| The Grace of Christmas
In the hustle and bustle of Christmas, we can sometimes forget what we are celebrating and miss the great graces that God can give us at this special time. St Therese of Lisieux was a highly sensitive and somewhat spoiled child, following her mother’s death. She had a wonderful conversion experience one Christmas, however, which she recounts in her autobiography when she had a kind of baptism in the spirit experience which healed her and empowered her for mission. May we pray for similar graces this Christmas for our own lives. Below we reprint her recollections taken from “Story of a Soul”
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On that night of light began the third period of my life, the most beautiful and the most filled with graces from heaven. The work I had been unable to do in ten years was done by Jesus in one instant, contenting himself with my good will which was never lacking. I could say to Him like His apostles “Master, I fished all night and caught nothing.” More merciful to me than He was to His disciples, Jesus took the net Himself, cast it, and drew it in filled with fish. He made me a fisher of souls. I experienced a great desire to work for the conversion of sinners, a desire I hadn’t felt so intensely before. I felt charity enter my soul, and the need to forget myself and to please others; since then I have been happy.”
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It
was December 25th 1886, that I received the grace of leaving my childhood,
in a word, the grace of my complete conversion. We had come back from
Midnight Mass where I had the happiness of receiving the strong and
powerful God. Upon arriving at Les Buissonnets, I used to love to
take my shoes from the chimney-corner and examine the presents in
them; this old custom had given us so much joy in our youth that Celine
wanted to continue treating me as a baby since I was the youngest
in the family. Papa had always loved to see my happiness and listen
to my cries of delight as I drew each surprise from the magic shoes,
and my dear King’s gaiety increased my own happiness very much.
However, Jesus desired to show me that I was to give up the defects
of my childhood and so he withdrew its innocent pleasures. He permitted
Papa, tired out after the Midnight Mass, to experience annoyance when
seeing my shoes at the fireplace, and that he speak those words which
pierced my ear: “Well, fortunately, this will be the last year!”
I was going upstairs at the time, to remove my hat, and Celine, knowing
how sensitive I was and seeing the tears already glistening in my
eyes, wanted to cry too, for she loved me very much and understood
my grief. She said, “Oh, Thérèse, don’t go
downstairs; it would cause you too much grief to look at your slippers
right now!” But Thérèse was no longer the same;
Jesus had changed her heart! Forcing back my tears, I descended the
stairs rapidly; controlling the poundings of my heart, I took my slippers
and placed them in front of Papa, and withdrew all the objects joyfully.
I had the happy appearance of a Queen. Having was laughing: Celine
believed it was all a dream! Fortunately, it was a sweet reality;
Thérèse had discovered once again the strength of soul
which she had lost at the age of four and a half, and she was to preserve
forever! 
