With Empty Hands

The Message of St. Therese of Lisieux

This is an entirely new edition and translation of Conrad De Meester's brilliant and moving presentation of the life, thought, and spirituality of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. The author has completely revised and amplified his previous book in the light of the new, thoroughly annotated editions of her own works and the many recent works of research and commentary, which have led him to develop and change some of his interpretations of the saint's life and character. 

Fr. De Meester asks why and how this young girl, who asked to be admitted to the Carmel of Lisieux and persevered in her vocation to a hidden life in a small town of Normandy, is not only loved and invoked by millions of people but has become a profound influence on theology, spirituality and the missionary apostolate, culminating in her being declared a Doctor of the Church. He shows how the intuitions of her faith were achieved by growing from spiritual poverty to spiritual maturity through much suffering and in spite of many crises and reversals. This book reveals Thérèse as the saint of hope, whose constant watchword was "My God, I love you!"