By Lavoisier Fernandes –
I was very much surprised on reading the news of Pope Francis’ new Apostolic Exhortation entitled C’est la Confiance – It is the Confidence – dedicated to Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. The reason it took me by surprise was that it was not in the media headlines domain (at least in the Catholic world) prior to its release in comparison to the Holy Father’s sequel papal encyclical Laudato Si’ 2.0 “On care of our common home” that was barely released two weeks back or for that matter the 2016, Amoris Laetitia post-synodal apostolic exhortation addressing the pastoral care of families.
An apostolic exhortation is a magisterial document written by the pope. It is considered third in importance, after apostolic constitutions and encyclicals. But this new Exhortation did not grab all the news limelight like the other exhortations or encyclicals and which in some ways reflected on the legacy of this humble spiritual servant and doctor of the Church Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus on the back of her 150th birth anniversary.
Why did Pope Francis decide to write this Exhortation?
St Thérèse of of Lisieux is one of Pope Francis’ favourite saints and the Holy Father in the new document says that she teaches Christians “the little way” of love, self-giving, concern for others and complete trust in the mercy of God.
What is the subtitle and reasons behind this?
“At a time when human beings are obessed with grandeur and new forms of power, she points out to us the little way,”she teaches us the beauty of concern and responsibility for one another.”
“At a time of great complexity,she can help us rediscover the importance of simplicity,the absolute primacy of love,trust and abandonment, and thus move beyond a legalistic or moralistic mindset that would fill the Christian life with rule and regulations and cause the joy of the Gospel to grow cold.”
The papal letter is subtitled, “It is confidence and nothing but confidence that must lead us to love.” It was these words, written in September 1896 by Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, which inspired the title of Pope Francis’ new Apostolic Exhortation. Words, he affirms, that “sum up the genius of her spirituality and would suffice to justify the fact that she has been named a Doctor of the Church” (2).
Recognition from the Popes
Pope Francis retraces the steps by which the Popes came to recognise the extraordinary value of Therese’s spiritual witness. Beginning with Pope Leo XIII, who allowed her to enter the convent at the age of 15, he moves on to Pius XI, who proclaimed her a saint in 1925 and in 1927 patron saint of missions. From there, he considers Saint John Paul II, who declared her a Doctor of the Church in 1997. “Finally,” recalls Francis, “in 2015, I had the joy of canonizing her parents, Louis and Zelie, during the Synod on the Family. More recently, I devoted one of my weekly General Audience talks to her” (6).
A missionary soul’s love for Jesus
In her cell, the Saint from Lisieux wrote: “Jesus is my one love” (8). Analysing her spiritual experience, the Pope observes that her encounter with Jesus “summoned her to the mission”, so much so that she did not conceive “her consecration to God apart from the pursuit of the good of her brothers and sisters.”. She had entered Carmel, in fact, “to save souls” (9). Teresina expressed her missionary spirit in this way: “I feel that the more the fire of love burns within my heart (…) the more also the souls who will approach me (poor little piece of iron, useless if I withdraw from the divine furnace), the more these souls will run swiftly in the odour of the ointments of their Beloved, for a soul that is burning with love cannot remain inactive” (12).
Abandonment into the hands of a Father
The “trial against the faith” and trust in mercy
In the last period of her life,in particular,she experienced the great “trial against the faith”(25). At that time atheism was greatly on the rise, and she “felt herself a sister to atheists”.(26) often praying for them.
The spiritual life of the young Carmelite was not without trials and struggles. She believed in God’s infinite mercy and in Jesus’ ultimate victory over evil: her trust obtained the grace of conversion on the gallows of a multiple murderer. Everything in God is love, even Justice. “This is one of the loftiest insights of Therese,” says the Pope, “one of her major contributions to the entire People of God. In an extraordinary way, she probed the depths of divine mercy, and drew from them the light of her limitless hope.” (27).
Love in the heart of the Church
From St Teresa of Avila, we read in the Exhortation, Therese inherited ” a great love for the Church and was able to plumb the depths of this mystery ” (38). She writes in Story of a Soul: “I understood that the Church had a Heart, and that this Heart was burning with love. I understood it was love alone that made the Church’s members act “. And then: “Yes, I have found my place in the Church: in the Heart of the Church, my mother, I will be Love!” (39). Pope Francis comments: “This heart was not that of a triumphalistic Church, but of a loving, humble and merciful Church ” (40).
“This discovery of the heart of the Church is also a great source of light for us today. It preserves us from being scandalized by the limitations and weaknesses of the ecclesiastical institution with its shadows and sins and enables us to enter into the Church’s “heart burning with love”, which burst into flame at Pentecost thanks to the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (41)
In the end, only love counts. In the last chapter, the Pontiff explains that this Apostolic Exhortation is an opportunity to recall Evangelii gaudium’s message that in a missionary Church preaching “has to concentrate on the essentials, on what is most beautiful, most grand, most appealing and at the same time most necessary ” (47).
“In the end,” the Pope writes,” only love counts (48) ……. consists in leading us to what is central, essential, and indispensable.” (49)
The Pope turns to theologians, moralists, and scholars of spirituality, and says: ” we need constantly to appropriate this insight of Therese and to draw from it consequences both theoretical and practical, doctrinal and pastoral, personal and communal. We need boldness and interior freedom to do so.” (50).
Lavoisier Fernandes, born and raised in Goa, is currently based in West London. His faith is “work in progress”- and a lifelong journey. He has always been fascinated by the Catholic faith, thanks to his Salesian schooling. He’s passionate about podcasting, theology, the papacy, and volunteering. He has hosted ‘Talking Faith’ series for Heavens Road FM, Catholic Radio, connecting with ordinary men and women within the Catholic faith, other faiths and examining issues affecting both the Church and society. He has also been a host on Shalom World Catholic TV for two episodes of the ‘Heart Talk’ series. He presently contributes for the Goa Diocesan magazine Renevacao.