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A review by elenareads23
Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux by Thérèse de Lisieux
4.0
I have to confess, that this was the most difficult book to read that I have read in a long while. It doesn't usually take me several days to finish a book of only 241 pages, even taking into account that I don't have a great deal of time to read every day.
Overall, it was a worthwhile read. I found her experiences, her outlook, her very nature to be almost completely foreign to me. For a while, I read almost in disbelief, thinking to myself that nobody could possibly be this humble, or rejoice so much in suffering, or even have faith that is so strong as to look forward, joyfully, to death, which she often refers to as, "the end of exile."
I never really got over that feeling of disorientation -- her life being completely different than mine. But I found that I could connect with her in many small ways. I enjoyed her metaphors. I found the way that she took the opportunity to make the most of small sacrifices in her life very compelling, to guard her tongue, for instance, or to allow someone else to do something she would have liked to do. Her humility certainly gave me the opportunity to reflect on my own lack of the same virtue.
There were a couple of passages that really uplifted me. I posted one the other day, regarding allowing the light of Christ to illuminate our souls like the sunshine on the treetops on a beautiful night. At another point, in a letter to a Seminarian, she writes, "It is so consoling to think that Jesus...has felt all our weaknesses and shuddered at the sight of the bitter chalice..." I too, find this consoling. I fear death, and for me it is a great comfort to know that the end even Christ asked for the cup to pass by him. St. Therese too, goes through a period of darkness, where she fears that she will not go to heaven, and this, at least, was something to which I could relate!
So overall, I'm glad to have read it. What an amazing person! I hope that I can consider ways in which I can use her example to draw closer to Christ.
Overall, it was a worthwhile read. I found her experiences, her outlook, her very nature to be almost completely foreign to me. For a while, I read almost in disbelief, thinking to myself that nobody could possibly be this humble, or rejoice so much in suffering, or even have faith that is so strong as to look forward, joyfully, to death, which she often refers to as, "the end of exile."
I never really got over that feeling of disorientation -- her life being completely different than mine. But I found that I could connect with her in many small ways. I enjoyed her metaphors. I found the way that she took the opportunity to make the most of small sacrifices in her life very compelling, to guard her tongue, for instance, or to allow someone else to do something she would have liked to do. Her humility certainly gave me the opportunity to reflect on my own lack of the same virtue.
There were a couple of passages that really uplifted me. I posted one the other day, regarding allowing the light of Christ to illuminate our souls like the sunshine on the treetops on a beautiful night. At another point, in a letter to a Seminarian, she writes, "It is so consoling to think that Jesus...has felt all our weaknesses and shuddered at the sight of the bitter chalice..." I too, find this consoling. I fear death, and for me it is a great comfort to know that the end even Christ asked for the cup to pass by him. St. Therese too, goes through a period of darkness, where she fears that she will not go to heaven, and this, at least, was something to which I could relate!
So overall, I'm glad to have read it. What an amazing person! I hope that I can consider ways in which I can use her example to draw closer to Christ.