«The spirituality of Santa Teresita is not childish, it is determination in the face of adversity»

Saint Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897) died of tuberculosis at the age of 24. She just 28 years later she was canonized and in 1997 John Paul II proclaimed her a doctor of the Church.

His texts and spiritual teachings, his proclamation of humility and littleness to rejoice with God, even in discouragements, they have touched many thousands of souls.

Teresita wrote letters, diaries, poems, short plays, countless thoughts… and now the Monte Carmelo publishing house offers a way to explore her thoughts through a huge book of Concordances, which collects in 1,300 pages more than 5,700 concepts and words that the saint boarded.

The author of this work is Sister Michèle Marie Thomy, a Carmelite in the convent of Donamaria (Navarra). It is the first time that such a work has been published in Spanish on the work of Teresita (in this case, from the translations of Manuel Ordóñez, also a Carmelite, from the Centenary edition of the Monte Carmelo publishing house).

– Sister Michele, how did you meet Santa Teresita?

– I am French and also my mother’s family is from Normandy. That is, what From a very young age I have gone to Lisieux, to Alençon, and also to Deauville or Trouville, where Teresita went on vacation to the sea. I must have been about 12 years old when they gave me the story of a soul where she tells her life. I loved it its simple way of counting things uncomplicated. There was a lot of love in his family. I felt in connection with that girl He knew what he wanted and he said it. She was very determined.

– What caught your attention about Teresita?

– caught my attention friendship he establishes with Jesus. Since she was little, her blood sisters and her father made her understand the presence of God among us. She was a very positive woman despite not having it easy.

– Which people might be more attracted to Therese of Lisieux and her spirituality?

– Anyone can be questioned at any time, when they least expect it, because of what Teresita transmits to us. Our attitude should be openness to what someone like her can tell us, with such an extraordinary experience of God. She speaks to us from the simplicity of the depths of the soul, from a knowledge of God that leads her to live all the obstacles that arise in your life with enormous peace and trust in Him.

Saint Therese of Lisieux at different ages… died at the age of 24.

– Many associate, as if by hearsay, Teresita to something childish…

– Let no one tell me that it is a childish spirituality! To adversity, Teresa answers with determination, the same as Saint Teresa of Jesus of Ávila taught us, who was his Mother in Carmel. Their story of a soul can look like The little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry: it can be read at any age and it touches your heart and turns you on lights adapted to any time of your life. Every time you go back to those texts, you will understand something else that will allow you to go forward.

»Teresa knew how to mature and move from childhood to adult and spiritual life like few of us. She tells us what it cost her and how she relied only on God to get out of the bad steps. His path is the anagogical path of Saint John of the Cross, expressed in terms of faith, trust, abandonment and always a deep security and positivity.

– This book of “Concordances” has more than 1,300 pages. But what are “concordances”?

– The Royal Spanish Academy defines it. ‘Concordances’: Index of all the words of a book or of the set of the work of an author, with all the quotations of the places in which they are found. That is the work that I tried to do with the work of Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus. It is an investigation that collects the citations referring to some 5,700 words used by the saint in his writings. I use the translation of the Complete Works of Manuel Ordoñez Villarroel, Monte Carmelo, 2015. This did not exist in Spanish… until today.

– Who can benefit more from these Concordances?

– It’s a instrument of work, both spiritually and intellectually, to deepen the knowledge and understanding of the legacy that Teresita left us. It is not aimed exclusively at specialists and researchers, but at anyone whom the saint has captivated. Or, if you haven’t done so yet, also for those who are curious to start getting to know her.

teresita_concordances

can be purchased here at MonteCarmelo.com the book ‘Concordancias Santa Teresa del Niño Jesús’.

– It sounds a bit strange to make a book like this, of keywords, on paper, in the age of the Internet and the search by Control+F…

– I am a Carmelite and fraternal experience teaches me that many of our sisters still do not have easy access to computer media. On the other hand, I think that many of the researchers still prefer to have a computer and a more stable paper book by their side for consultation, having an open, easy-to-read page and completing it with the screen you’re writing on. I think to choose a paper format is still pure realism!

»I do not reject technology at all, but specifically I think that in the religious environment the use of paper is still needed. In the future it will be possible to switch from one to the other easily.

– What future does the devotion to Santa Teresita have in the 21st century?

– I think that if UNESCO has chosen Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus as a relevant person for the 2022-2023 biennium, it is because in the human sphere, Teresa can be of interest to both educators and sociologists. UNESCO recognizes the important role played by Teresa at the educational and cultural level. She instilled in her young novices the importance of inner freedom to better fulfill her mission. This pedagogical dimension is seen very well in her Manuscripts as well as in her Correspondence.

– But we live in a very accelerated time and full of distractions…

– I think that the human being changes in the forms but little in the background. There is everything in our world. In the Martin family, Teresita’s, they were very open to modernity. His father traveled a lot. He came to Constantinople and wanted his little daughter to get to know Rome before entering the convent. Teresa reads the newspaper and talks about the Universal Exposition or the Physics of Archimedes. What matters is to see that we have before us a open, intelligent, searching womancapable of discernment. This makes it a benchmark at any time in the history of mankind.

A classic text by Santa Teresita, set to music by Luis Alfredo Díaz, here with arrangements and keyboard by Kiki Troia and sung with gospel touches by MaryCarmen.

«The spirituality of Santa Teresita is not childish, it is determination in the face of adversity»