St. Louis Martin and St. Zelie Guerin gave good religious formation to their children. The little sisters supported one another in the spiritual life. Zélie wrote, “Even Thérèse is anxious to make sacrifices. Marie has given her little sisters a string of beads on purpose to count their acts of self-denial. They have really spiritual, but very amusing, conversations together. Céline said the other day: ‘How can God be in such a tiny Host?’ Thérèse answered: ‘That is not strange, because God is Almighty!’ ‘And what does Almighty mean?’ ‘It means that He can do whatever He likes.’”

One day Thérèse’s older sister Léonie, thinking she was too big to play with dolls, brought her younger sisters a basket of clothes, pretty pieces of stuff, and a doll. She said, “Here, dears, choose whatever you like.” Céline took a woollen ball. After thinking about it for a minute, Thérèse put out her hand saying: “I choose everything,” and she carried off both doll and the basket containing the other materials.

Thérèse saw this childish incident as a forecast of her whole life. She wrote, “Later on, when the way of perfection was opened out before me, I realized that in order to become a saint one must suffer much, always seek the most perfect path, and forget oneself. I also understood that there are many degrees of holiness, that each soul is free to respond to the calls of Our Lord, to do much or little for His Love—in a word, to choose amongst the sacrifices He asks. And then also, as in the days of my childhood, I cried out: ‘My God, I choose everything, I will not be a Saint by halves, I am not afraid of suffering for Thee, I only fear one thing, and that is to do my own will. Accept the offering of my will, for I choose all that Thou willest.'”

Zélie died on August 28, 1877 when Thérèse was four years old. On the day of her funeral, the five sisters were together, looking at one another sadly, when their nurse, overcome with emotion, turning to Céline and Thérèse  said, “Poor little dears, you no longer have a mother.” Céline threw herself into Marie’s arms, crying: “Well, you will be my Mother now.” Thérèse hid her face on Pauline’s breast, and said, “And Pauline will be my Mother.”

From the death of her mother at the age of four until her “conversion” at fourteen marked Thérèse’s second period of life. It was the most sorrowful of all, especially after Pauline, her second Mother, entered the Carmel.

After the death of  Zélie, Thérèse’s naturally happy disposition completely changed. Instead of being lively and demonstrative as she had been, she became timid, shy, and extremely sensitive; a look was enough to make her burst into tears. She could not bear to be noticed or to meet strangers, and was only at ease in her own family circle.

Louis decided to leave Alençon and to move to Lisieux, so that his daughters could be near their uncle, Zélie’s brother, and his wife.

In Lisieux, every afternoon little Thérèse went out for a walk with her father. They would paid a visit to the Blessed Sacrament in one of the churches. It was in this way that  Thérèse first saw the Chapel of the Carmel. Louis said to his daughter, “Look, little Queen, behind that big grating there are holy nuns who are always praying to Almighty God.”

Thérèse enjoyed accompanying her father on fishing. She recalled, “Sometimes I tried my hand with a small rod of my own, but generally I preferred to sit on the grass some distance away. Then my reflections became really deep, and, without knowing what meditation meant, my soul was absorbed in prayer.”

                                                            小德蘭移居立斯

聖類斯.馬定與聖薛妮.姬娜培育了孩子們很好的宗教意識，在靈修上，小姊妹們都能互相支持。薛妮寫道：「即使年紀尚幼的德蘭都渴望作犧牲奉獻。姐姐瑪莉給妹妹們每人一串小珠，要她們算著自我棄絕的次數。她們的對話既富靈修又很有趣。有一天思琳說『天主怎能躲進那麼細小的聖體裡？』德蘭答道『不奇怪啊，因為天主是全能的哩！』『什麼是全能呢？』『那就是天主能做任何祂喜歡的事。』」

一天，萊奧妮覺得自己長大了，不應還擁著洋娃娃等玩具；她把一籃子的玩具交給年幼的妹妹，問她們說：「親愛的，你們從這裡挑選你們喜歡的玩具吧。」思琳拿了毛絨球，小德蘭則想了一想，張開雙手說：「我全都要。」然後連同洋娃娃等玩具拿走了。

德蘭視童年為自己一生表現的端倪。她記載著：「之後，當成聖之道在我面前倘開著，我明白要成聖就要多受苦，要選擇最完美的方法，忘記自我。我亦明白成聖之道有不同的階段，每個靈魂均可自由地回應天主的召叫，為天主的愛而做多或做少——換句話說，在祂要求我們的不同犧牲之中去選擇。而我，像在年幼時，嚷著：『吾天主，我全都要！我不要做半個聖人，我不怕為祢而受苦，我只怕溜漣於自己的意旨。天主，請接受我意旨的奉獻，因我選擇祢願意的一切。』」

1877年8月28日薛妮病逝，德蘭才四歲。殯葬當日，姊妹們哀目互望。褓姆對思琳和德蘭說：「可憐的小女孩，你們沒有母親了。」思琳馬上投入瑪莉的懷抱，哭說著：「瑪莉，你現在是我的母親了。」德蘭把自己躲到寶蓮的胸前，呦呦地說：「而寶蓮會我的母親。」

四歲喪母的小德蘭，直到她十四歲時的改變，成了她生命的第二階段 ── 是最為傷痛的時刻 ── 特別是寶蓮離家棄俗，當加爾默羅修女。

小德蘭在母親死後，原來開朗的性格不見了，活潑好動的她，變得膽怯、害羞、異常敏感，別人對她一望，足使她哭起來，她不喜被注視，不喜接觸陌生人，只在自己家庭的圈子中感到自在。

後來，類斯決定移居立斯，好讓女兒們得到舅父母的照料。

在立斯，每逢下午，德蘭都和父親外出漫步，到途經不同的聖堂朝拜聖體，這亦是德蘭首次有機會看到加爾默羅小堂。類斯對女兒說：「看，小皇后，在這偌大的牆壁後面，神聖的修女們不斷向全能天主禱告。」

德蘭愛和父親一起釣魚。她憶述：「有時我會用我的小魚桿釣魚，但很快會寧願退坐到不遠的草地上沉思；我那時雖不懂什麼是默想，但我靈卻完全沉思在祈禱中。」