The Hidden Face: A Study of St. Therese of Lisieux [Paperback]

Ida Friederike Goerres (Author), Ida Friederike Gorres (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2003

This study of the life and character of Therese of Lisieux is a remarkable, penetrating, and fascinating search for the truth behind one of the most astounding religious figures of modern times. A young nun who entered a convent at fifteen and died at twenty-four, Therese roused an incredible storm of spontaneous veneration only a few months after her death, and has been called by one Pope as "the greatest saint of the modern times." Countless images of the sweetly smiling saint flooded the world. But who was she, really? The Hidden Face has sprung from this question. It presents the true Therese, as objectively as possible, and gives a convincing interpretation of her sainthood. It is a book not for Catholics alone, but for anyone fascinated by the force of spirituality, by the incalculable effects of what Pascal called the "greatness of the human soul." It opens the cloistered world of the Carmel, takes off the sugar coating, and reveals the stark drama behind convent walls, the tension between personalities, the daily details of conventual life. And it throws light on the tremendous purifying process that turned the pampered darling into a saint of heroic virtue.

The work of a mind of rare intelligence and integrity, this book is unique among the lives of saints. First published in Germany in 1944, the original is now in its eighth edition. This first English translation is based on a new, revised version using the latest edition of the saint's writings.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 390 pages
• Publisher: Ignatius Press; Second Revised Edition edition (March 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089870927X
• ISBN-13: 978-0898709278
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #382,188 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Greatest Biographies of a Saint, May 28, 2003

By 

J. C Marrero "alithere" (new orleans, la United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Hidden Face: A Study of St. Therese of Lisieux (Paperback)

This remarkable book broke new ground in hagiography when it came out in the 1950s. Prior to this study, books about the saints centered on miracles, super-human feats and basically ignored the subject's upbringing, personality, and quirks. In this study, St. Therese is presented as Therese Martin, an intelligent, complex and totally God-focused individual who willed her way to sanctity. It seems that her nature was fully developed from infacy--from the start, she would do nothing by halves and insisted on making every moment of her life meaningful. Yet, she somehow avoided self-centeredness and by the end of her short life this very introspective young woman was simplicity itself. Her life was an unlikely interior adventure, leading her ever deeper into the mystery of God and of love. As told by Goerres, the journey was rough, uneven, and costly. But Therese Martin was no plaster saint, no little flower. This is the unsentimental story of a mighty oak.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally a worth biography, June 3, 2003

By 

Greg Hessel (Fairfax, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hidden Face: A Study of St. Therese of Lisieux (Paperback)

This is the best book on St Therese - far superior to anything written before or since. It is thoroughly researched and, thankfully, strips away the sugar-coated sentimentality that bogged down her other biographers - as well as Story of a Soul itself. Gorres guides you along the path to sanctity that St Therese followed and reveals how the saint was able to avoid strong temptations - such as how her sisters constantly venerated her during the her life in the convent without it causing St Therese to become self-centered - while making use of every day events to follow the path of humility and self-abnegation. I thoroughly recommend this biography much more than anything Bishop Guy Gaucher has written or some of the biographers

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hidden No More, October 9, 2005

By 

Carol W. Seaman - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Hidden Face: A Study of St. Therese of Lisieux (Paperback)

It is unfortunate that Therese of Lisieux has become known primarily by the term "The Little Flower" and is expected to drop roses from heaven on her followers. This study of her life and "Little Way" reveals the journey of a pampered, excessivly emotional and devout middle-class French girl who was formed into one of the only three women who have been declared Doctors of the Church. Ida Gorres strips off the sentimentality that has threatened to turn Therese into a sugary caracature of herself. She carefully deals with all the negative aspects of Therese's culture, upbringing, life as a nun, and unglamorous, excruciating and humiliating death of TB at age 24. When Gorres has exposed all the aspects of the sentimental religiosity of that time and place, sparing nothing in revealing Therese and her family to us with all their "warts", she then proceeds to delineate how Therese rose above all that, and even contradicted it in her "new" spiritual understanding. It becomes clear that it was a direct action of the Holy Spirit, needed by the modern religious seeker.

Jansenism still tainted the devout Catholicism of that time. Somehow, Therese saw through the heresy and formulated a spirituality that returned the Church to the basics of Christianity. What is most surprising to me is that she did it alone, with no person to teach or counsel her. Indeed, very few of the people around her even understood her, including her loving blood sisters who were also in the same convent. Ida Gorres tells this story clearly and with considerable insight into true sanctity.

This is not a book to approach lightly, although it is not hard to read. It stretches the reader's understanding, calling one to greater love of God and the truth about following Jesus. One dares to try Therese's Way even in very different circumstances of life. Gorres does away with the plaster saint figure of church statues and gives us an intelligent, flesh-and-blood, mature, serious, and appealing saint to be our teacher. I recommend this book highly for anyone who is seeking true teaching and inspiration in their Christian walk.