Pope Francis published today "C'est la confiance" to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the patroness of missions. As a Church there is still much to learn from her. And “boldness and interior freedom” re needed to do so. " In an age of indifference and self-absorption, Thérèse inspires us to be missionary disciples, captivated by the attractiveness of Jesus and the Gospel.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis published a new Apostolic Exhortation entitled "C'est la Confiance" (It is the Confidence), dedicated to Saint Thérèse (1873-1897), the great Carmelite nun whose 150th anniversary is celebrated this year.

She is the saint par excellence of the mission by attraction beyond any temptation of self-absorption. Through her "little way”, the mystic continues to illuminate the path of the Church, showing “the beauty of the saving love of God made manifest in Jesus Christ who died and rose from the dead” as what is essential towards which to turn one's gaze and heart.

The title, "C'est la confiance" (It is the confidence), comes from the first words in the original French of one of Thérèse’s writings, which fully reads: “It is confidence and nothing but confidence that must lead us to Love.”

For Pope Francis, “These striking words of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (the name she chose when she entered the Carmelite order) say it all. They sum up the genius of her spirituality and would suffice to justify the fact that she has been named a Doctor of the Church.”

Little Thérèse (Teresina in Italian) “did not view her consecration to God apart from the pursuit of the good of her brothers and sisters. She shared the merciful love of the Father for his sinful son and the love of the Good Shepherd for the sheep who were lost, astray and wounded. For this reason, Thérèse is the Patroness of the missions and a model of evangelization.”

By synthesising her life and spirituality in the apostolic exhortation, the pontiff focuses on “her appreciation of the fact that evangelization takes place by attraction, not by pressure or proselytism.”

He cites one of the last things she wrote: “That is my prayer. I ask Jesus to draw me to the flames of his love, to unite me so closely to him that he live and act in me. I feel that the more the fire of love burns within my heart, the more I shall say ‘Draw me’: 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.”

Francis points to Thérèse’s "little way" as an antidote to “a Pelagian notion of holiness, individualistic and elitist, more ascetic than mystical, that primarily emphasizes human effort”; whereas, she “always stresses the primacy of God’s work, his gift of grace.”

“For this reason, Thérèse never uses the expression, common enough in her day, ‘I will become a saint’.” Instead, “her boundless confidence encourages all who feel frail, limited and sinful to let themselves be elevated and transformed in order to reach greater heights.”

Living at the end of the 19th century, i.e. “the ‘golden age’ of modern atheism as a philosophical and ideological system”, [. . .], She felt herself a sister to atheists, seated with them at table, like Jesus who sat with sinners. She interceded for them, ever renewing her own act of faith, in constant loving communion with the Lord”.

Her life is encapsulated by her words: “I have found my place in the Church, and it is you, O my God, who have given me this place; in the heart of the Church, my Mother, I shall be Love. Thus, I shall be everything, and thus my dream will be realized

“This heart was not that of a triumphalistic Church,” Francis writes, “but of a loving, humble and merciful Church. Thérèse never set herself above others, but took the lowest place together with the Son of God, who for our sake became a slave and humbled himself, becoming obedient, even to death on a cross”.

“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.”

Thérèse of Lisieux’s contribution as a saint and (by the will of John Paul II) a doctor of the Church “is not analytical, along the lines, for example, of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Her contribution is more synthetic, for her genius consists in leading us to what is central, essential and indispensable.

“By her words and her personal experience, she shows that, while it is true that all the Church’s teachings and rules have their importance, their value, their clarity, some are more urgent and more foundational for the Christian life. That is where Thérèse directed her eyes and her heart.

“As theologians, moralists and spiritual writers, as pastors and as believers, wherever we find ourselves, we need constantly to appropriate this insight of Thérèse 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.”

This is precisely where Thérèse of Lisieux's great relevance lies:

“In an age that urges us to focus on ourselves and our own interests, Thérèse shows us the beauty of making our lives a gift.

“At a time when the most superficial needs and desires are glorified, she testifies to the radicalism of the Gospel.

“In an age of individualism, she makes us discover the value of a love that becomes intercession for others.

“At a time when human beings are obsessed with grandeur and new forms of power, she points out to us the little way.

“In an age that casts aside so many of our brothers and sisters, 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 rules and regulations, and cause the joy of the Gospel to grow cold.

“In an age of indifference and self-absorption, Thérèse inspires us to be missionary disciples, captivated by the attractiveness of Jesus and the Gospel.”

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• pope francis
• apostolic exhortation
• saint thérèse of lisieux