Dr. Lilles begins the spiritual explorations of the Letters of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity. In this episode we discuss letter 111 as described below:
[April 7, 1902]1
Dijon Carmel, April 7
J. M. + J. T.
Dear Monsieur le Chanoine,
If you only knew how good it is to spend Lent, Holy Week, and Easter in Carmel—it is something unique! With what joy I sang Alleluia, wrapped in the white mantle, clothed in the dear habit that I have so longed to wear. It was quite wonderful, I assure you, to spend Holy Thursday close to Him, and I would have spent the night as well, but the Master wanted me to rest. But that does not matter, does it? We find Him in our sleep just as we do in prayer, since He is in everything, everywhere, and always! At 2 o’clock I went down to choir; you can guess what a glorious time I had, and also what I said on your behalf! More and more I love the dear grilles that make me His prisoner of love. It is so good to think that we are prisoners, in chains for each other; more than that, that we are but one victim, offered to the Father for souls, so that they may be wholly consummated in Unity.
St. Elizabeth of the Trinity
When you think of your little Carmelite, thank Him who has given her so beautiful a part. Sometimes I think that it is an anticipated Heaven: the horizon is so beautiful, it is He! Oh! what will it be like above since here below He already makes our union so intimate? You know my homesickness for Heaven, it does not diminish, for I already live in that Heaven, since I carry it within me; in Carmel it seems that we are already so near. Won’t you come to see me some day and continue through the grille the fine conversations you used to have with your little Elizabeth? Do you remember the first time I confided my secret to you in the cloister of Saint-Hilaire? I spent some happy moments with you and I am asking God to reward you for the good you have done me. I still remember my joy when I was able to have a little conference with you and entrust my great secret to you. I was only a child, but you never doubted the divine call!
I have not seen my dear Mama yet; I am expecting her at the first opportunity. My little Guite came last week. It had been nearly two months since we had seen each other, so you can guess what a meeting it was! I am overjoyed to see all the good God is doing in the souls of my darlings. He has taken me in order to give Himself more, and I can see I am doing them much more good in my dear Carmel than when I was near them; oh, how good God is! I am leaving you to go to prayer where we have the Blessed Sacrament exposed every Sunday. I only have time to ask your blessing; I know it is a fatherly one for your little Carmelite.
M. Elizabeth of the Trinity
Thank you very much for your pretty holy card. Please give my greetings to my dear Marie-Louise. Tell her she has certainly not been forgotten!
Catez, Elizabeth of the Trinity. The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel (pp. 42-43). ICS Publications. Kindle Edition.
Special thanks to Miriam Gutierrez for her readings of St. Elizabeth’s letters
Anthony Lilles, S.T.D. is an associate professor and the academic dean of Saint John’s Seminary in Camarillo as well as the academic advisor for Juan Diego House of Priestly Formation for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. For over twenty years he served the Church in Northern Colorado where he joined and eventually served as dean of the founding faculty of Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver. Through the years, clergy, seminarians, religious and lay faithful have benefited from his lectures and retreat conferences on the Carmelite Doctors of the Church and the writings of St. Elisabeth of the Trinity.
With Anthony Ryan, Marketing Director for Ignatius Press, we discuss Saint Thérèse of Lisieux by Fr. Didier-Marie Golay, who is Chaplain of Lisieux and a member of the Order of Discalced Carmelites. We discuss the great saint known as the “Little Flower of Lisieux” and the members of her family, and how the witness of their lives continue to shine a light on the pathway to holiness for all of us.
From the book description:
Thérèse of Lisieux is one of the most popular modern saints in the world, but the details of her life and spirituality are still not widely known and are somewhat of a mystery even to her devoted followers.
With over 150 stunning photographs, in-depth text, and plentiful sidebars on history, geography, and themes, this gorgeous work helps us enter into the universe of “the greatest saint of modern times” to discover the simplicity, yet depth of her daily life and of her relationships, both human and spiritual.
It invites us to a personal encounter with Thérèse, who once wrote, “I am your sister, your friend; I will always watch over you.” It invites us also to discover her appealing and rich spirituality of “the little way”. Patroness of missions, Doctor of the Church, this Carmelite sister, who died at only twenty-four, has not ceased to surprise us and to spread her powerful message of love and trust across the world.
Her whole life of can be encapsulated in her poem “Living on Love”: a passionate love of Christ lived out in the everyday, in the joys and trials of life, in inner and outer sufferings. Living on love is a spiritual program for life, but to live it requires a special grace for which we must ask, especially through the intercession of the “Little Flower” of Jesus. This unique, very beautiful and moving work will inspire readers to desire to imitate St. Thérèse in “living on love”.
Episode 4 – In this conversation, Fr. Gallagher begins reflecting on the letters written by St. Therese, which offers a tender glimpse of the life of the Martin family after the death of Zélie and the love the sisters had for their father Louis Martin.
Here are some of the various texts Fr. Gallagher refers to in this episode:
Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life: The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola”. For more information on how to obtain copies of Fr. Gallaghers’s various books and audio which are available for purchase, please visit his website: frtimothygallagher.org
Episode 7 – In this conversation, Fr. Gallagher continues to reflect on the illuminating personality of St. Therese, by examining several letters written about her and letters she wrote to extended family members.
St. Therese of Liesuex
Here are some of the various texts Fr. Gallagher refers to in this episode:
This is one of the letters Fr. Gallagher refers to in this episode
LT 166 From Thérèse to Mme. Pottier (Céline Maudelonde).
J.M.J.T.
Jesus †
Carmel, July 16, 1894
Dear little Céline,
Your letter gave me real joy. I marvel at how the Blessed Virgin is pleased to answer all your desires. Even before your marriage, she willed that the soul to whom you were to be joined form only one with yours by means of an identity of feelings. What a grace for you to feel you are so well understood, and, above all, to know your union will be everlasting, that after this life, you will still be able to love the husband who is so dear to you!…
They have passed away, then, for us both the blessed days of our childhood! We are now at the serious stage of life; the road we are following is different, however, the goal is the same. Both of us must have only one same purpose: to sanctify ourselves in the way God has traced out for us.1
I feel, dear little friend, that I can speak freely to you; you understand the language of faith better than that of the world, and the Jesus of your First Communion has remained the Master of your heart. In Him, you love the beautiful soul who forms only one with yours, and it is because of Him that your love is so tender and so strong.
Oh! how beautiful is our religion; instead of contracting hearts (as the world believes), it raises them up and renders them capable of loving, or loving with a love almost infinite since this love must continue after this mortal life which is given to us only for meriting the homeland of heaven where we shall find again the dear ones whom we have loved on earth!
I had asked for you, dear Céline, from Our Lady of Mount Carmel the grace you have obtained at Lourdes. How happy I am that you are clothed in the holy scapular!2 It is a sure sign of predestination, and besides are you not more intimately united by means of it to your little sisters in Carmel?…
You ask, dear little cousin, that I pray for your dear husband; do you think, then, I could fail in this?… No, I could not separate you in my weak prayers. I am asking Our Lord to be as generous in your regard as he was formerly to the spouses at the wedding of Cana. May He always change water into wine!3… That is to say, may He continue to make you happy and to soften as much as possible the trials that you encounter in life.
Trials, how could I place this word in my letter, when I know everything is happiness for you?…
Pardon me, dear little friend; enjoy in peace the joy God is giving you, without disturbing yourself regarding the future. He is reserving for you, I am sure, new graces and many consolations.
Our good Mother Marie de Gonzague is very appreciative of your kind remembrance of her, and she herself is not forgetting her dear little Céline. Our Mother and Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart are also very happy because of your joy, and they ask me to assure you of their affection.
I dare, dear little cousin,4 to beg you to offer my respectful regards to Monsieur Pottier, whom I cannot refrain from considering also as my cousin.
I leave you, dear Céline, remaining always united to you in my heart, and I shall, throughout my life, be happy to call myself, Your little sister in Jesus,
Thérèse of the Child Jesus
rel. carm. ind.
St. Therese of Lisieux. Letters of St. Therese of Lisieux, Volume II: General Correspondence 1890-1897 (Critical Edition of the Complete Works of Saint Therese of Lisieux Book 2) (Kindle Locations 3118-3148). ICS publications. Kindle Edition.
Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life: The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola”. For more information on how to obtain copies of Fr. Gallaghers’s various books and audio which are available for purchase, please visit his website: frtimothygallagher.org
Episode 9 – In this conversation, Fr. Gallagher reflects on the suffering of St. Therese and her experience of it in light of the “Little Way” as seen in her letters and the observations from others.
St. Therese of Liesuex
Here are some of the various texts Fr. Gallagher refers to in this episode:
This is one of the letters Fr. Gallagher refers to in this episode
An Excerpt from LT 226 From Thérèse to P. Roulland.
May 9, 1897
I do not understand, Brother, how you seem to doubt your immediate entrance into heaven if the infidels were to take your life. I know one must be very pure to appear before the God of all Holiness, but I know, too, that the Lord is infinitely just; and it is this justice which frightens so many souls that is the object of my joy and confidence. To be just is not only to exercise severity in order to punish the guilty; it is also to recognize right intentions and to reward virtue. I expect as much from God’s justice as from His mercy. It is because He is just that “He is compassionate and filled with gentleness, slow to punish, and abundant in mercy, for He knows our frailty, He remembers we are only dust. As a father has tenderness for his children, so the Lord has compassion on us!!” 6 Oh, Brother, when hearing these beautiful and consoling words of the Prophet-King, how can we doubt that God will open the doors of His kingdom to His children who loved Him even to sacrificing all for Him, who have not only left their family and their country to make Him known and loved, but even desire to give their life for Him whom they love…. Jesus was very right in saying that there is no greater love than that! 7 How would He allow Himself to be overcome in generosity? How would He purify in the flames of purgatory souls consumed in the fires of divine love? It is true that no human life is exempt from faults; only the Immaculate Virgin presents herself absolutely pure before the divine Majesty. Since she loves us and since she knows our weakness, what have we to fear? Here are a lot of sentences to express my thought, or rather not to succeed in expressing it, I wanted simply to say that it seems to me all missionaries are martyrs by desire and will and that, as a consequence, not one should have to go to purgatory. If there remains in their soul at the moment of appearing before God some trace of human weakness, the Blessed Virgin obtains for them the grace of making an act of perfect love, and then she gives them the palm and the crown that they so greatly merited.
This is, Brother, what I think of God’s justice; 8 my way is all confidence and love. I do not understand souls who fear a Friend so tender. At times, when I am reading certain spiritual treatises in which perfection is shown through a thousand obstacles, surrounded by a crowd of illusions, my poor little mind quickly tires; I close the learned book that is breaking my head and drying up my heart, 9 and I take up Holy Scripture. 10 Then all seems luminous to me; a single word uncovers for my soul infinite horizons, perfection seems simple to me, I see it is sufficient to recognize one’s nothingness and to abandon oneself as a child into God’s arms. Leaving to great souls, to great minds the beautiful books I cannot understand, much less put into practice, I rejoice at being little since children alone and those who resemble them will be admitted to the heavenly banquet. 11 I am very happy there are many mansions in God’s kingdom, 12 for if there were only the one whose description and road seems incomprehensible to me, I would not be able to enter there. I would like, however, not to be too far from your mansion; in consideration of your merits, I hope God will give me the favor of sharing in your glory, just as on earth the sister of a conqueror, were she deprived of the gifts of nature, shares in the honors bestowed on her brother in spite of her own poverty.
St. Therese of Lisieux. Letters of St. Therese of Lisieux, Volume II: General Correspondence 1890-1897 (Critical Edition of the Complete Works of Saint Therese of Lisieux Book 2) (Kindle Locations 7175-7190). ICS publications. Kindle Edition..
Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life: The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola”. For more information on how to obtain copies of Fr. Gallaghers’s various books and audio which are available for purchase, please visit his website: frtimothygallagher.org
Episode 10 – In this conversation, Fr. Gallagher continues his reflection on “the little way” and then discusses the Christmas moment that St. Therese described as her “complete conversion” moment.
St. Therese of Liesuex
Here are some of the various texts Fr. Gallagher refers to in this episode:
It was December 25, 1886, that I received the grace of leaving my childhood, in a [5]word, the grace of my complete conversion. We had come back from Midnight Mass where I had the happiness of receiving the strong and powerful God. Upon arriving at Les Buissonnets, I used to love to take my shoes from the chimney corner and examine the presents in them; this old custom had given us so much joy in our youth that Céline wanted to continue treating me as a baby since I was the youngest in the family. Papa [10]had always loved to see my happiness and listen to my cries of delight as I drew each surprise from the magic shoes, and my dear King’s gaiety increased my own happiness very much. However, Jesus desired to show me that I was to give up the defects of my childhood and so He withdrew its innocent pleasures. He permitted Papa, tired out after the Midnight Mass, to experience annoyance when seeing my shoes at the fireplace, and that he speak [15]those words which pierced my heart: “Well, fortunately, this will be the last year!” I was going upstairs, at the time, to remove my hat, and Céline, knowing how sensitive I was and seeing the tears already glistening in my eyes, wanted to cry too, for she loved me very much and understood my grief. She said, “Oh, Thérèse, don’t go downstairs; it would cause you too much grief to look [20]at your slippers right now!” But Thérèse was no longer the same; Jesus had changed her heart! Forcing back my tears, I descended the stairs rapidly; controlling the poundings of my heart, I took my slippers and placed them in front of Papa, and withdrew all the objects joyfully. I had the happy appearance of a Queen. Having regained his own cheerfulness, Papa was laughing; Céline believed it was all a dream! Fortunately, it was a sweet reality; Thérèse had discovered once again the strength of soul which she had lost at the age of four and a half, and she was to preserve it forever! [45v°]
On that night of light began the third period of my life, the most beautiful and the most filled with graces from heaven. The work I had been unable to do in ten years was done by Jesus in one instant, contenting himself with my good will which was never lacking.
Foley OCD, Marc. Story of a Soul The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Study Edition (pp. 152-153). ICS Publications. Kindle Edition.
Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life: The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola”. For more information on how to obtain copies of Fr. Gallaghers’s various books and audio which are available for purchase, please visit his website: frtimothygallagher.org
Episode 11 – In this conversation, Fr. Gallagher reflects on the ordinary quality of St. Therese’s holiness by reading from the testimony of those who knew her. He answers the question, “Could St. Therese be considered a mystic?”
St. Therese of Liesuex
Here are some of the various texts Fr. Gallagher refers to in this episode:
One of them said that it wasn’t difficult being holy when one had everything one could wish for as she did, and when one lived with one’s family and was pampered. I am obliged to say that this senior professed nun, who was not of very sound judgement, decided to leave the monastery and is now living out in the world. Another, during her last illness, said, “I wonder what our Mother Prioress could possibly write about Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus. What can you say about someone who has been constantly cosseted and hasn’t acquired virtue at the cost of struggles and suffering like us? She is meek and good, but these things come naturally to her.” [LC 29-7] I heard these words through Sr Thérèse herself, who had heard them. The nun who pronounced them is now dead. On the other hand, that same nun, who was a Lay Nun, said on other occasions that Sister Thérèse of the Child [241v] Jesus was a saint
Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life: The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola”. For more information on how to obtain copies of Fr. Gallaghers’s various books and audio which are available for purchase, please visit his website: frtimothygallagher.org
A Sister of St. Thérèse: Servant of God, Léonie Martin – Bearer of Hope with Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Episode 12
In this episode, we jump ahead 15 years to 1915. Léonie is now a cloistered religious, Sister Françoise-Thérèse of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary in Caen. She is doing her best to live the “little way” as described by her younger sister Thérèse, whose cause for canonization is rapidly moving forward. This process graces her with an opportunity to visit with her three living sisters, Marie, Celine, and Pauline at the Carmel in Lisieux.
Pauline, now Mother Agnes of Jesus and prioress of the Carmel, develops a close relationship with Léonie. She will serve Léonie as a mother figure and spiritual director for the rest of her life. Their correspondence speaks of Léonie’s spiritual growth during this period.
Fr. Gallagher says, “Léonie’s life holds a very important story because she was the forgotten one; she was the one who was in the last place; she was the one who was less gifted than the others. Today we would call her a ‘problem child,’ and we’ll see that she certainly was the source of great anxiety to her parents, especially to her mother, Zélie, who loved her dearly.”
As a child, Léonie suffered from severe illnesses and physical maladies that would plague her entire life. She also struggled with understanding social clues and interactions and with behaving appropriately. Conventional educational models of the day failed to meet her particular needs, and she was labeled “developmentally delayed.” Yet those who knew her well described her as having a “heart of gold.”
Who was Léonie and what were her struggles? Why has her cause of canonization begun? Father Gallagher, along with Kris McGregor, answers these questions and explains why Léonie is “a bearer of hope” in this landmark series.
The 4 Sisters - Marie, Pauline, Leonie, and Celine
St. Thérèse
A resource used for this series
Images in this post of the Martin/Guerin family are used with permission from the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux website for strictly non-commercial use. We encourage you to visit the website for more information on this remarkable family.
For more series Fr. Timothy Gallagher podcasts, visit here
Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life: The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola.” For more information on how to obtain copies of Fr. Gallaghers’s various books and audio which are available for purchase, please visit his website: frtimothygallagher.org
A Sister of St. Thérèse: Servant of God, Léonie Martin – Bearer of Hope with Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Episode 13
We encounter the American Carmelite priest, Fr. Albert Dolan, who is on a quest to seek out the Martin Sisters and to learn more about them and their experiences with their canonized sister, now St. Thérèse.
Later on, Léonie falls ill with influenza and is visited by then-Bishop Suhard, the Bishop of Bayeux-Lisieux. She then relates her other chronic health issues to her sisters, and of how well she is being tended to at the Visitation monastery.
This episode is lovely, for we get to see Léonie through the eyes of others, who are non-family members.
Fr. Gallagher says, “Léonie’s life holds a very important story because she was the forgotten one; she was the one who was in the last place; she was the one who was less gifted than the others. Today we would call her a ‘problem child,’ and we’ll see that she certainly was the source of great anxiety to her parents, especially to her mother, Zélie, who loved her dearly.”
As a child, Léonie suffered from severe illnesses and physical maladies that would plague her entire life. She also struggled with understanding social clues and interactions and with behaving appropriately. Conventional educational models of the day failed to meet her particular needs, and she was labeled “developmentally delayed.” Yet those who knew her well described her as having a “heart of gold.”
Who was Léonie and what were her struggles? Why has her cause of canonization begun? Father Gallagher, along with Kris McGregor, answers these questions and explains why Léonie is “a bearer of hope” in this landmark series.
The 4 Sisters - Marie, Pauline, Leonie, and Celine
St. Thérèse
Fr. Albert Dolan, O.Carm.
Bishop Suhard
A resource used for this series
Images in this post of the Martin/Guerin family are used with permission from the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux website for strictly non-commercial use. We encourage you to visit the website for more information on this remarkable family.
For more series Fr. Timothy Gallagher podcasts, visit here
Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life: The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola.” For more information on how to obtain copies of Fr. Gallaghers’s various books and audio which are available for purchase, please visit his website: frtimothygallagher.org
A Sister of St. Thérèse: Servant of God, Léonie Martin – Bearer of Hope with Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Episode 14
We pick up with Léonie at the dawn of the 1930s, in an era where world events begin to collide cataclysmically. She is writing to her older sister, Marie, about Pauline’s jubilee and recalling challenging medical procedures.
We also discuss the profound impact the teachings and writings of St. Francis de Sales and, to a lesser extent, St. Jane de Chantal and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque had on Léonie. Finally, Fr. Gallagher observes how the Salesian spirituality is very much in keeping with the “Little Way” of her sister, St. Therese, they are.
Léonie then imparts profound insights to her sisters following a retreat, which still rings true for all of us today.
Fr. Gallagher says, “Léonie’s life holds a significant story because she was the forgotten one; she was the one who was in the last place; she was the one who was less gifted than the others. Today we would call her a ‘problem child,’ and we’ll see that she certainly was the source of great anxiety to her parents, especially to her mother, Zélie, who loved her dearly.”
As a child, Léonie suffered from severe illnesses and physical maladies that would plague her entire life. She also struggled with understanding social clues and interactions and with behaving appropriately. Conventional educational models of the day failed to meet her particular needs, and she was labeled “developmentally delayed.” Yet those who knew her well described her as having a “heart of gold.”
Who was Léonie and what were her struggles? Why has her cause of canonization begun? Father Gallagher, along with Kris McGregor, answers these questions and explains why Léonie is “a bearer of hope” in this landmark series.
The 4 Sisters - Marie, Pauline, Leonie, and Celine
St. Thérèse
A resource used for this series
Images in this post of the Martin/Guerin family are used with permission from the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux website for strictly non-commercial use. We encourage you to visit the website for more information on this remarkable family.
For more series Fr. Timothy Gallagher podcasts, visit here
Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life: The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola.” For more information on how to obtain copies of Fr. Gallaghers’s various books and audio which are available for purchase, please visit his website: frtimothygallagher.org
Dr. Lilles begins the spiritual explorations of the Letters of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity. In this episode we discuss letter 111 as described below:
From the book description:
Here are some of the various texts Fr. Gallagher refers to in this episode:
In this episode, we jump ahead 15 years to 1915. Léonie is now a cloistered religious, Sister Françoise-Thérèse of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary in Caen. She is doing her best to live the “little way” as described by her younger sister Thérèse, whose cause for canonization is rapidly moving forward. This process graces her with an opportunity to visit with her three living sisters, Marie, Celine, and Pauline at the Carmel in Lisieux.
