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Tuesday Night Book Group: Saturday Midday Field Trip

April 15, 2023 @ 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Join the Tuesday Night Book Group on a Saturday Midday Field Trip to hear a one-hour talk on St. Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897), author of the perennial bestselling memoir Story of a Soul. New York Times bestselling author and happiness expert Gretchen Rubin writes, “I had never heard of St. Therese of Lisieux, which is like not knowing about the Beatles. She’s a superstar saint…Mother Teresa [of Calcutta] took her name from Therese.”

More than anyone else, St. Therese is said to have left a decisive mark on Catholic spirituality over the past century. Though she died at age 24, St. Therese of Lisieux’s contributions have been so remarkable that she was named one of only 37 Doctors of the Church and one of only 4 women among them.

At first glance, many have made the mistake of dismissing Therese’s writings as “overly sentimental,” but countless intellectuals—including Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, Jacques Philippe, and Edith Stein—have returned to a deeper examination of her work to deem her a warrior: “though her battles are for love by means of love, for peace by means of peace,” in the words of Hans Urs von Balthasar.

Likewise, Bishop Robert Barron reassessed her as a rather “tough cookie” who, because humility is truth, understood who she was in the sight of God and worked within that grace with a pragmatic directness that came to define her “Little Way”: a willingness to, in every moment, in every situation ask the central question of surrender—“What is the demand of love?”—and then choose it.

After the Noon talk by a former Carthusian monk, there will be an optional 1 PM to 3 PM guided meditation to allow St. Therese of Lisieux’s writings to take us deeper into the interior life and to help us walk the path of grace in trustful surrender to God’s merciful love. At 3 PM, there will be an informal reception to enjoy eclairs—St. Therese’s favorite dessert, which she is said to have requested on her deathbed—and Carmelite monk-roasted Mystic Monk coffee!

To register to attend and to receive details re: the Upper East Side location, please email [email protected], with “St. Therese” in the subject line.

Details

Date:
April 15, 2023
Time:
12:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Event Category: