A Reflection from “The Most Powerful Saints in Exorcism” by Charles D. Fraune and Patrick O’Hearn

As the youngest child of two saintly parents, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Thérèse of Lisieux had two of the greatest models for holiness. One of her nicknames, which she gave herself, was the “little flower,” as she was content to be a little flower in God’s garden. But far from being a tiny, helpless flower, she was one of the devil’s fiercest opponents, for she lived entirely for God and longed to save as many souls as possible through her prayers and penance. As a result, the devil pursued her constantly throughout her twenty-four years of life.

In her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, St. Thérèse described a vivid and disturbing dream she had around the age of three or four. She wrote,

I was walking alone in the garden when suddenly I saw two horrible little devils near the arbor, dancing on a barrel of lime with amazing agility, in spite of having heavy irons on their feet. They looked at me with flaming eyes, then, as if overcome by fear, threw themselves in the twinkling of an eye to the bottom of the barrel. They escaped in some mysterious way and ran off to hide in the linen room, which opens onto the garden. When I saw how cowardly they were, I put my fears aside and went over to the window to see what they were up to. There the little wretches were, running round and round the table, and not knowing how to escape my gaze. From time to time they came nearer, still very agitated, to peep through the window; then, when they saw I was still there, they began racing about again in abject misery.

I do not suppose this dream was very extraordinary, but I do think God made use of it to show me that a soul in the state of grace need never be afraid of the devil, who is such a coward that even the gaze of a child will frighten him away.

The attacks only intensified throughout her life. During a childhood illness, the devil assailed her openly. On the eve of her vows as a Carmelite nun, he sowed seeds of doubt, making her feel “quite unsuited” for religious life. Near the end of her life, as she battled tuberculosis, she sensed the devil’s presence in her cell: “I do not see him, but I feel him near me. He crucifies me in a grip of iron to deprive me of all consolation, trying, by increasing my sufferings, to make me despair.” To banish the devil, St. Thérèse kept her eyes on Our Lady and repeated the holy Name of Jesus while keeping a blessed candle lit. She also sometimes relied on holy water to drive the devil away.

Because of her lifelong battles and triumphs over the ancient serpent, St. Thérèse longs to assist those who invoke her intercession today. Fr. Benedict recalled one story when he prayed over a young man at a United States shrine who roared like a lion, which “scared people to death.” Some people even cried. Fr. Benedict assured the people not to worry and that God would take care of setting the man free. The young man was taken to an outside room, and Fr. Benedict obtained permission from the bishop of that diocese to perform an exorcism. As soon as the Exorcism Ritual started, the young man fell into a comatose state. Fr. Benedict then noticed that those helping him were tired. This was an unplanned exorcism, and it was already late at night. Fr. Benedict recognized that the devil would want this exorcism to go on all night, so he looked up to Heaven and said, “Jesus, my people are worn out. This is going to take a long time. Could you give me a shortcut so they could go home?” He continued:

Immediately, the thought came to me. A thought from the Holy Spirit: St. Thérèse. It was like a spoken command in my soul. It was an answer. I looked up and said “What?” Because as an exorcist, I have never been trained to call upon St. Thérèse. She’s a little twenty-four-year-old nun. . . a little girl. What could she do here? This is one of the most powerful demonic manifestations I have ever seen.

But the Lord again told Fr. Benedict, “Thérèse.” So he began to pray the Chaplet of St. Thérèse, praying twenty-four Glory Be’s to the Little Flower. The man was instantaneously set free and woke up after the seventh Glory Be.

Sometimes, when St. Thérèse of Lisieux shows up in an exorcism, she does not come alone. According to Adam Blai, “her parents now go with her.” Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin fight side by side with their saintly daughter like their own “little holy family.”

+