When England and Wales welcome her relics this autumn it will be part of the realisation of Thérèse’s personal dream. She comes on mission; she comes to preach the gospel; she comes with the overriding ambition of her life – to make Jesus known and loved. In one of Thérèse’s exercise books from school is a map of the British Isles that she drew at the age of twelve. Remarkably, among the places she clearly marked on that map is Birmingham. How fitting that, along with the other cities she highlighted, like Portsmouth, Bristol, York, Liverpool and London, Thérèse’s relics will now be visiting those very places.
Our country will become the latest in a long line of others including Australia, America, Russia, Iraq and Ireland that have played host to her relics in recent years, fulfilling her dream to be a missionary ‘right up to the end of time.’
What will Thérèse be preaching? Trust and Love. These are the two wings of her Little Way to God. And for her these were never abstractions. They are a person - Jesus. Moreover, Thérèse teaches in her simple, compelling way that Trust and Love are the highest destiny and deepest identity of our frail human flesh. In one of her poems, written shortly before she died, Thérèse describes herself as an unpetalled rose, whose petals have been gradually plucked off one by one. It’s an arresting, if uncomfortable, image of how she had squandered her life, giving herself away in love in imitation of Jesus. In this poem Thérèse uses the word ‘debris’ to describe this gift of herself. The opportunity to pray in the presence of her relics will surely help to make us conscious of that precious debris. The bones of this debris will be silently, yet eloquently, preaching that ‘love is giving’, as she put it so concisely in her last poem, indeed that ‘it is giving your very self.’ Her simple message: a life well-lived is a life well-given.
What are relics and why are they significant? The word ‘relic’ literally means to ‘leave behind’. When Thérèse lay dying from tuberculosis, at the age of 24, she received a letter from a young missionary, Maurice Bellière, whom she was partnering in prayer. He asked her to leave him something belonging to her. In reply she promised to leave him a little ‘inheritance’. It would include her crucifix and her last painting, as well as a relic she had worn since receiving the habit.
What a legacy! How eagerly he must have waited for it after her death. How carefully he must have treasured it when it came. But the young missionary was in no doubt that, however effectively these things helped him to feel close to her, the real legacy lay beyond them: ‘it is yourself’. It was the relationship they represented that mattered. This is true of all relics. They help us make that connection, even more than a photograph or a letter from a loved one. Bellière had already thanked her for sending him these things. He wrote that they had helped him feel her mysteriously ‘almost really near me, always with me.’
In the same letter that she promises him her inheritance Thérèse speaks of this special connection we call the communion of saints: ‘being weak and mortal like us, they committed the same faults, sustained the same combats.’ In other words their support flows from their solidarity. The blessed recipient of Thérèse’s bequest knew this to be true of the one who would after her death continue to walk alongside him as a faithful companion. She had already made such a difference to him as a result of the letters she had written. He had grown enormously in confidence. Fear had subsided due directly to her influence. She had completely transformed the landscape of his spiritual life. Now he was confident of feeling, with the reassurance of those relics, ‘the immediate activity of your soul very near to mine.’ What Thérèse had bequeathed him would be a visible sign and vehicle of that closeness. Above all, Bellière perceived the motive behind her bequest: ‘the sharing of your heart’. That meant, of course, Jesus, whom she seemed to make more approachable and real. So much so that he could say to her, ‘I found Him in you.’ This is the reason for the visit of her relics to our country. This is the ‘inheritance’ we can all anticipate this September.
Canon John Udris is Dean of Northampton Cathedral and author of The Gift of Thérèse of Lisieux, published this month by Gracewing.
What does the casket actually contain?
Some of the bones of St Thérèse. While it is true that in exceptional cases, the bodies of holy people have remained incorrupt, St Thérèse herself predicted that her body would decay after her death, and this has been confirmed by the three exhumations of her body that have taken place. From very early days, however, healings and other extraordinary answers to prayer took place at her grave.
Why ‘Little Way’?
In St Thérèse’s time, holiness was commonly seen as something reserved for special people capable of extraordinary efforts. St Thérèse came to realise that what counts is to let ourselves be found by God and to respond with simple obedience to the duties of everyday life without complaining or criticising. She emphasised a childlike dependence on God’s goodness, a realisation that everything comes from him, and a joyful acceptance of our own littleness. ‘I am a very little soul, who can offer only very little things to the Lord,’ sums up the Saint.
The Pilgrimage in Reverse
Pilgrimage is a journey to a holy place or a site associated with a holy person. It helps us to get out of our routine, and by involving us in a physical journey it also suggests that our spiritual life needs to move forward and grow.
However, in our diocese we are preparing for another kind of pilgrimage, a pilgrimage in reverse. St Thérèse comes to us, and in so doing, she makes the grace of pilgrimage available to many, regardless of whether they are Catholics or not. All will be welcome to venerate St Thérèse’s relics, with a special invitation to the sick, young people and those seeking their way in life.
Since 1994, when St Thérèse’s relics made their first journey around France, they have travelled to over forty countries.
Now they are coming to Birmingham, offering us a wonderful opportunity to grow in faith. Of particular importance here is St Thérèse’s spiritual teaching, often known as the ‘Little Way’ or the ‘Way of Spiritual Childhood’.
The message of St Thérèse that stresses holiness as a way of life for ordinary people living in ordinary circumstances has proved immensely popular throughout the world.
St Thérèse’s Relics at St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham
Program of events during the visit of the Relics of Thérèse of Lisieux
Sacrament of Reconciliation available throughout the visit
Saturday 19 September
2.00pm Arrival Service of Welcome
Relics placed before the sanctuary
4.30pm Mass and anointing the sick
7.30pm Benediction and Evening Prayer
9.00pm All night vigil - Youth emphasis
Sunday 20 September
6.00am Mass to conclude the Vigil
9.00am Sunday Mass
11.00am Sunday Mass
3.30pm Devotions - led by Religious
4.30pm Mass with Religious (Bishop Kenney)
5.30pm Private Devotion
8.00pm Benediction and Evening Prayer
9.00pm All Night Vigil - 3rd Order Carmelites and Ark of the Covenant
Monday 21 September
6.30am Mass and farewell ceremony
Contact: Canon Pat Browne, tel: 0121 230 6209, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
