Diptych Saint Therese of the Child Jesus with lily and quotation on Confidence

Description Diptych Saint Therese of the Child Jesus with lily and quotation on Confidence

For this diptych dedicated to Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus the left panel represents the saint on her knees holding a lily in her hands, hence the title of this religious object. Mother Agnes of Jesus did not like this photograph because of the garment of choir of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus which was badly positioned. On the right side of the saint, the coat or cape has a fold and on the left side the coat is too far back; it should be more on the front. When Sister Geneviève was taking the photo, she was more concerned with facial expression; therefore she did not notice the position of the cape. As for the facial expression Céline was satisfied with it. It should be noted that the face of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus is very expressive despite the posture somewhat frozen because of the long pause time required at the time. The look is piercing and deep: she sees God in everything. For her everything is grace, everything breathes the love of God. A slight contraction above the upper lip seems to indicate a state of suffering. As of the date this photo was taken, July 1896 Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus was already sick; these first spitting of blood dates back to April 1896. From a spiritual point of view, she reached her maturity the previous year with her act of offering to merciful Love on June 11. Since April 5, 1896 she entered her period of trial concerning faith and hope. Thus in this photo the soul of Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus lives a great interior trial. This test of faith mainly consists in losing all human support, the consolations on which our still imperfect faith was based. All that remains is pure faith. The soul also seems to have lost faith, because it feels nothing. It is then that it must abandon itself completely to God, put it trust in Him alone. During this time of trial Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus remains no less faithful to her way of trust and love. On the contrary!
The quotation put on the right panel and whose exact text has not been found in the writings of Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus, expresses all her spirituality. Confidence is based on the divine Omnipotence which is never defeated, and on the divine Mercy as well, which is an expression of the goodness and love of God towards his poor weak and fickle creatures. It is because we believe in this infinite mercy of God that we have unlimited trust in Him.

Quotation :

On n'a jamais trop de confiance
dans le Bon Dieu
si puissant et si miséricordieux.

Sainte Thérèse de l'Enfant Jésus
et de la sainte Face