If we are to consider that St Augustine’s Confessions is the first and greatest spiritual autobiography of all time, it is my humble opinion that St Therese of Lisieux’s Story of a Soul most certainly comes in second. Part self-reflective spiritual autobiography, and part spiritual treatise, it is, no doubt, all wisdom. Written in obedience at the end of her short life, this seminal work of the 20th century Carmelite nun known as the “Little Flower” would change the world, and the Church, forever.
Written at a time when the world was undergoing catastrophic change (and approaching the first two World Wars) and the Church was being rocked by the crisis of modernism (among other ills), it was this work that brought us back to gospel simplicity and spiritual childhood. And if the world herself was too deaf at the time to hear the voice of the Little Flower, many in the Church certainly heeded the call of the little saint from Lisieux. In fact, it was St. Pope Pius X, who declared her to be the ‘greatest saint of modern times.’ Later, she would be crowned a Doctor of the Church during the pontificate of St John Paul II. And along the way, the laity has always claimed her as their own.
So, what is it that makes St Therese and her little book so special? Aside from her French charm and her childlike simplicity, I think it comes down to her message: that we can all become saints in spite of ourselves. What Catholic is there who has not felt intimidated at seeking to climb the ‘steep mountain of perfection’? At living up to the example of the saints? Upon reading Story of a Soul, we realize that St Therese wrestled with these very same thoughts, and immediately our ears perk up. Could it be possible that she is actually like us, we wonder? Could it be possible, then, that we too, can become saints?
And that is the mystery that St Therese sets out to solve during this wonderful little book. And for those who persevere to the end of this treatise, they will come to see that Little Therese has most certainly deciphered the riddle of the seeming impossibility of sanctity. Holiness, which once was a nearly impossible ideal in the Catholic imagination, has now been brought within the reach of the ordinary man. Of course, it was always so, but St Therese has given us the eyes to see and the ears to hear it. The real question is, will you read The Story of a Soul and learn of St Therese’s solution to the mystery of sanctity for yourself?