Marie-Paul Stevens, restored to health at the intercession of Elizabeth of the Trinity. Source: press release for the canonization of Elizabeth.

On June 20, 2016 I reported the story of the healing of Marie-Paul Stevens, a professor in Belgium whose cure had just been recognized by the Vatican as the miracle accepted for the canonization tomorrow (October 16, 2016) of St. Therese’s young Carmelite disciple, Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity. 

From a story in La Libre, I have now learned that during the years in which she was ill, Marie-Paul Stevens, forced to turn from a vigorous, physically active life to that of an invalid, entered the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites in Belgium.  “Very active, I became semi-contemplative,” she recalled.  She made her profession in 2000 and continued along the way of the Cross.  Two years later, as she was thought to be dying, she made a pilgrimage to the Carmel of Flavignerot, successor to the Dijon Carmel, to thank Elizabeth of the Trinity, to whom she had been devoted since her adolescence, for accompanying her throughout her illness.  For a patient in her condition, the journey was risky and hard. But It was there, resting in the parking lot after praying in the chapel, that she was suddenly cured. 

On the trip to Flavigernot, Marie-Paul was accompanied by her friend Leen Melkebeke, leader of the Secular Carmelite group of which Marie-Paul is a member, who witnessed the miracle.   "I saw with my own eyes that the healing was complete,” Leek explained.  “Since then, Marie. -Paul has become a bomb of energy.  So much so that she tires me out sometimes!  For me, it is clear that God intervened in her physical and spiritual life. "

Het Belang van Limburg reported that the two women were driven from Belgium to Flavignerot by Sylvain Verbeek, a 65-year-old gentleman from Zonderhoven, whom the Vatican called to testify about the miracle.  He said that before her illness “Marie-Paul sang like a nightingale.  But because the disease completely dried up her body, she had a hoarse voice.”  He recalled the journey, saying “I remember well how badly it went with Marie-Paul at that time.  At first she wanted to drive herself, but soon she had to let me take the wheel while she rested, stretched out on the back seat. “  In Dijon, the two friends joined Marie-Paul in praying to Blessed Elizabeth for her healing.   “But the return trip was even more impressive,” Sylvain continued.  “Marie-Paul drove in one go from Dijon to Zanderhoven.  Even when I met her after the trip, she felt better than ever.  She could walk well and could again sing beautifully.”  

 La Libre adds that Marie-Paul’s former colleague, Henri Thimister, a deacon who teaches science in Stevelot, also observed her recovery.  “Miracles, the healing of some and not others, are an obstacle to the faith of some persons,” he observed.  “But the fact that these events give us the opportunity to rediscover through Elisabeth the mystery of the Trinity, that is what delights me.” 

Since then Marie-Paul, restored to full health, has resumed her earlier way of life.  Thanks be to God.  In 2014, a story about the Carmelite nuns in Bayonne reported that Marie-Paul has come to stay with them every year since 2006 and that she is the “responsable” for the Secular Order in Belgium.  If you read French, you can read her article "Des moments precieux dans la vie quotidienne" (“About the Precious Moments of Everyday Life”), published in the bulletin of the Marist Brothers in Europe (2011).  The Carmelite family has yet another reason to rejoice in the recognition of Elizabeth, who drew Marie-Paul to Carmel even before God sent her cure, the miracle that made Elizabeth a saint.  Thanks be to God.

Special thanks to La Libre and to Het Belang van Limburg, where quotations I’ve translated for this article originally appeared.  

The new Venerable. Photo credit: La Croix, August 17, 1921, in the National Library of France

As a special gift to my readers on the feast of St. Therese, I have the joy of presenting the speech made by Pope Benedict XV on August 14, 1921, when he declared that Sister Therese of the Child Jesus had practiced heroic virtue and might now be called “Venerable.” Note that Therese's sister Celine said that, when Pope Benedict in this speech "officially raised the way of spiritual childhood to its exalted rank in the life of the Church, my joy reached heights never again attained, not even on those other memorable days when my little sister Therese was first beatified and then canonized by Holy Mother Church."

This article contains information about:

• how Therese laughingly rehearsed her own funeral
• why Therese's body was laid out in an old, worn-out cap
• how Leonie arranged for the habit, cape, veils, and sandals Therese had worn to be saved
• how another pair of sandals were deliberately destroyed

I published this artilce on Facebook because there the link displays a photo of St. Therese in death.  If you are not a Facebook member, you can still see it.  Facebook may greet you with an invitation to sign up first.  To decline that invitation, just click ":not now." To see the article, please click on this text link:  "What happened immediately after the death of St. Therese of Lisieux?"

The Secret of Saint Therese

The Secret of Therese from ROME REPORTS on Vimeo.

View the 3:34 trailer of the new film by RomeReports, "The Secret of Saint Therese."  This film by Romereports which was nominated at the International Catholic Film Festival (also known as the Oscars of Catholic cinema), is described like this:

This film tells the story of St. Therese's life and message, intertwined with the personal stories of twelve people from around the world who testify to the great impact Therese has made on their lives. Including very rare footage of the inside of her monastery at Lisieux, we also meet a taxi driver in Rome, a famous radio priest in the Netherlands, a wedding dress designer in Paris, a teenager in Lebanon, a Protestant professor at Harvard divinity School, a mother of twelve children in Nigeria, a stock broker on Wall Street, and others, who share their moving personal stories of how Thérèse, and her "secret", has changed their lives. A secret so powerful, it confirms her mission to "Love Jesus and to make Him loved by others."

Rent or purchase the download of "The Secret of Therese" at Vimeo. 

"The Secret of Saint Therese" is also available in DVD format from Ignatius Press, which distributes excellent books and films about St. Therese. 

Purchase "The Secret of Saint Therese" as a DVD.  Ordering the DVD through this link supports this Web site.

Please do not miss this chance to experience the radiance of St. Therese in our contemporary world.

In this ninth and last day of the days of prayer before Therese's feast, although I include a few lines from Therese, it is hardly necessary to quote her directly because the Holy Father's words express so well what she knew in her heart and experienced in her life.  I recommend that you pray over paragraphs 23, 24, and 25 of Misericordiae Vultus to prepare to celebrate the feast of St. Therese, Missionary of Mercy.  

The Mother of Mercies

Toward the end of Misericordiae Vultus, Pope Francis writes:

My thoughts now turn to the Mother of Mercy.

(“The Mother of Mercy” evokes Zelie Martin’s words to Pauline when the family was praying for Zelie’s cure from breast cancer:  “Pray trustingly to the Mother of mercies.  She will come to our aid with the goodness and sweetness of the most tender of mothers.”).

May the sweetness of her countenance watch over us in this Holy Year, so that all of us may rediscover the joy of God’s tenderness. No one has penetrated the profound mystery of the incarnation like Mary. Her entire life was patterned after the presence of mercy made flesh. The Mother of the Crucified and Risen One has entered the sanctuary of divine mercy because she participated intimately in the mystery of His love.

Compare this with the bold words of Therese:

You love us, Mary, as Jesus loves us . . . .
The Savior knew your immense tenderness.
He knew the secrets of your maternal heart.

Pope Francis continues: 

Chosen to be the Mother of the Son of God, Mary, from the outset, was prepared by the love of God to be the Ark of the Covenant between God and man. She treasured divine mercy in her heart in perfect harmony with her Son Jesus. Her hymn of praise, sung at the threshold of the home of Elizabeth, was dedicated to the mercy of God which extends from “generation to generation” (Lk 1:50). We too were included in those prophetic words of the Virgin Mary. This will be a source of comfort and strength to us as we cross the threshold of the Holy Year to experience the fruits of divine mercy.

At the foot of the Cross, Mary, together with John, the disciple of love, witnessed the words of forgiveness spoken by Jesus. This supreme expression of mercy towards those who crucified him show us the point to which the mercy of God can reach. Mary attests that the mercy of the Son of God knows no bounds and extends to everyone, without exception.

Compare these last lines with Therese:

Refuge of sinners, He leaves us to you
When He leaves the Cross to wait for us in Heaven.

The Pope continues:

Let us address her in the words of the Salve Regina, a prayer ever ancient and ever new, so that she may never tire of turning her merciful eyes upon us, and make us worthy to contemplate the face of mercy, her Son Jesus.

 Make this prayer ("Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy" by listening to the chant below:

Time of Prayer

Choose any of the passages above or from paragraphs 23, 24, or 25 of Misericordiae Vultus and pray over them. 

Let's conclude the nine days of prayer to prepare for Therese's feast during the Jubilee of Mercy with the Pope's words:

 I present, therefore, this Extraordinary Jubilee Year dedicated to living out in our daily lives the mercy which the Father constantly extends to all of us. . . . . From the heart of the Trinity, from the depths of the mystery of God, the great river of mercy wells up and overflows unceasingly. It is a spring that will never run dry, no matter how many people draw from it. Every time someone is in need, he or she can approach it, because the mercy of God never ends. The profundity of the mystery surrounding it is as inexhaustible as the richness which springs up from it.

Just before offering the Prayer of Pope Francis below, pray with him for the Church in these last words from Misericordiae Vultus:

In this Jubilee Year, may the Church echo the word of God that resounds strong and clear as a message and a sign of pardon, strength, aid, and love. May she never tire of extending mercy, and be ever patient in offering compassion and comfort. May the Church become the voice of every man and woman, and repeat confidently without end: “Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old” (Ps 25:6)..

The Prayer of Pope Francis for the Jubilee 

Click here to read the Prayer of Pope Francis.

Thank you for making these nine days of prayer.  May God bless you through them.