Saint Therese Speaks of the Saints in Heaven We Don't Know, Who May Be Greater Than the Saints We Know

[mdgspencer]

–from the sister of Saint Therese, who was a nun in the same convent.

She “used to make some remarkably wise and shrewd observations on the theme of sanctity and glory. She reminded us that we know some of the saints better only because they are nearer to us. This does not mean, necessarily, that they are the greater saints. Just as some stars which seem to us very small–and even those which we cannot see at all–are incomparably more beautiful than those which, to the naked eye, are ‘stars of the first magnitude.’”

On earth, she said, it is difficult to make a proper judgment in these matters . . .  It is a fact that often as souls are ascending to the summit of sanctity, they even begin to lose the esteem of men  . . .

 "'The canonized saints,' Therese continued, 'are not always those who are highest in glory. God has brought them forward for His glory and for our edification rather than for any personal honor.' She had read somewhere, she said, that the love of the saints for one another in heaven will be measured not by their greatness or glory but chiefly by their mutual sympathy. 'This makes it possible.' she concluded, 'that we can love all little souls with an affection greater than the love which we owe to the greatest saints. This fills me with delight.'"

 "Even in the matter of love and devotion, is it true to say that the canonized saints receive the greatest share because of their numerous clients on earth? Thesese did not think so."

 "'Where is the saint who is loved just for himself?' she asked. '"In this life is there any such thing as disinterested love? A certain saint might be praised, they write his life, and there is no end to the feasts and solemnities they prepare in his honor. Celebration follows celebration, there are fireworks, the devotees are in a delirium of joy.'"

"'After the excitement has died down, those in charge of the celebration believe that all turned out well . . . if they were allowed to follow their own plans through to the end. For some time after, it is the organ or the choir or the wonderful preacher who is praised . . . And what about the saint?  Ah moi!' cries Therese, 'give me utter oblivion rather than this half glory. It is from God alone therefore that I look for any praise or glory that I might deserve.'"

"The saints are not saints, she said, because we recognize them as such, nor have they become greater after their life has been written. Who knows? The spiritual good derived from the reading of a given biography might very well be traced to the inspiration of some unknown saint whose prayers made the soul ready to be benefited by the book. 'I often think,' she told me, 'that maybe I owe all the graces I have received to the supplications of some little soul whom I shall know only in eternity. What great revelations await us in the next life!'"

There are many Carmelites who have died as saints, she pointed out, who will be hardly remembered on earth because their circular letter or obituary notice was badly written--or not written at all. Other nuns, on the contrary, whose virtue was quite ordinary, have been placed on a pedestal simply because the Mother Prioress who wrote their lives had a facile pen!"

"'How can we desire a glory like this,' she smiled, 'a glory that is sustained by a gossamer thread. It is more like a lottery. At least, so it seems to me . . . Were some of the saints to return to earth, I wonder how many would recognize themselves when reading what has been written about them.'"

"She liked to think, she said, that she would be loved in heaven, even by those who were not too fond of her on earth . . . The love which the saints receive from their clients in this world, she believed, redounds more to our happiness than to theirs; it is we who are gathering in the fruits, it is we who are profiting by our prayers to them."

----from the book of Saint Therese’s sister on Saint Therese–by Sister Genevieve of the Holy Face (Celine Martin), “My Sister St .Therese” (Rockford, Il: Tan Books, 1997), p. 205-8. Saint Therese’s sister was her confidant in the convent and tells very much about her sister in this book.

 

[Le_Bonvivant]

Awesome, thank you for posting this!

I love saint Therese and her book but didn’t know this book by her sister. It really sounds like Therese’s own writings, I’m def going to read this book.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I am put to mind of something our parish priest said at my mother’s funeral homily. He said “She was holy in ways she did not expect were holy.”

That really was intriguing. He knew her well, particularly in her last few months, and pretty much knew her whole life story. I asked him about what he meant by it. He mentioned to me, of all things, how she conducted herself in business. In business!

But reflecting on it, he was right. Remarkable to think how somebody we might know who seems not to be particularly holy, might just be a great saint in the making.

 

[Nelka]

Lovely.