Therese of Lisieux's Prayer

I personally get some inspiration for getting at the nature of this work from a story told by one of my favorite spiritual writers, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. Thérèse was born in 1873, to a devout Catholic family in France. She was especially close to one of her sisters, Pauline. When Pauline decided to become a Carmelite nun when Thérèse was nine years old, Thérèse had a hard time coping with the loss. 

Then a few years later, another sister, Marie, also joined the Carmelites. At that point Thérèse decided she too would…