Therese

My daughter has written a review of the movie Therese on her blog. St Therese of Lisieux has for a long time been our family's patron. I was born on her old feast day -- October 3rd! and Aidan received his transplant on October 1st, her new feast day. That's a whole story in itself; let it suffice that we consider her a family friend. My daughter took Therese's name for her confirmation name.

Some of Therese's writings are here. Some information about her is here.

One very good devotional book to read is I Believer in Love: A Personal Retreat Based on the Teaching of St Therese of Lisieux.

Therese, who entered the Carmelite convent at the age of fifteen and died of tuberculosis at the age of 24, and wrote one book at the request of her sister -- has been declared a Doctor of the Church.

I notice I am like my father -- who when he starts talking about something that is an influential part of his life, always ends up handing the listener a stack of books!

By the way, when I read my father's book Must We All Die? about the tuberculosis epidemic in Alaska, I was near tears when he described the progression of the disease in the 19th century patient, because it reminded me of Therese's Last Conversations -- which were recorded by her sister.