October 4 - Therese's funeral day

Sister Therese of the Child Jesus died on Thursday evening, September 30, in the infirmary of the Lisieux Carmel. Her funeral took place in the chapel of the Carmel on Monday morning, October 4, at 9:00. Below please see, courtesy of Ana Cantoni, the clipping from the newspaper Le Normand of her death notice:

An approximate English translation:

Deaths

"It is with a keen feeling of sadness that we learned, Thursday evening, of the death at the monastery of Our Lady of Carmel of a young person who spent the most beautiful years of her youth in a life of prayer and sacrifice.  Miss Marie-Francoise-Therese Martin renounced the world at the age of fifteen.  Consecrating herself to God, she became Sister Therese of the Child Jesus.  She spent years of angelic life in the cloister, and the death which came to end them, by putting a stop to her long and cruel sufferings, has already given her, we have a sweet confidence, the immortal crown which was the object of her continual aspirations here below.

The funeral will be celebrated Monday morning at nine o'clock in the chapel of the Carmel.  Le Normand offers to the family of Sister Therese of the Child Jesus, to the Mother Prioress, and to all the religious of Carmel the homage of its respectful condolences."

After the funeral Mass the body of Sister Therese was taken to the Carmelite plot in the town cemetery, accompanied by a small group of mourners.  Her sister, Leonie Martin, was the chief mourner, for Uncle Isidore was too sick to attend.  The Carmelites were represented by an extern sister.  Leonie testified that the only remarkable thing about the ceremony was the great recollection of the crowd.  Who could have guessed that day that her real death notice, "Story of a Soul," would light up the world; that the tomb would soon be thronged with pilgrims; that, when her body was returned to Carmel in 1923, even before she was beatified, fifty thousand pilgrims would follow her; and that on the hill near the cemetery the basilica of St. Therese would be built? 

I begin this blog of St. Therese of Lisieux on the vigil of her feast in 2007 in thanksgiving for her presence in my life and her powerful influence in the world.  I hope this online journal will be a radiant center to reflect on the life and spirituality of St. Therese and how she can help us in our own spiritual formation.  I also want to introduce you to the Web site,"Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway," a window to the life, spirituality, writings, and mission of St. Therese.

To celebrate the feast, please watch the film St. Therese of the Child Jesus: An Echo of the Heart of God.  This splendid documentary visits Therese's birthplace at Alencon, home at Lisieux, and Carmelite monastery.  What pilgrims to Lisieux cannot see, you can: the buildings where Therese spent her last nine years; the choir where she prayed; her cell; the infirmary where she died.  The Carmelites of today gather for recreation in the "heated room" where Therese was asked to write her memoirs.  One of them shows us her cell, her writing-desk, her image of the Holy Face.  Expert color photography of the Theresian places as they are today blends with 19th-century photographs of Therese, her fellow Carmelites, and documents.  Bishop Guy Gaucher, Carmelite and expert on St. Therese, speaks of her life and her faith.  This 90-minute film, which includes long visits to the places  Therese knew and her Carmel, is a true virtual pilgrimage.  I recommend it iwthout reservation.