SAINT THERESE OF LISIEUX CENTENARY REFLECTIONS
AUSTRALIAN DISCALCED CARMELITES NO. 9

A Victim to God's Love

ST. THERESE'S ACT OF SELF OFFERING AT THE HEART OF HER COMMUNITY

A farmer wanders through his drought stricken property. He sees the dust, the dying vegetation, and he hears the mad bellowing of the thirsty cattle. He has just been told that some distance below the ground there is water. There is no one to help him and all he has is a single shovel. What does the farmer do?
He begins to dig. At first his effort is filled with strength but as he digs deeper he gradually loses his strength. We could almost say that the farmer is allowing himself to be lost through his effort to reach the water. He is paying a personal price by giving himself in answer to the needs of his property. The strong influence to uncover what is needed coaxes him to give more, to dig deeper, to persevere. The closeness of the water, and the goodness it can bring, draw the farmer on as he spends himself in work. The farmer will only be satisfied with one answer to all his self-giving effort the rising up of the water from the depths of the earth.
In order to live in one single act of perfect Love,
I offer myself as a victim of holocaust to your merciful love,
asking You to consume me incessantly, allowing the waves of infinite tenderness
shut up within You to overflow into my soul,
and that I thus may become a martyr of Your Love, O my God!
"The Act of Oblation to Merciful Love"
St Therese offered herself to God through this act.
The Act of Oblation to Merciful Love, partly quoted above, uses imagery which is similar to our story of the farmer in the drought. This prayer speaks with confidence in the "waves of infinite tenderness" of God. The merciful love of God is like the water deep below the surface of the ground. It is "shut up" and must be uncovered so that it might overflow into all the places where it is most needed.
The farmer must heroically spend himself in order to reach the water which will save his property. In the Act of Oblation to Merciful Love there is an important acknowledgment - we do not have the strength or the equipment to dig down deep enough to break open the well-springs of God's Merciful Love. God, and only God, can provide us with the strength, the direction and all that we need in order to break open and be filled with God's infinite tenderness:
In the evening of this life, I shall appear before You with empty hands, for I do not ask you, Lord, to count my works … I wish, then, to be clothed in Your own Justice and to receive from Your Love the eternal possession of Yourself. I want no other Throne, no other Crown but You, my Beloved!
"The Act of Oblation to Merciful Love"
Being able to say to God, "I shall appear before You with empty hands," was an important part of the growing spiritual maturity of Therese. You may remember that her over-sensitivity, as a child, often lead her to explode in tears whenever she failed in her efforts to be virtuous. Her growing and realistic maturity flourished in and through her faith in the tender mercy of God who comes down to provide whatever is needed. Loving confidence in God changed the way she understood and experienced failures. Failure had become an opportunity for God's glory to break in and shine.
In Chapter 8 of her autobiography, the Story of a Soul, Therese almost rejoices in her failures simply because she sees them as situations where God's loving and merciful healing will finally prevail. In the midst of failures she keeps her mind on God's mercy and, in her account of falling asleep in prayer, feeling distracted and dry, we find that we have a sister who shares our own experiences. We hear, in Therese's story, that even a saint goes through all the ups and downs which can sometimes lead us to think of ourselves, quite mistakenly, as un-spiritual. Her secret is a loving faith in a God who never wavers in loving us and who mercifully provides what is needed:
Really, I am far from being a saint, and what I have just said is proof of this; instead of rejoicing, for example, at my aridity, I should attribute it to my little fervor and lack of fidelity; I should be desolate for having slept (for seven years) during my hours of prayer and my thanksgivings after Holy Communion; well, I am not desolate. I remember that little children are as pleasing to their parents when they are asleep as well as when they are wide awake; I remember, too, that when they perform operations, doctors put their patients to sleep. Finally, I remember that: "The Lord knows our weakness, that he is mindful that we are but dust and ashes."
Story of a Soul, chapter 8
Some people, who are trying to take their spiritual life seriously, can occasionally be heard to say, "If only I was more like this person or that person ... if only I was better or more capable ... if only my life situation was different…" We can become quite caught up in the believing that if only things were different then we would be more acceptable to others and to God. We can use up a lot of energy and experience a lot of frustration trying to be someone other than ourselves in the hope it will make us more acceptable. St. Therese provides a good remedy for the times when we can be caught up in this world of if onlys. She knew that God accepts us because God chooses to love us. She knew, not just in her mind, but in her heart, that we could never pay God back for that love even if we were more perfect.
… God is more tender than a mother, and were you not, dear Mother, always ready to pardon the little offenses I committed against you involuntarily? How often I experienced this! No word of reproach touched me as much as did one of your caresses. My nature was such that fear made me recoil; with love not only did I advance, I actually flew. - Story of a Soul, chapter 8
We are all called to do the best we can in living a good life but, at the end of the day, we all come before God with empty hands. The mature insight of Therese says: here I am, trying to do the best I can, desiring to live a good life, endeavouring to show love in my relationships, trying to spend time with God in prayer, and yet I know that all my efforts are incomplete and far from perfect. The answer to this incompleteness and lack of perfection is not going to be found in thinking if only things were different or if only I was someone else. The answer to who I am and what God calls me to become is found simply in the truth that this incomplete, imperfect person is seen and loved by a God of tender mercy. Therese, once again, has a very Christ-centred understanding of how God embraces us in our incompleteness and imperfection:
I believe it is Jesus Himself hidden in the depths of my poor little heart: He is giving me the grace of acting within me, making me think of all He desires me to do at the present moment. - Story of a Soul, chapter 8
We all wonder how we can be more patient, more loving, more sensitive and more wise. Therese knew that all these great gifts, that we seek, are found in Jesus. God provides us with these great gifts through giving us Jesus. In Jesus, particularly in the Eucharist, we can all say here is Jesus, God's patience given to me; here is Jesus, God's love generously poured into me and seeking to go out to the world through me; here is Jesus, God's sensitive and merciful heart touching and influencing me in this communion; here is Jesus, God's deep and hidden wisdom taking me by the hand to guide me in the darkness; here is Jesus, all I truly seek and need is here in this intimacy with Him, all that I need is given to me in Him.

A PRAYER WITH EMPTY HANDS

Heavenly Father, we come to you with empty hands; and into these hands you place your Son, Jesus Christ. Make this emptiness a fruitful homeland for your son so that He may reign in us and pour the waters of his mercy into the world through us. In answer to your love we offer you Jesus, your beloved son, in whom you are well pleased.
St. Therese assist us through your prayerful intercession that we may have confidence in God's merciful love especially when we fail.
We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.

[previous] [Reflections - home] [next]