In his study
of St. Therese in Two Sisters in the
Spirit, Balthasar offers this characterization of St. Therese’s view of the
vocation of the saints.
“The true
saints are those whose ardor in their earthly mission is fed solely by the
eternal, heavenly life that they have tasted but has been so painfully
withdrawn. They do not turn their backs on the world in order to enjoy the rest
of heaven in advance. Rather they live a life of intense longing and move the
world by the strength of that heaven that has first been granted to them and
then closed to them. They hang crucified between this world and the beyond;
exiles from earth but not yet in their heavenly home, their position serves as
a kind of pulpit, and their whole life is a sermon. It does not matter whether
the preaching takes the form of action or contemplation – this decision is left
to God; in both cases, their position is the same, stretched between earth and
heaven. And the longer they hang there, the more intimate the presence of
heaven within them, for nothing brings a person nearer to God than hanging
there.” p. 212
