The first reflection in the "Carmelite Spirituality Series" of videos from the British Province of Carmelites is given by Fr. Francis Kemsley, O.Carm., Prior of Aylesford Priory in Kent.
His subject is "Saint Thérèse and Prayer".
Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897) is one of the best-known saints of the Carmelite Order. Born Thérèse Martin in France, she is Patron Saint of The Missions, and is a great teacher of prayer. Not only do we have her autobiography, "Story of a Soul"; we also have photographs that span her short life and illustrate her growth in maturity.
Thérèse's simple but profound teaching on prayer, known as ‘The Little Way of Spiritual Childhood’, shows us that we should have an easy and natural relationship with a merciful and loving God, whom we can trust with the confidence of little children.
Thérèse learned about prayer from Jesus himself as she pondered the Gospel accounts of his life. She cites the giving of the ‘Our Father’ (Luke 11:1-4) when Jesus’ disciples asked him: “Master, teach us to pray.” Jesus taught Thérèse that prayer is a dialogue with a loving Father in which we need to speak and to listen.
Thérèse (like fellow Carmelites St. John of the Cross and St. Edith Stein) also took inspiration from the biblical figure of Esther, a Jewish queen of Persia, who pleaded with her husband the king for mercy on the suffering Jewish people. Thérèse understood that a queen has access to the king, and this ability to plead on behalf of others influenced her perception of prayer.
Thérèse emphasised the mercy of God at a time when Jansenism in France over-emphasised persecution and pain in the spiritual life. Thérèse knew that God is loving, merciful, compassionate, and generous.
Though Thérèse knew to ask God for things in prayer, she also understood that God wouldn’t always answer her requests in the way she would like. She prayed for her father Louis (now revered as Saint Louis Martin), who suffered from mental illness and died in an institution; having prayed for his suffering to end through a cure, she understood his death as God answering her prayer in an unexpected way.
Thérèse also prayed for her sisters, all of whom joined religious life. The only one not to enter Carmel, Léonie, tried her vocation four times before eventually joining the Visitation Sisters in 1899; Léonie and is now regarded as another great figure of prayer. Thérèse also prayed for her cousin Jeannette who wanted a baby.
Thérèse’s most famous episode of prayer, at the age of 14, was for a notorious criminal, Henri Pranzini, sentenced to death in 1887 for a triple murder. Pranzini refused to repent, and Thérèse prayed that his heart would be converted before he was guillotined. She read in the newspaper that he had indeed sought God’s forgiveness just moments before his execution.
Thérèse was fond of praying the rosary but found that her mind wandered. Rather than focussing on the "Hail Marys", she adopted a general attitude of praise and worship, entering more deeply into the mysteries - the episodes - of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
Thérèse was devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her own mother, Zélie, died when Thérèse was only 4-years-old, leaving Louis to raise the family in a very difficult situation. Thérèse learned to love Mary as her own mother, and regarded her as "more mother than queen". Carmelites today love and revere Mary as queen, but more so as mother and sister, and pre-eminent disciple of Jesus.
27 сен 2020
