Apostolic Exhortation C’est la confiance Issued to Celebrate St. Thérèse of Lisieux
Pope Francis' latest exhortation’s title, C’est la confiance, in French, comes from a letter written by St. Thérèse of Lisieux. The full phrase is "It is confidence and nothing but confidence that must lead us to Love." As Thérèse herself communicated, she was committed to proclaiming Christ’s salvation to all. She wrote that "she had entered Carmel to save souls," and "she was able to define her mission with these words: “I shall desire in heaven the same thing as I do now on earth: to love Jesus and to make him loved."
An apostolic exhortation is a magisterial document, generally considered to be surpassed in importance only by apostolic constitutions and encyclicals. In general, exhortations encourage a particular virtue or activity. After releasing just five exhortations since becoming pope, Francis released two this month alone.
Pope Francis has a deep devotion to the French Discalced Carmelite nun and to the merciful love of God. To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Thérèse’s birth and the 100th anniversary of her beatification, the pope highlights the Saint’s “little way" of love, self-giving, concern for others and complete trust in the mercy of God as her teaching for us.
Throughout the document, the “missionary soul” of the saint (she was proclaimed co-patroness of the missions by Pope Pius XI in 1927 alongside Francis Xavier) is highlighted. According to Pope Francis, the last pages of Story of a Soul are a "missionary testament." There Teresa reflects on a verse from the Song of Songs recognizes that one can profess the name of Christ and draw other hearts to Christ not by efforts of mobilization and discourses of human wisdom, but only if one is drawn to Christ himself.
Issued on October 15, the exhortation is being seen by many as a needed message for these very complex and difficult times. "At a time of great complexity, she can help us rediscover the importance of simplicity, the absolute primacy of love, trust, and abandonment, and thus move beyond a legalistic or moralistic mindset that would fill the Christian life with rules and regulations and cause the joy of the Gospel to grow cold," the pope wrote.
Apostolic Exhortation C’est la Confiance – English
