of her duties as a nun. After her death, she was quickly canonized and was named patron of the missions in 1927 and, in 1944, was made the patron of France. Pope St Pius X declared St Therese the greatest saint of modern times, and Pope John Paul II made her the 33rd Doctor of the Church in 1997.--This text refers to thePaperbackedition.