The Hidden Face (book)
Encyclopedia
The Hidden Face is a book on St. Thérèse of Lisieux by the German author Ida Friederike Görres
. Originally written in German in 1944 as Das Verborgene Antlitz it is considered the most important work by Görres.
, John Henry Newman or St Hildegard
? Has not all that is necessary, and far more, already been said about this holy little nun?' "
For those around Ida Görres in those years Thérèse represented the very type of bourgeois Christianity they were resisting. She wrote later that a small, unforgettable incident, shaped her decision to study Thérèse. " During a meeting at Burg Rothenfels, then the centre of the Catholic Youth Movement in Germany (Quickborn - the main Catholic branch of the German Youth Movement
) , a student showed me a small picture, like a passport photograph. 'This is the true appearance of Little Thérèse', he said. 'Dom Willibrod Verkade, the monk-painter of Beuron
, published it. The Carmel at Lisieux
, and a French bishop as well, protested vehemently against its publication.' A small group had gathered round and the picture passed from hand to hand. From that August morning on I was determined to pursue the riddle of her look and her smile - so different from the honeyed insipidity of the usual representations of her. Who was Thérèse of the Child Jesus in reality? "
For the 1959 revised edition of her book, following the appearance in 1956 of a four volume critical edition Manuscrits Autobiographiques Görres was able to consider the effect of the editorial work that Thérèse's sister Pauline had carried out - cuts, stylistic corrections, and most importantly, insertions. " The insertions seem to me the one considerable and questionable element" but, she concluded , " The facsimile
manuscripts afford no sensational revelations, no fundamental transformations in our picture of the saint." She found that she had not altered her view of the saint.
Chapters:
Ida Friederike Görres
Ida Friederike Görres , born Elisabeth Friederike, Reichsgräfin Coudenhove-Kalergi was a Czech-Austrian writer...
. Originally written in German in 1944 as Das Verborgene Antlitz it is considered the most important work by Görres.
Background
When Gorres first began work on the book at the beginning of the Second World War she wrote that, " not a single encouraging or interested voice was raised among my friends and acquaintances. Really, can't you choose a more important figure, one more significant for our times? Thomas MoreThomas More
Sir Thomas More , also known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was an important councillor to Henry VIII of England and, for three years toward the end of his life, Lord Chancellor...
, John Henry Newman or St Hildegard
Hildegard of Bingen
Blessed Hildegard of Bingen , also known as Saint Hildegard, and Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath. Elected a magistra by her fellow nuns in 1136, she founded the monasteries of Rupertsberg in 1150 and...
? Has not all that is necessary, and far more, already been said about this holy little nun?' "
For those around Ida Görres in those years Thérèse represented the very type of bourgeois Christianity they were resisting. She wrote later that a small, unforgettable incident, shaped her decision to study Thérèse. " During a meeting at Burg Rothenfels, then the centre of the Catholic Youth Movement in Germany (Quickborn - the main Catholic branch of the German Youth Movement
German Youth Movement
The German Youth Movement is a collective term for a cultural and educational movement that started in 1896. It consists of numerous associations of young people that focus on outdoor activities. The movement included German Scouting and the Wandervogel...
) , a student showed me a small picture, like a passport photograph. 'This is the true appearance of Little Thérèse', he said. 'Dom Willibrod Verkade, the monk-painter of Beuron
Beuron Archabbey
Beuron Archabbey is a major house of the Benedictine Order located at Beuron in the upper Danube valley in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
, published it. The Carmel at Lisieux
Lisieux
Lisieux is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.Lisieux is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland...
, and a French bishop as well, protested vehemently against its publication.' A small group had gathered round and the picture passed from hand to hand. From that August morning on I was determined to pursue the riddle of her look and her smile - so different from the honeyed insipidity of the usual representations of her. Who was Thérèse of the Child Jesus in reality? "
For the 1959 revised edition of her book, following the appearance in 1956 of a four volume critical edition Manuscrits Autobiographiques Görres was able to consider the effect of the editorial work that Thérèse's sister Pauline had carried out - cuts, stylistic corrections, and most importantly, insertions. " The insertions seem to me the one considerable and questionable element" but, she concluded , " The facsimile
Facsimile
A facsimile is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from other forms of reproduction by attempting to replicate the source as accurately as possible in terms of scale,...
manuscripts afford no sensational revelations, no fundamental transformations in our picture of the saint." She found that she had not altered her view of the saint.
Chapters:
- II The Nest
- III The Desert
- IV The Way
- V The Breakthrough
- VI Perfection
- VII The Riddle of Glory
Sources
- Ida Friederike Görres, The Hidden Face: A Study of St. Therese of Lisieux Ignatius Press 2003 ISBN 089870927X