Story of a Soul (l©Histoire d©une Ame): The Autobi- ography of St. Therese of Lisieux Author(s): Therese, of Lisieux, Saint (1873-1897) Publisher: Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library Description: This electronic edition of the autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux (Story of a Soul) includes much, but not all, of the content of Soeur Thérèse of Lisieux, edited by Rev. T.N. Taylor. All the translated writings and sayings of St. Thérèse contained in that book are in this electronic edition, including the autobiography as well as "Counsels and Reminiscences," letters, and selected poems. Also included are the preface by Cardinal Bourne, the prologue relating Thérèse©s parent- age and birth, and the epilogue describing her final illness, her death, and related events. As one of the church©s most beloved saints, Térèse Martin, Carmelite of Lisieux has had an impact on the spiritual lives of thousands of believers. This French nun©s short life (ended at age 24) was one of great faith and insight, and she was named patroness of France in 1947. Her autobiography, Story of a Soul, has been translated from the French to many languages and is a bestseller worldwide. Abby Zwart CCEL Staff Writer i Contents Cover Page 1 NOTE TO THIS ELECTRONIC EDITION 2 Title Page 3 Contents 4 Dedication 6 PREFACE 7 PROLOGUE: THE PARENTAGE & BIRTH OF MARIE FRANÇOISE THÉRÈSE 8 MARTIN Original Title Page 14 CHAPTER I - EARLIEST MEMORIES 15 CHAPTER II - A CATHOLIC HOUSEHOLD 23 CHAPTER III - PAULINE ENTERS THE CARMEL 32 CHAPTER IV - FIRST COMMUNION AND CONFIRMATION 39 CHAPTER V - VOCATION OF THÉRÈSE 49 CHAPTER VI - A PILGRIMAGE TO ROME 60 CHAPTER VII - THE LITTLE FLOWER ENTERS THE CARMEL 71 CHAPTER VIII - PROFESSION OF SOEUR THÉRÈSE 79 CHAPTER IX - THE NIGHT OF THE SOUL 89 CHAPTER X - THE NEW COMMANDMENT 102 CHAPTER XI - A CANTICLE OF LOVE 113 EPILOGUE: A VICTIM OF DIVINE LOVE 125 COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES OF SOEUR THÉRÈSE, THE LITTLE 144 FLOWER OF JESUS LETTERS OF SOEUR THÉRÈSE - THE LITTLE FLOWER OF JESUS 168 I 169 II 170 III 171 ii IV 172 V 173 VI 174 VII 175 VIII 176 IX 177 X 178 XI 179 XII 180 XIII 181 XIV 182 XV 183 XVI 184 XVII 186 XVIII 188 XIX 190 XX 191 LETTERS TO MOTHER AGNES OF JESUS 193 I 194 II 195 III 196 IV 197 V 198 VI 199 VII 200 VIII 201 LETTERS TO SISTER MARY OF THE SACRED HEART 202 I 203 II 204 III 205 IV 206 V 207 iii VI 208 LETTERS TO SISTER FRANCES TERESA 210 I 211 II 212 III 213 IV 215 LETTERS TO HER COUSIN MARIE GUÉRIN 216 I 217 II 218 LETTER TO HER COUSIN, JEANNE GUÉRIN (MADAME LA NÉELE) 219 LETTERS TO HER BROTHER MISSIONARIES 220 I 221 II 222 III 223 IV 224 V 225 VI 226 VII 228 VIII 229 IX 230 X 231 PRAYERS OF SOEUR THÉRÈSE, THE LITTLE FLOWER OF JESUS 232 AN ACT OF OBLATION AS A VICTIM OF DIVINE LOVE 233 A MORNING PRAYER 235 AN ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY FACE 236 VARIOUS PRAYERS 237 PRAYER TO THE HOLY CHILD 238 PRAYER TO THE HOLY FACE 239 PRAYER 240 PRAYER TO OBTAIN HUMILITY 241 MOTTO OF THE LITTLE FLOWER 242 MY DAYS OF GRACE 243 iv SELECTED POEMS OF SOEUR THÉRÈSE, THE LITTLE FLOWER OF JESUS 244 MY SONG OF TO-DAY 245 MEMORIES 246 I THIRST FOR LOVE 249 TO SCATTER FLOWERS 251 WHY I LOVE THEE, MARY! 252 NOTE 253 Indexes 254 Index of Scripture References 255 v This PDF file is from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library, www.ccel.org. The mission of the CCEL is to make classic Christian books available to the world. • This book is available in PDF, HTML, ePub, Kindle, and other formats. See http://www.ccel.org/ccel/therese/autobio.html. • A free audio narration is available at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/therese/autobio/mp3. • Discuss this book online at http://www.ccel.org/node/4014. The CCEL makes CDs of classic Christian literature available around the world through the Web and through CDs. We have distributed thousands of such CDs free in developing countries. If you are in a developing country and would like to receive a free CD, please send a request by email to [email protected]. The Christian Classics Ethereal Library is a self supporting non-profit organization at Calvin College. If you wish to give of your time or money to support the CCEL, please visit http://www.ccel.org/give. This PDF file is copyrighted by the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. It may be freely copied for non-commercial purposes as long as it is not modified. All other rights are re- served. Written permission is required for commercial use. vi Cover Page Cover Page ST. THÉRÈSE OF LISIEUX THE STORY OF A SOUL (L'HISTOIRE D'UNE ÂME): THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ST. THÉRÈSE OF LISIEUX WITH ADDITIONAL WRITINGS AND SAYINGS OF ST. THÉRÈSE Produced by David McClamrock 1 NOTE TO THIS ELECTRONIC EDITION NOTE TO THIS ELECTRONIC EDITION NOTE TO THIS ELECTRONIC EDITION This electronic edition of the autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux (The Story of a Soul) includes much, but not all, of the content of Soeur Thérèse of Lisieux (London: Burns, Oates & Washbourne, 1912; 8th ed., 1922), edited by Rev. T.N. Taylor. All the translated writings and sayings of St. Thérèse contained in that book are in this electronic edition, in- cluding the autobiography as well as "Counsels and Reminiscences," letters, and selected poems. Also included are the preface by Cardinal Bourne, the prologue relating Thérèse's parentage and birth, and the epilogue describing her final illness, her death, and related events. Not included are the illustrations, the list of illustrations, accounts of favors attributed to the intercession of St. Thérèse, documents related to her beatification, and some other material not written by her. Some footnotes have been slightly modified for ease of reference. A few footnotes, refer- ring to page numbers in the original, have been modified or omitted. Citations to the Psalms, many of which were numbered differently in Catholic Bibles of St. Thérèse's time than they commonly are today, have the "new" number in brackets next to the "old" number from the original—e.g., "Psalm 22[23]:1-4." The original page headers, page numbering, disclaimer of any intention to anticipate the judgment of the Church in calling St. Thérèse a "saint" before her canonization, and other extraneous matter, which were deemed suitable for a printed book in 1922 but not for an e-book in 2005, are not here. The French "oe" ligature, in words such as "soeur," is not available in the standard ISO-8859-1 character set, and obviously is represented here by the two-letter combination "oe." The first word of each chapter is not set in all caps as it was in the printed book. A few obvious typographical errors have been corrected, with the changes in brackets, e.g., "[s]he" for "the" in Chapter IX. All else, including capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and British spelling, is intended to reflect the content of the eighth edition of Soeur Thérèse of Lisieux. If it does not, the fault is that of the transcriber (me, David McClamrock). 2 Title Page Title Page SOEUR THÉRÈSE OF LISIEUX, THE LITTLE FLOWER OF JESUS A NEW AND COMPLETE TRANSLATION OF L'HISTOIRE D'UNE ÂME, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF SOME FAVOURS ATTRIBUTED TO THE INTERCESSION OF SOEUR THÉRÈSE EDITED BY T. N. TAYLOR: PRIEST OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF GLASGOW: WITNESS BEFORE THE TRIBUNAL OF THE BEATIFICATION BURNS, OATES & WASHBOURNE LD. TWENTY-EIGHT ORCHARD STREET, LONDON, W., AND EIGHT TO TEN PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON, E.C. NIHIL OBSTAT JOANNES N. STRASSMAIER, S.J. Censor Deputatus IMPRIMATUR EDMUNDUS Canonicus SURMONT Vicarius Generalis WESTMONASTERII, die nonâ Decembris, 1912. 3 Contents Contents CONTENTS • DEDICATION • PREFACE BY H.E. CARDINAL BOURNE • PROLOGUE: PARENTAGE AND BIRTH • AUTOBIOGRAPHY CHAPTERS 1 Earliest Memories 2 A Catholic Household 3 Pauline Enters the Carmel 4 First Communion and Confirmation 5 Vocation of Thérèse 6 A Pilgrimage to Rome 7 The Little Flower Enters the Carmel 8 Profession of Soeur Thérèse 9 The Night of the Soul 10 The New Commandment 11 A Canticle of Love • EPILOGUE: A VICTIM OF DIVINE LOVE • COUNSELS AND REMINISCENCES • LETTERS OF SOEUR THÉRÈSE To Céline To Mother Agnes of Jesus To Sister Mary of the Sacred Heart To Sister Frances Teresa 4 Contents To Marie Guérin To Jeanne Guérin To Missionaries • PRAYERS OF SOEUR THÉRÈSE Her Act of Oblation A Morning Prayer Act of Consecration to the Holy Face Prayer in Honour of the Holy Child Prayer to the Holy Child Prayer to the Holy Face Prayer in Honour of St. Joan of Arc Prayer to Obtain Humility • DAYS OF GRACE • SELECTED POEMS My Song of To-day Memories I Thirst for Love To Scatter Flowers Why I Love Thee, Mary • SHOWER OF ROSES [omitted] • PROCESS OF BEATIFICATION [omitted] • LETTERS OF PIUS X AND OTHERS [omitted] • INDULGENCED PRAYERS [omitted] • SUPPLEMENT [omitted] 5 Dedication Dedication DEDICATION THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO THE SERVANT OF GOD, SOEUR THÉRÈSE, IN THANKSGIVING FOR GRACES OBTAINED, AND TO HER "PETITE MÈRE," MOTHER AGNES OF JESUS, IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF INNUMERABLE KINDNESSES EXTENDING OVER MANY YEARS 6 PREFACE PREFACE PREFACE As we become acquainted with the histories of those in whom, in long succession, God has been pleased to show forth examples of holiness of life, it seems as if every phase of human existence had in the history of the Church received its consecration as a power to bring men nearer to their Maker.