Book Review: My Vocation Is Love

I recently had the opportunity to read Jean Lafrance's My Vocation Is Love St. Therese's Way to Total Trust.  I was struck by how deep and thought provoking this book is.  Having just read St. Therese's Story of a Soul a few months ago, I came to realize how much I simply didn't understand when I had read that book as I slowly made my way through My Vocation is Love.

It took me several weeks to make it through this book.  It is certainly not a book you can pick up and breeze through over a few lazy afternoons.  Throughout this book I needed to stop and process what I was reading, pray and reflect.  As I read through this book my understanding of St. Therese deepened and I have come to realize that her writings and her little way are every bit as  spiritually daunting to wrap my mind around as St. Augustine.

My Vocation Is Love is a book that you truly have to read in bite size pieces so that you can properly reflect on it and get the most out of it.  I'm certain that if I had powered through this book I not only would have had yet another case of spiritual indigestion (something I previously thought only St. Augustine's writings could give me).

I heartily recommend this book if you are seeking to gain a deeper understanding of St. Therese and her  little way.  If you have read her Story of a Soul and possibly found it all to be very sweet and sentimental but didn't catch the deeper message in it all, then I'd suggest this book as a great starting point to help you uncover the depth of Theresian spirituality.  After reading this book I became more amazed by this saint.

Now my oldest daughter who is about to turn eleven hounded me for weeks asking when I'd be done with this book.  She was hoping to read it, but honestly, I think the book is written on a level that is simply not going to be easily understood or read by a middle school aged student.  She loves St. Therese, but I'm certain that this book would be too daunting for her.  Because she showed a deep interest in this book I feel compelled to let you know that I would probably put this book in the ages 15 and up category.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. I was provided with a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.  Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on My Vocation Is Love: St.Thérèse’s Way . The Catholic Company is also a great online store for all your Catholic gift needs, such as baby baptism and christening gifts. You can also find a wide selection of Catholic Bible Studies for both parish groups and individuals, as well as a variety of other Catholic Bible studyresources.