Smiles of God

The Flowers of Therese of Lisieux

Felicity Leng

• Publisher: Burns & Oates
• Year: 2004
• ISBN:
  9781441168986
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religious Biographies

Therese of Lisieux was dubbed The Little Flower. Taking this as her theme, Felicity Leng has shown how Therese's flowering as a Saint was a process of hardship, inner conflict and physical and moral endurance. The Little Way (her spiritual message) has become something immensely appealing to people from all walks of life. There is constant demand for books on Therese, yet no book or article on her has shown the various sources of her flower imagery and how she drew on them to shape her unique vision of herself and her never-ending relationship with God, people, the Church and the natural world. The reader is constantly pointed to Therese as a living personality with a mature creative imagination. Her concept of purpose, redemption, effort, suffering and joy, now and hereafter, is gradually constructed throughout the book.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction: The Flowering of St Thérèse
• 1 The Virtues of Flowers
• 2 1873–1888
• 3 1888–1897
• 4 1 October 1897 to the Present
• Abbreviations
• Notes
• Bibliography
• List of Illustrations