Read the text of "The Prayers of Saint Therese of Lisieux" online at the Web site of the Archives of the Lisieux Carmel

For the first time, the English translation of The Prayers of Saint Therese of Lisieux published by  ICS Publications is available online at the English Web site of the Archives of the Lisieux Carmel.  We thank the Washington Province of Discalced Carmelite Friars for their generosity in collaborating with the Lisieux Carmel to make these historic texts available online: one of many gifts from the Carmelite Order to the lovers of Saint Thérèse.

This little gem, translated by Aletheia Kane, O.C.D. and edited by Steven Payne, O.CD., appeared in 1997 to celebrate the centenary of the death of St. Therese.  It is a translation of Prières: l’offrande à l’Amour Misericordeux (Paris: Editions du Cerf/Desclee de Brouwer, 1988), an edition which was prepared by Sister Cécile of the Carmel of Lisieux and Mgr. Guy Gaucher, O.C.D., auxiliary bishop of Bayeux and Lisieux, with the assistance of Pere Bernard Bro, O.C.D. and Jeanne and Jacques Lonchampt.It contains twenty-one independent prayers written by St. Therese for various occasions.  Steven Payne, from his preface:

Here we find prayers to the Infant Jesus and the Holy Face, prayers to Mary and the saints, prayers composed in joy and sorrow, prayers written for her novices and missionary brothers.  Though few in number, they contain the full message of Thérèse in miniature, and include some of the most important texts she ever composed, such as her “Profession Note,” the “Consecration to the Holy Face,’ and the “Oblation to Merciful Love.” 

In contrast to previous volumes of the Saint’s writings from ICS Publications, we have kept more of the critical apparatus from the French edition.  This means that the brief text of each prayer is followed by detailed information on the autographs and circumstances of composition as well as a line-by-line commentary on Thérèse’s sources, parallel passages, and the meaning of her words.  Here readers will find, for example, the first critical edition of the famed “Oblation to Merciful Love,” with an analysis of the different drafts of this precious text. . .  Our hope is that readers may use it not only to study Thérèse’s prayers, but to pray with Thérèse herself.

Indeed, it is easy to use this book as a simple prayer book, and you have the joy of knowing that you are praying with Thérèse’s text. 

The print copy of this book, one of the most accessible collections of St. Therese's writings, includes a general introduction by Guy Gaucher, O.C.D. and the detailed notes Fr. Steven describes.  These notes are full of information about St. Therese and about the Lisieux Carmel which does not appear elsewhere in English. On the fifteenth annniversary of its publication, this book has lost none of its appeal.  The brief texts of Therese's prayers are now online, but the supplementary information appears only in the print copy.  I recommend reading it.  To order it, please click here or on the image above.

Prayers, readings, and prayers of the faithful from the Mass for the feast of St. Therese

Please find the readings and prayers from the Mass for the feast of St. Therese, together with sample prayers of the faithful, at Therese2002, the beautiful and comprehensive Web site prepared by the Australian Carmelites for the visit of her reliquary in 2002.  Visit the main page of Therese2002.

See the documentary "The Little Flower in Africa" on EWTN on Sunday, September 30 and Saturday, October 6

 The Little Flower in Africa - a trailer of the EWTN film

 The 50-minute documentary The Little Flower in Africa, which tells the story of St. Therese and of the historic visit of her relics to Africa in 2010, will be broadcast on EWTN on Sunday, September 30 at 1:30 p.m. ET and again on Saturday, October 6 at 5:00 a.m. ET.  More about this beautiful and moving film, produced by Metanoia Media and commissioned by EWTN, which premiered on EWTN in 2011.  The film also gives a brief history of the Catholic Church in Africa, offers reflections on Carmelite spirituality, and features interviews with bishops, Carmelites, and others in Africa about the spirituality of St. Therese.

 To purchase the DVD from EWTN, click on the image below.

About seven million people visited the exhibit "St. Therese of Lisieux: Burning With Love" at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris in the summer of 2012

See the three-minute film produced by Romereports in English reporting on the exhibit "St. Therese of Lisieux: Burning with Love" at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, which was visited by more than seven million people before it closed on September 16.  Or see the text of the English commentary.

Pierre Fortin, vice president of the "Friends of Therese and of the Carmel of Lisieux," sponsor of the exhibit, remarks: “The aim of this exhibition is really to go to places where Therese hasn't gone: to prisons, to hospitals, to places where people suffer.”  The exhibit may eventually go to Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day next year. 

The relics of St. Therese return to the Philippines on December 15, 2012

iFor updates about the forthcoming visit of the relics of St. Therese to the Philippines, please "like" the new "official Facebook page for the third visit of the Miraculous Pilgrim relics of St. Therese  of the Child Jesus to the Philippines" The reliquary of St. Therese visited the Philippines for the first time in the year 2000 and returned in 2008.  The relics will return to the Philippines from December 15, 2012 through April 15, 2013 and will visit more than forty dioceses in Mindanao, Visayas, and Luzon.  The visit is hosted by the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines.  May it be a season of grace for that country and for the whole world.