Teresa de Lisieux

: leitura teológica do seu oferecimento como vítima ao amor misericordioso e da sua noite espiritual

Abstract

«For we walk by faith, not by sight» (2 Cor 5,7) but what would happen if that light simply went out? This was the hardest of ordeals that Therese of Lisieux suffered at the end of her life when her faith was put to test by the «thickest darkness».What was Therese of Lisieux’s response to what is commonly called the «dark night of the soul»? Can her testimony of this spiritual experience enlighten the faith of christians in the 21st century? These two questions guided the investigation for this dissertation which is divided into three parts. In the first part we study her historical and spiritual context. In the second part we describe the spiritual journey of this carmelite saint, particularly her Act of Holocaust as Victim of God’s Merciful Love. Finally, in the third chapter, we make a hermeneutical study of the spirituality of this Saint Doctor of the Church, which will help us understand the healing dimension of her loving response to God at the basis of the Act of Oblation and the new ecclesial sense that she imprinted on the so called night of faith: solidarity with unbelievers.

Date of Award	15 Dec 2021
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Teresa Messias (Supervisor)