Letters to and from St. Therese of Lisieux from April 1877 (Childhood) to September 1890 (Novitiate period as a Carmelite Nun). Letter writing at the end of the nineteenth century was an important activity for the people of France. Those who received letters from family and friends alike usually kept the hand-written texts sent to them as precious gifts. That is why this collection of letters by and to one of the greatest saints of modern times is so interesting to us today. No mere notes slapped together in distracted haste, the missives found in this volume reveal communications of warm personal sentiment along with expressions of lively spiritual development.Therese's efforts as a fifteen-year-old to enter Carmel before reaching the required age appear in revealing detail. This "tortuous course of a very subtle diplomacy" is set out not only by the letters of Therese herself, but also by those of so many others who shared her hopes and eventual victory.

The translator-editor gives us 75 pages of introductory remarks to Therese's letters. This volume also includes 4 pages of facsimiles of Therese's letters.

Translated from the critical edition by John Clarke, OCD

The story of "Terisita" Quevedo (1930-50), the Catholic beauty who wanted to become a saint.
 

Elizabeth of the Trinity (Elizabeth Catez) was a young French woman who became a Discalced Carmelite in the Carmel of Dijon. She was just twenty-one when she died in 1906. But those few years were enough for her to develop and deepen a distinctive approach to God, one that has since inspired countless people in their quest for a deeper relationship with the indwelling God.

Smaragdus of St. Mihiel, a ninth-century Benedictine monk, explains the Rule of St. Benedict, each chapter is full of wisdom and practical lessons.