Therese of Lisieux

Therese at age 15

For two more weeks, the remains and ornate coffin of Catholic Saint Terese of Lisieux will travel through England as worshipers flock from near and far to view it, touch its enclosure and offer up prayers to the “saint.” Although this former nun died one hundred years ago at age 24, some call her one of the “best-loved saints of the 20th century.” St. Terese’s remains have traveled the world and been viewed, adored, worshipped and prayed to by Catholic faithful in more than 40 nations. According to some, her remains have even restored sight to the blind. Approximately two million turned out to see St. Terese’s remains when they were in Ireland (The Independent, August 23, 2009). Yet, the first Commandment of the Ten is “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). Yet a world-church of more than a billion people teaches its adherents to pray to the dead. God warns that, at the end of the age, a powerful individual, influenced and/or possessed by Satan himself, will come on the scene with “power, signs and lying wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:9). This “lawless one” will actually make himself out to be God! Could Satan also use the bones of the dead to draw additional attention to a world-church and its religion—and also allow signs to be done through touching the relics of the dead? We should not be surprised if “miracles” like this begin to occur in the near future!

She died in 1897 Thérèse was canonized on May 17, 1925, by Pope Pius XI. She became quite popular in the 20th century.

Here is some of what Catholic OnLine reported about her:

Over the years, some modern Catholics have turned away from her because they associate her with over- sentimentalized piety…

Therese became so ill with a fever that people thought she was dying. The worst part of it for Therese was all the people sitting around her bed staring at her like, she said, “a string of onions.” When Therese saw her sisters praying to statue of Mary in her room, Therese also prayed. She saw Mary smile at her and suddenly she was cured. She tried to keep the grace of the cure secret but people found out and badgered her with questions about what Mary was wearing, what she looked like. When she refused to give in to their curiosity, they passed the story that she had made the whole thing up…

Every time Therese even imagined that someone was criticizing her or didn’t appreciate her, she burst into tears. Then she would cry because she had cried! Any inner wall she built to contain her wild emotions crumpled immediately before the tiniest comment. http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=105

Both biblical and non-biblical sources suggest that signs and wonders will deceive many at the end.

Some of them will likely involve apparitions claiming to be Mary as well as people who have claimed to somehow see Mary.

The prevalence of such claims lately has caused the Vatican to issue statements and policies warning against many of them (see Mary, the Mother of Jesus and the Apparitions).

It needs to be emphasized that just because a Catholic nun claims to have seen Mary and passes on messages, that this does not mean that the messages are from God (for some documentation please see Catholic Prophecies: Do They Mirror, Highlight, or Contradict Biblical Prophecies?).

In August 1895, in her “Canticle to the Holy Face” Thérèse wrote:

“Jesus, Your ineffable image is the star which guides my steps. Ah, You know, Your sweet Face is for me Heaven on earth. My love discovers the charms of Your Face adorned with tears. I smile through my own tears when I contemplate Your sorrows”. (Wikipedia)

This should set off warnings to all as the reality is that she never actually saw Jesus’ face/image, hence to claim that it was an His image that guided her steps would not be correct.

The Apostle John wrote:

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1).

And that is what all should do. God’s true prophets do not ever claim God told them something and then been shown to have been in error.

Two articles of related interest may include:

Mary, the Mother of Jesus and the Apparitions Do you know much about Mary? Are the apparitions real? What might they mean for the rise of the ecumenical religion of Antichrist? Are Protestants moving towards Mary? How do the Orthodox view Mary? How might Mary view her adorers?
Catholic Prophecies: Do They Mirror, Highlight, or Contradict Biblical Prophecies? People of all faiths may be surprised to see what various Roman and Orthodox Catholic prophets have been predicting as many of their predictions will be looked to in the 21st century.