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St Therese's Dream of the Child Jesus – Painting by St Therese of Lisieux – 3 sizes – Catholic Art Print
St Therese's Dream of the Child Jesus – Painting by St Therese of Lisieux – 3 sizes – Catholic Art Print
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"Dream of the Child Jesus"
by St. Therese of Lisieux
St. Therese came from an artistic family. Her sister Celine, before she decided to follow Therese into the Carmel, almost went to Paris to study art, and other sisters, including Pauline, (Mother Agnes), were quite accomplished. Therese was good too!
Therese made this painting to show a dream she had of Jesus. She gave the picture to Pauline along with a description of the dream in a letter. Here's an excerpt from that letter. The "dear spouse" refers to herself. Along with the meaning of the dream, we get a very personal glimpse into Therese's heart.
From Thérèse to Mother Agnes of Jesus.
January 21, 1894
J.M.J.T.
"While playing in His crib with the flowers His dear spouse brought Him, Jesus is thinking of what He will do to thank her.... Up above, in the celestial gardens, the angels, servants of the divine Child, are already weaving crowns His Heart has reserved for His beloved.
"However, the night has come. The moon sends out its silvery rays, and the gentle Child falls asleep.... His little hand does not let go the flowers that delighted Him during the day, and His Heart continues dreaming about the happiness of His dear spouse.
"Soon, He sees in the distance strange objects bearing no resemblance to the springtime flowers. A cross!... a lance!, a crown of thorns! And yet the divine Child does not tremble; this is what He chooses to show His spouse how much He loves her!.. But it is still not enough; His infant face is so beautiful. He sees it disfigured, covered with blood! .. .unrecognizable!.. Jesus knows that His spouse will always recognize Him, that she will be at His side when all others abandon Him, so the divine Child smiles at this bloodstained image, He smiles at the chalice filled with the wine giving birth to virgins. He knows that, in His Eucharist, the ungrateful will desert Him; but Jesus is thinking of His spouse's love, her attention He sees the flowers of her virtues as they scent the sanctuary and the Child Jesus continues to sleep on peacefully.... He waits the shadows to lengthen .. .the night of life to give way to the bright day of eternity!...
"Dear Mother,
You have just read the dream that your child wanted to reproduce for your feast day. But, alas! only your artistic brush could paint such a sweet mystery!... I trust you will look only upon the good will of her who would be happy to please you...." (the rest of the letter can be found as Letter 156 at www.archives-carmel-lisieux.fr)
Celine had retouched the painting at some point. We think that's possibly why the face of the Child Jesus looks a bit like the face of Therese in paintings by Celine. Or maybe that was just the family style.
+ + + + + + + +
** IMPORTANT ** IMAGE IS SMALLER THAN THE PAPER!!
There is a white border around the image. About 0.5" for 5x7, 1.3" for 8.5x11", 1.6" for 11x17", and 1.75" for 13x17", so the image is smaller than the paper!!!
- Acid-free fine art paper.
- Archival pigments, rated to last for generations.
- Cardboard backer
- Above story of the art
- Enclosed in a tight-fitting, crystal clear bag.
Thanks for your interest!
Sue & John
"In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art." ~ St. Pope John Paul II
Original image is out-of-copyright. Descriptive text and image alterations (hence the whole new image) © by Sue Kouma Johnson - Classic Catholic Art.
by St. Therese of Lisieux
St. Therese came from an artistic family. Her sister Celine, before she decided to follow Therese into the Carmel, almost went to Paris to study art, and other sisters, including Pauline, (Mother Agnes), were quite accomplished. Therese was good too!
Therese made this painting to show a dream she had of Jesus. She gave the picture to Pauline along with a description of the dream in a letter. Here's an excerpt from that letter. The "dear spouse" refers to herself. Along with the meaning of the dream, we get a very personal glimpse into Therese's heart.
From Thérèse to Mother Agnes of Jesus.
January 21, 1894
J.M.J.T.
"While playing in His crib with the flowers His dear spouse brought Him, Jesus is thinking of what He will do to thank her.... Up above, in the celestial gardens, the angels, servants of the divine Child, are already weaving crowns His Heart has reserved for His beloved.
"However, the night has come. The moon sends out its silvery rays, and the gentle Child falls asleep.... His little hand does not let go the flowers that delighted Him during the day, and His Heart continues dreaming about the happiness of His dear spouse.
"Soon, He sees in the distance strange objects bearing no resemblance to the springtime flowers. A cross!... a lance!, a crown of thorns! And yet the divine Child does not tremble; this is what He chooses to show His spouse how much He loves her!.. But it is still not enough; His infant face is so beautiful. He sees it disfigured, covered with blood! .. .unrecognizable!.. Jesus knows that His spouse will always recognize Him, that she will be at His side when all others abandon Him, so the divine Child smiles at this bloodstained image, He smiles at the chalice filled with the wine giving birth to virgins. He knows that, in His Eucharist, the ungrateful will desert Him; but Jesus is thinking of His spouse's love, her attention He sees the flowers of her virtues as they scent the sanctuary and the Child Jesus continues to sleep on peacefully.... He waits the shadows to lengthen .. .the night of life to give way to the bright day of eternity!...
"Dear Mother,
You have just read the dream that your child wanted to reproduce for your feast day. But, alas! only your artistic brush could paint such a sweet mystery!... I trust you will look only upon the good will of her who would be happy to please you...." (the rest of the letter can be found as Letter 156 at www.archives-carmel-lisieux.fr)
Celine had retouched the painting at some point. We think that's possibly why the face of the Child Jesus looks a bit like the face of Therese in paintings by Celine. Or maybe that was just the family style.
+ + + + + + + +
** IMPORTANT ** IMAGE IS SMALLER THAN THE PAPER!!
There is a white border around the image. About 0.5" for 5x7, 1.3" for 8.5x11", 1.6" for 11x17", and 1.75" for 13x17", so the image is smaller than the paper!!!
- Acid-free fine art paper.
- Archival pigments, rated to last for generations.
- Cardboard backer
- Above story of the art
- Enclosed in a tight-fitting, crystal clear bag.
Thanks for your interest!
Sue & John
"In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art." ~ St. Pope John Paul II
Original image is out-of-copyright. Descriptive text and image alterations (hence the whole new image) © by Sue Kouma Johnson - Classic Catholic Art.
