Atonement Newsletter. Num. 24

THE SCIENCE OF LOVE

A Study in the Teachings of Therese of Lisieux

by John C. H. Wu

Preface

I heard the name of Therese of Lisieux for the first time at the home of my dear friend, Mr. Yuan Kia-hoang, a most zealous Catholic. In the Winter of 1937, I was living in Mr. Yuan's house, and I was impressed by the way the Yuans recited their family Rosary. Seeing a portrait of Saint Therese, I asked him, "Is this the Virgin Mary?" He told me that it was the "Little Flower of Jesus." "Who is this Little Flower of Jesus?" I asked. He looked surprised and said, "What! You don't even know Saint Therese of Lisieux?"

Then he gave me a French pamphlet entitled Ste. Therese de l'Enfant-Jesus, which contained a short account of her life and many specimens of her thoughts. Somehow I felt those thoughts expressed some of my deepest convictions about Christianity which I happened to entertain at that time. I said to myself, "If this saint represents Catholicism, I don't see any reason why I should not be a Catholic."

Being a Protestant, I was free to choose whatever interpretation suited best my own reason, and her interpretation was exactly the right one for me, and that made me a Catholic! When I confided my decision to Mr. Yuan, he almost fainted with joy, for, as he told me afterwards, he had been praying for my conversion for ten years! God answered his prayers in his own house. And the most remarkable thing about it is, that no one could ever have foreseen the circumstances that led me to live with his family by that time.

Ever since my first acquaintance with the sweet Saint, my love for her has been growing. She has taught me how to love Jesus and how to love our Mother the Blessed Virgin. In a most miraculous way, she has converted my wife.

One day my little daughter, "the little Teresa," was sick. The doctor said that it was a very serious case of pneumonia, and that it would take at least nine days for her to recover, during which period we had to be extremely careful. Being a most competent and honest doctor, there is absolutely no doubt that his diagnosis was right. So we were frightened; especially as my wife was on the point of delivering another child, and if she were to nurse the girl for nine days, she would be likely to collapse under the weight not only of the physical labor but also of the mental ordeal.

As for the girl, her fever was running high, and the doctor told us that it was just the beginning and everything depended upon later developments. After consulting my wife, I rang up Father Maestrini, requesting him to come to us and baptize the girl. He did so. Soon after, my wife knelt before Saint Therese with the sick baby in her arms, and prayed in deep earnestness. I could not hear her words. When she rose, I asked her what she had said to the Saint. She answered, "Oh, I just told her that Lan-hsien is too hard to bring up; I am not fit to be her mother, so I begged Saint Therese to be her mother."

Next morning, the doctor came again and, taking the temperature of little Teresa, found that it was a little below one hundred! It had been a hundred and five on the previous day! Then he examined the lungs, and found the pneumonia gone! The only words he uttered were, "Wonderful! Wonderful!"

I told him what had happened and asked him whether he would be willing to certify to my story if I were to write it out in detail someday. He said, "Certainly!" The story is too long to tell here. What interests me just now is the story of the conversion of my wife.

Some time ago, my wife met Madame H. H. Kung, and, as their friendship grew, the nobility of the latter's character impressed her deeply and opened her eyes to the beauties of Christianity; but it was Saint Therese who confirmed entirely her faith in Christ. As for me, my only function is to teach her the Catechism. I never have wanted to impose my own Faith upon my family, but God loves us so much that He has condescended to be the Host of our humble home. During my life God has showered one honor after another upon my head; it is beyond my power to requite Him in the slightest degree. But as if all His other blessings were not enough, He has given me the supreme honor of supping with us day in, day out! Now I have learned the art of prayer from my wife. I simply say to Jesus, "I am not able to pay my immense debt to God; pay it for me!"

Before concluding this preface, I wish to express my thanks to all my friends who have helped me one way or another in preparing this little pamphlet, especially to a very learned and wise Father and Miss Ailien Therese Wu, whose suggestions I have gladly incorporated into this paper. Above all I am grateful to the Blessed Virgin, to whom I prayed before I started my essay, "Mother, help me to paint a good portrait of your beloved child Therese, my beloved spiritual sister." So, my gentle reader, if you like this essay, the credit is to be given to her; if you don't like it, the fault is mine; but if you like it and yet do not come to love Therese and her Divine Lover as I do, the fault will be yours.

J. C. H. Wu.

LOVE AND SCIENCE

Shortly before his death, Goethe said to Eckermann, "Let mental culture go 
on advancing; let the natural sciences go on gaining in depth and breadth, 
and the human mind expand as it may--it will never go beyond the elevation 
and moral culture of Christianity as it glistens and shines forth in the 
Gospel!"[2] Since these words were uttered, more than a century has passed 
during which the natural sciences have made tremendous progress, and 
psychology has probed deep into the darkest nooks and corners of the human 
mind. But have we gone beyond the elevation and moral culture of 
Christianity? No, Christianity still continues to shine as the Morning Star 
and will continue to shine to the end of time. In fact, as Pope Pius XI 
pointed out, "It might even be said that a knowledge of Nature will serve 
as an introduction to what is of far greater value, an understanding of 
things supernatural."[3] The more science grows, the nearer we shall be to a 
living Faith. Material civilization is a welcome fuel to the fire of love. 
If the fire is weak, it may be smothered by the fuel. But if the fire is 
strong, the more fuel it has to feed on, the brighter will be its flame.

I have just read a love song of ancient China:

"A quiet girl,--oh, she is charming! 
She gave me a roseate flute. 
Oh, how splendid are the colors of the flute! How they chime in with the 
beauty of the girl!

From the pastures she brought rush-wool, Beautiful and rare indeed! 
Oh, rush-wool, you would not be so lovely, 
If you were not the gift of my love."

I wonder what a modern girl would present to her lover. Instead of a 
roseate flute, she might give a motor-car or a radio set. Instead of rush-
wool, she might give a piece of brocade or even a gorgeous rug. The 
important thing is love, and so long as love is there, what difference does 
it make how it happens to manifest itself.

If there is any difference at all, one would prefer a radio to a roseate 
flute, and brocade to rush-wool. Love has nothing to lose and everything to 
gain by the continual progress of civilization. And how can science ever 
supersede Christianity, which is the Religion of Love "par excellence?"

To my mind, the most beautiful exposition of the philosophy of Love is that 
of St. Paul.[4] Let me present it in my own paraphrase:

Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is free from envy, free from vanity, 
free from pride, free from ambition, free from self-seeking, free from 
anger, and free from resentfulness. Love finds no joy in the errings of 
others, but is gladdened by goodness and truth. Love bears all things, 
believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love is a 
living fountain that never dries up.

No one is more gifted than St. Paul, and no one knows better that all gifts 
are of no account if they are not lit up by the flame of Love. He expresses 
this perfectly when he says:

I may be able to speak all the languages of men and of angels, but if I 
have no love, I am no better than a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. I may 
be able to prophesy, I may fathom all mysteries, I may possess all 
knowledge, I may even have such faith as would move mountains, but if I 
have no love, I am nothing. I may distribute all my goods to feed the poor, 
I may even offer my body to be burnt, but if I have no love, there is no 
virtue in these actions.

The whole trouble about modern civilization seems to me to lie just in 
this: "here is too much love of science and too little science of love."

"The science of love!" exclaimed little Therese, "Ah! sweet is the echo of 
that word to the ear of my soul! I desire no other science than that. For 
the sake of love, having given all my riches, like the spouse in the 
Canticles, I feel as though I had given nothing. There is nothing except 
love which could render us agreeable to the good God. This is so plain to 
me, that this love has become the sole treasure upon which I set my heart."[5] 
To give all, and to reckon it as nothing--that is the acme of love!



SOME TYPES OF SAINTS: MARTHA AND MAGDALENE
(To be continued)

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The Miracles of Saint Mark

O God, Who does great things and unsearchable, and wonderful things without number. -- Job 5:9

There is a tradition which says that Mark was the youth who witnessed Judas' betrayal of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.   Of the four evangelists, only St. Mark relates the incident: And there followed Him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him: And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked (Mark 14:51-52). His mother had a house in Jerusalem (cf. Acts 12:12), which some suppose to have been in or near the Garden. Perhaps the youth was awakened-the betrayal occurred at night-and ran out to see what the commotion was about. It is, in any case, a plausible explanation of why he was undressed.

By birth a Jew of the priestly tribe of Levi, St. Mark was a nephew of the Apostle Barnabas. Although not a direct disciple of Jesus Christ, he was one of the 70 disciples. One can assume that he became acquainted with many of Christ's disciples when they gathered in his mother's home. He developed a particularly close bond with St. Peter, who referred to him as "my son" (I Peter 5:13). Later he became a faithful companion and assistant to the Apostle Paul. He witnessed the martyrdom in Rome of both chief Apostles: St. Paul by execution and St. Peter by crucifixion.

St. Mark travelled extensively in spreading the Gospel. He accompanied Paul and Barnabas when they returned to Antioch after distributing relief to the Jerusalem Christians, and assisted them in their missionary work on the island of Cyprus, where his uncle was bishop. In Perga Mark left them to return to Jerusalem, and from there set off for Rome with Apostle Peter.

The Roman Christians were not satisfied with hearing about Christ; they clamored earnestly for a written record of His life and teachings. St. Mark complied and wrote his account, considered to be the earliest of the four Gospels. It was approved by St. Peter as being wholly accurate, and was accepted without disputation by all the local Churches as authentic, divinely-inspired Scripture.

From Rome St. Mark was sent by St. Peter to preach the Gospel in those regions bordering the Adriatic. His ministry was fruitful; everywhere churches were established. St. Peter then appointed Mark bishop and sent him to Egypt.

Egypt was a land full of pagan idolatry, although not without sophistication. Its principal city, Alexandria, boasted a superb library and was a renowned center of Hellenic learning, attracting scholars from all corners of the empire. The city claimed a sizable Jewish community, and it was there, on the initiative of Ptolemy Philadelphus, that the Hebrew Old Testament was translated into Greek; it is this Septuagint edition which was accepted as authoritative Scripture by the Apostles and which remains the standard version for the Orthodox Church.

After sojourning for a time in the coastal cities of Pentapolis, and bringing many there out of the darkness of ignorance into the light of faith, the Evangelist was led by the Holy Spirit to sail east to Alexandria. As he reached the city gates, one of his sandals broke. A cobbler, in trying to fix it, punctured his hand with his awl. St. Mark made a paste of some earth mixed with his spittle and applied it to the bleeding wound with the words, "In the name of Jesus Christ Who lives forever, be thou whole!" Immediately the blood stanched and the wound closed. The grateful cobbler insisted on inviting St. Mark to his home, where he questioned him closely: "Who are you and what is your business, and who is this Jesus Christ?" St. Mark proceeded to expound the gospel, which so impressed the cobbler that he and his household asked straightway to be baptized. The Apostle took this as an auspicious sign, and he was not mistaken.

As promised, the Lord confirmed the Apostles' preaching with signs and wonders: the sick were healed, the deaf were made to hear, and the blind to see. The number of faithful increased daily, and under St Mark's tutelage these Egyptian Christians attained an impressive level of sanctity. Many gave away their possessions and moved outside the cities, forming communities devoted to the disciplined pursuit of Christian excellence. The Alexandrian Jewish philosopher Philo described their lifestyle:

"In every house there is a holy chamber called a sanctuary or 'monastery', where they celebrate in seclusion the mysteries of the sanctified life, bringing in nothing -- drink, food or anything else required for bodily needs -- but laws and inspired oracles spoken by prophets, hymns, and everything else by which knowledge and true religion are increased and perfected....The whole period from dawn to dusk is given up to spiritual discipline...

"They not only practice contemplation but also compose songs and hymns to God in all kinds of metres and melodies, setting them, as might be expected, to solemn measures. /.../ Having first laid down self-control as a foundation for the soul,, they build the other virtues on it. None of them would take food or drink before sundown, as they hold that philosophy deserves daylight, while darkness is good enough for bodily needs."

Philo was specially taken by some of the older women, "who have remained single, not of necessity, like some priestesses of pagan cults, but of their own free will, through their passionate craving for wisdom, with which they were so eager to live that they scorned bodily pleasures, and set their hearts not on mortal children but on immortal, which only the soul that loves God can bring into the world." (Quoted by Eusebius in his History of the Church.)

There in Alexandria St. Mark established a catechetical school which produced many great apologists for the Faith: Clement, Dionysius (of Alexandria), Gregory the Wonderworker, and others.

The pagan leaders, infuriated by the progressive spread of Christianity in their domain, conspired to kill St. Mark.   On learning of their evil resolve, the Apostle ordained Anianus bishop and fled to Pentapolis. He strengthened the Church he had established there earlier and brought the Gospel to more remote parts of Libya and to Ammonicia.

Returning to Egypt, St. Mark continued his apostolic labors, rejoicing in spirit at the abundant harvest of souls.   At last, however, the pagan leaders, bitterly resenting his authority, found opportunity to kill him.

The approaching celebration of Pascha coincided that year with the festival of the pagan god Serapis, drawing scores of idol-worshippers to the city. As St. Mark was celebrating the divine service, a mob of pagans broke into the church and seized their prey.   The holy Apostle was bound with a rope and dragged through the streets of the city, as his captors shouted mockingly, "We're taking the ox to the stall!" He was thrown into prison, his body lacerated by the sharp stones over which he had been mercilessly dragged. That night an angel strengthened him for his final trial. "Slave of God, Mark, thy name is written in heaven in the Book of Life. Thou hast been numbered among the holy apostles, and thou wilt be remembered unto ages of ages. Thou wilt rejoice with the powers on high, and on earth thy precious relics will be preserved." Then the Lord Himself appeared and said to the Saint: "Peace to thee, Mark, My evangelist."

In the morning the Saint, a rope tied around his neck, was again led through the streets like some dumb beast, accompanied by a great crowd of jeering pagans. Utterly spent, the meek sufferer eventually collapsed and his soul, released from its earthly tabernacle, ascended to heaven. The pagans, not content with having killed the Saint, wanted to destroy also his lifeless body, but they had scarcely lit the bonfire that was to have consumed the body before there was a mammoth thunderclap; the earth shook and the sky loosed a storm of hailstones. The fire was quenched and the pagans dispersed, allowing the Christians to come and collect the sacred remains of their martyred bishop and father in the Faith. These they placed in a stone coffin in the place where they gathered for common prayer. Later, in the ninth century, Islamic incursions caused the relics to be transferred to Venice, where they are preserved to this day in the magnificent basilica dedicated to this holy Apostle and Evangelist.

Compiled from The Lives of the Holy Apostles (from the Menology of St. Dimitri of Rostov), Holy Apostles Convent; the Life of St. Mark by Nun Barbara in Pravoslavnaya Zhizn, Jordanville; and The Prologue of Ochrid by Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich, Lazarica Press.

Quote of Leon Bloy

Ah! The happy ones of this world who are assured their daily bread—that is, all the things necessary to bodily life—and who, not wishing to know Jesus, have never for one single instant had the idea of suffering for their brothers, of sacrificing themselves for the wretched! ~ Léon Bloy

Revelations of Saint Gertrude

Chapter 24.

Conclusion of this Book.

Behold, O loving Lord, I offer Thee the talent of Thy condescending intimacy, which Thou hast confided to me, vile creature that I am. I have traded with it for love of Thy love in that which I have written, or which I may yet write. And I can boldly declare, by Thy grace, that I have had no other motive in saying or writing these things, except that of obeying Thy will, of promoting Thy glory, and of zeal for the salvation of souls. I desire, therefore, that all should praise Thee and give Thee thanks, that my unworthiness has not caused Thee to withdraw Thy mercy from me. I desire also that Thou shouldst be praised for those who, reading these things, are charmed with the sweetness of Thy charity, and inwardly drawn to desire the same; and also for those who, studying them as students, commence with the alphabet, and attain to philosophy,-- thus being led by the perusal of these things, as by pictures and images, to search for the hidden manna, which increases the hunger of those who partake of it, and which is not found in corporal substances.

Therefore, since Thou, the Almighty Dispenser of all good things, dost vouchsafe to pasture us during our exile, until, "beholding the glory of the Lord with unveiled countenance, we are transformed into His image, and from glory to glory by the power of the spirit of love," (2 Cor. iii, 18); meanwhile, according to Thy faithful promises and the humble desire of my heart, grant, I beseech Thee, to all who read these writings with humility, the peace of Thy love, compassion for my miseries, and a salutary compunction for their furtherance in perfection; so that, elevating their hearts towards Thee with burning love, they may be like so many golden censers, whose sweet odours shall abundantly supply all my negligence and ingratitude. Amen. ----- (End of Book 1).

Book 2. The Revelations of St. Gertrude

–compiled by the religious of her convent

Chapter 1. Our Lord gives His Blessed Mother to St. Gertrude

to be her mother, in order that she may have recourse to her in all her afflictions. (To be continued)

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• Revelations of St. Gertrude -- on line

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