The Offering That Changed Everything
Saint Thérèse and the Trinitarian heart of Merciful Love
Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus: Four essential stages of her life in Christ
The third stage is… communion with the greatness of Jesus, the infinite greatness of his Divinity in the Trinity. It is the sense of the Offering to Merciful Love (9 June 1895), in the account of the final pages of Manuscript A (Ms A, 83v-84v), and in the Act of the Offering itself (Pri 6).
Here the Christocentrism of Thérèse becomes explicitly Trinitarian: to the love of the Father who gave his Son to Thérèse as Savior and Spouse, and who looks upon her and always loves her through the Face of Jesus, and in his Heart burning with love in the Fire of the Holy Spirit, Thérèse responds through the total gift of herself as “victim of holocaust” for the salvation of all: she offers herself to the Father through Christ in the Spirit, through the hands of Mary.
This Offering is central within the doctrine of Thérèse. It is her fundamental proposition of holiness for all the baptized. We can also say that it is at the heart of her theological methodology because this total gift of self to Jesus through Love is absolutely indispensable in order to know, in-depth, the Mystery of the Love of Jesus.
— François-Marie Léthel, o.c.d.
La Lumière du Christ, Meditation 7
Note: This passage is an excerpt from the Lenten Exercises for Pope Benedict XVI and the Roman Curia, preached by Father Léthel, March 13–19, 2011.
⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
How can I offer myself to God today, not in fear, but with confidence in his merciful love?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.
Source reference
Lethel, François-Marie. La Lumière du Christ dans le cœur de l’Église: Jean-Paul II et la théologie des saints. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana; Paris: Éditions Parole et Silence, 2011.
Featured image
Interior of the damaged Church of Saint-Jacques, Montebourg, France, 21 June 1944. U.S. Army Signal Corps photograph. Archives départementales de la Manche, 13 Num 316 (Public domain).
To focus on God in His merciful love, my offering would undoubtedly look to be total trust in Him. Especially outside the Cloister where modern pseudo-response to the human condition of fear is to dismiss it as in, "no worries". I confess, silence ( less noise ) might help lessen some fears as childish as I am. Perhaps, then I might have a chance to imagine God as the Saints do. Or, perhaps do as St. Therese does in her fiery stalwart love of God, by doing little things well.