St Therese of Child Jesus: The youngest doctor of the Church

John Malvino Alfonso

October 1, the mother Church celebrates the feast of St Therese of Child Jesus, popularly known as the Little Flower.  She is a Carmelite saint who died at the age of 24, became the 33rd Doctor of the Church and the youngest to receive the title when it was conferred upon her by Pope John Paul II on October 19th 1997. She is the third woman, after St Catherine of Sienna and St Teresa of Avila, to be named Doctor of the Church.

To be a Doctor of the Church, the criteria needed are: outstanding holiness and sanctity, eminent learning and writing, canonization and proclamations as ‘Doctor of the Church’ by the Pope.  Although she was in Carmel for only nine years and followed a monastic schedule that left little time for composition, Thérèse has left us a surprisingly large number of writings. They include her autobiography – ‘Story of a Soul’, two volumes of 266 letters, 64 poems, 21 prayers and 8 plays. Finally, there are ‘The Last Conversations’, a faithful record of her comments during the final months of her life by Thérèse’s sisters. ‘The Story of a Soul’ can be found in more than 50 modem languages and dialects.

We can trace her spiritual experience and her teaching to the Word of God. She had a passionate love for the Gospel. In fact, in her writings, we find more than one thousand Biblical quotes from both the Old and the New Testament.

From childhood she was trained by her family members to participate in prayer and liturgical worship. She knew ‘Imitation of Christ’ almost by heart. She was also influenced by the mystical doctrine of St John of the Cross, who was her spiritual teacher.

“The little way” of St. Therese is the commitment to the tasks and to the people we meet in our everyday lives. In whatever she did in the convent of Lisieux, she manifested her love for God and for others. She showed love and concern to all, even to the ‘difficult’ members. Her life seems so routine and ordinary – it is called a little way precisely because it was simple, direct, yet one that called for amazing fortitude and commitment.

The Fathers of the Vatican Council II cited her example and her doctrine. Pope Paul VI considered her as a teacher of prayer and theological hope, a model of communion for the Church and entrusted teachers, educators, pastors and theologians to study her teachings. Her teachings are included in many documents of the Ordinary Magisterium of the Church. It is an indication of the ecclesial reception of the saint’s teaching.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church, for instance, quotes the teachings of St Therese on Prayer.

St John Paul II, then Pope, while proclaiming her Doctor of the Church said that she was the youngest Doctors of the Church, but her ardent spiritual journey showed a great maturity, and the insights into faith expressed in her writings are so vast and profound that she deserves a place among the great spiritual masters.

(The writer is a member of the Karnataka-Goa province of the Order of Discalced Carmelite and is based at the Carmelite Seminary, Mapusa)