Print Price: $42.95

Format:
Hardback
336 pp.
24 b/w halftones, 6.125" x 9.25"

ISBN-13:
9780199987665

Publication date:
July 2013

Imprint: OUP US

The Last Years of Saint Therese

Doubt and Darkness, 1895-1897

Thomas R. Nevin

For over a century, the Carmelite Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (1873-1897) has been revered as Catholicism's foremost folk saint of modern times. Universally known as "the Little Flower," she has been a source of consolation and uplift, an example of everyday sainthood by "the Little Way." This book puts aside that piety and addresses the torment of doubt within the life and writing of a saint best known for the strength of her conviction.

Nevin examines the dynamics of Christian doubt, and argues that it is integral to the journey toward selfless love which Therese was compelled to take. Thérèse's metaphors for doubt were 'tunnel', 'fog', and 'vault', each one suggesting darkness, dimness, and enclosure. What, Nevin asks, did doubt mean to her? What was its source and nature? What was its object? He gives close attention to her reading and interpretations of the Old and New Testaments as pathways through her inner wilderness. Her Carmel of spiritual sisters becomes a vivid setting for this drama, with other women challenging Thérèse by their own trials of faith. One of Thérèse's indispensable lessons, Nevin concludes, is the acceptance of helplessness.

Bringing a new direction to the study of Therese, and of the problematics of sainthood itself, this book reveals how Thérèse's response to divine abandonment is a unique and painfully won imitation of Christ.

Readership : Suitable for religious scholars and students interested in the life of this saint, women in religion, or the presence of doubt in faith. Scholars and university students interested in women's studies, gender studies, and especially women's autobiographical writing.