A joyous Easter season!  Since it's three months since our last issue, I tried to make this one worth waiting for: articles about Therese's entrance and Celine's first proposal; Thomas Nevin's long-awaited new book; the Carmelite Summer Seminar; Therese's letters online in English, Remi Mauger's  riveting "Therese superstar," a documentary made for French TV now available online, and the forthcoming album Vivre d'Amour, to be released on April 22.  Enjoy!

Thomas Nevin's first book, Therese of Lisieux: God's Gentle Warrior, drawing on previously unused material, was a major breakthrough in studies of St. Therese in English.  I am happy to announce that his long-awaited second book about St. Therese, also by Oxford University Press, will be published on July 15, 2013.  Pre-order it here ($29.66 and free shpping).  A big pre-order helps to launch a book successfully, so, if you plan to purchase the book, you can help it achieve a wider distribution by ordering it now. 

The editorial description:

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 Thérèse 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.

If you have not read Therese of Lisieux, God's Gentle Warrior, learn more about it here.

In cooperation with the Carmelite Forum, the Center for Spirituality at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana announces its annual Carmelite Summer Seminar under the title above, drawn from St. Therese.  The seminar offers lectures every morning.  Steven Payne, O.C.D., author of St. Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church, will lecture on "A Surge of the Heart: Therese of Lisieux on Prayer."  Other lectures include
:

• "The Carmelite School of Prayer: A Coat of Many Colors" by Dr. Keith Egan;  
• "Rule of Carmel: A Life Structure for Today's Pilgrim"
  by John Welch, O. Carm.;
•  "Prayer of Recollection and Contemplation
  in Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross,"
  by Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D.; and 
• "Journey to the Deepest Center with Edith Stein,"
  by Fran Horner, O.C.D. and Mary Fleig, O.C.D.. 

You may choose a total of four morning and afternoon workshops lasting three sessions each, each attended by a smaller group. Morning  workshops include

• "Spiritual Guidance: A Carmelite Approach"
  by Kevin Culligan, O.C.D. 
• "The Promise of Contemplative Prayer in John of the Cross" by Constance FitzGerald, O.C.D. 
• "Carmel and the Child Jesus,"
  by Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D. 
• "Dark Prayer: The Nights of John of the Cross,"
  by John Welch, O. Carm. and
• "Praying with John of the Cross' Poetry"
•  by Dr. Keith Egan. 

Afternoon workshops:

• "John of the Cross' Spiritual Canticle and Ecospirituality," by Mary Frohlich, RSCJ
• "Touraine: Carmel's Forgotten Reform,"
  by Leopold Glueckert, O. Carm.
• "Teresa, Teach Us to Pray,"
  by Fran Horner, O.C.D. and Mary Fleig, O.C.D.
• "'All Must be Loved' - Teresa of Avila on Community,"
  by Steven Payne, O.C.D.

I have attended this seminar many times, and I recommend it.  You do not need to be a Carmelite to attend.  The group is friendly and relaxed; many attend each year for the first time, and it is not a social challenge to arrive on your own.  For details, click here.  Get a discount if you register before May 23. 

For information or to purchase Volume I, click here.
Story of a Soul made St. Therese famous.  Her letters are much less well known, and I believe that, if you have not read her letters, you're missing a treasure.  Story of a Soul was written from "emotion recollected in tranquility," but in the letters we accompany Therese day by day as she grows and develops in the present.  If you do not own the books, I recommend taking this opportunity to order them.  The general introduction, the  introductions to each section, and the notes to each letter, which are unique to the print edition, are a gold mine of information about Therese and her milieu.  You are referred to the relevant sections of "Story of a Soul" so that you can understand what was happening in each phase of Therese's life.

For information or to purchase Volume II, click here.

The fascinating documentary Therese superstar, made for French television (FR3) in 1997 by Remi Mauger, an award-winning filmmaker, examines the phenomenon of Therese from her death in 1897 until 1997.  Archival-quality documents and images blend with interviews with historians, sociologists, and others.  All the audio is in French, but it's easy to follow the visuals even if you don't understand French.  You can see the first edition of "Story of a Soul' and related correspondence; the handwritten imprimatur of Bishop Hugonin in 1898; many images of Therese's influence among the soldiers in World War I; the progress of her cause; rare film footage of the ceremony of her beatification in 1923; and other treasures.  This film plays better at its host site, so please click here to see it.  60 minutes.