THE SCIENCE OF LOVE  
A Study in the Teachings of Therese of Lisieux
by John C. H. Wu

5. Love: Natural and Divine  

Like Magdalen, Therese loves Jesus as her Betrothed. With touching candidness she writes, "Eight days after I had taken the veil our cousin Jeanne was married to Dr. La Neele, and at her next visit I heard of all the little attentions she lavished on her husband. I was greatly impressed, and I determined it should never be said that a woman in the world did more for her husband than I for my Beloved. Filled with fresh ardor, I strove with increased earnestness to please my Heavenly Spouse, the King of kings, who had deigned to honor me by a divine alliance."[10]

In a letter to her sister, Celine, she says, "Let us make of our heart a garden of delights, where our sweet Savior may come for repose; let us plant therein beautiful lilies of purity, for we are virgins . . . and then let us not forget that 'virginity is a complete indifference to all earthly cares; not only to useless care, but to all cares . . .' "[11]

Elsewhere she says, "The great Saints have worked for the glory of God, but I, who am only a very little soul, I work for His pleasure alone. I wish to be, in the hands of the good God, a floweret, a rose of no use, but of which the sight and fragrance will nevertheless be to Him a refreshment, a little joy superadded."[12] One seems to hear the voice of Magdalen herself.

It often occurs to me that a woman's love, as a rule, is deeper and more constant than that of a man. For, as Laurence Housman so fairly puts it,

"O! a man's love is strong

When fain he comes a-mating.

But a woman's love is long

And grows when it is waiting."[13]

Woman is not only more patient, but has also a greater capacity for suffering and self-sacrifice. No one has depicted her lot better than John Masefield:

"I know a woman's portion when she loves,

It's here to give, my darling, not to take;

It isn't lockets, dear, nor pairs of gloves,

It isn't marriage bells nor wedding cake,

It's up and cook, although the belly ache;

And bear the child, and up and work again,

And count a sick man's grumble with the pain."[14]

If only a woman would turn her natural capacity for unselfish love from man to God, she would already be at the very portals of Heaven.

Therese was born with a genius for love, extraordinary even for a woman. Her affection for her parents, her sisters, her cousins, and her neighbors, was as deep as it was strong. Her sympathy for the poor, her compassion for sinners, revealed itself early in life. She had a heart on fire with love, and she was destined to be united with God.

Even as a child, she was conscious of her high destiny, but she was not proud, because she knew that her high destiny was a free gift from her Lover. She was as humble as she was gifted. Nature and grace conspired together to make a great saint of little Therese, for nature prepared her to be a great lover and grace led her to love the Holy Face. It was not Jesus transfigured on the Mount of Tabor, it was Jesus on His way to Calvary, that especially captivated her soul. As she said, "My devotion to the Holy Face, or rather all my piety, has been based on these words of Isaias:

"There is no beauty nor comeliness in him; we have seen him, and there was no sightliness in him . . . Despised and most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity; his face was as it were hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed him not. I too desire to be without glory or beauty, 'to tread the winepress alone,' unknown by any creature."[15]

This confession is of paramount importance, for it seems to me to constitute the keynote of her character. I even think that there is a tinge of chivalry in her love of Jesus. "For many serve Him when He gives them consolation, but few consent to bear Him company when he sleeps on the storm-tossed waves, or when He suffers in the garden of Gethsemani. Who, then, will serve Jesus for Himself? Ah! it shall be Therese."[16]

What a gallant lover this woman was! It was St. Francis de Sales who said, "Love equalizes lovers";[17] and I have a suspicion that Jesus appreciates loving audacity much more than cold courtesy on the part of His friends. Therese called her Divine Spouse a thief, a fool, a blind lover who is ignorant of arithmetic; and Jesus loved her all the more, because on the lips of little Therese, they were terms of endearment.

How deeply she felt for Jesus can be inferred from a little anecdote. Someone gave her a crucifix. She kissed it with tenderness, and said, "He is dead. I like it better when He is represented as dead, because then I think that he suffers no more."[18] Only a woman could have felt that way.

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