Saint Therese of the Child Jesus whose feast day we celebrate today is one of the most beloved saints. But like most future saints, her life was not easy, and her plan to live it was different than God’s.
After death of Therese’s mother when she was only four, she received a maternal care and faith formation from her sister, Pauline. However, Pauline felt the call to religious life and entered the Carmelite convent. Therese would recount how this caused her to want to follow in her sister’s footsteps. When Therese was fourteen, her sister, Mary, would enter the same convent as Pauline.
Following the Sisters
It was that Christmas, Therese had what she described as a conversion in her autobiography titled, “A Story of a Soul.” In it she wrote: “Jesus flooded the darkness of my soul with torrents of light. I got back for good the strength of soul lost when I was four and a half. Love filled my heart, I forgot myself, and henceforth I was happy.” (Voices of the Saints, Bert Ghezzi, pg. 690)
Propelled by this experience Therese applied and was accepted an early age to the Carmelite convent at the age of fifteen.
Turning to the Holy Spirit
Most of us imagine that religious women, including Saint Therese’s life would have been one of peace and contentment; she was giving her life to God and with her religious and biological sisters. However, Therese felt the call to become a missionary, even to give her life if necessary, as a martyr.
Though the very nature of becoming a cloistered nun is the opposite way of life in terms of living. The cloister is set apart from the world except spiritually.
So, Therese turned to the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to reconcile this conflict of her desire and God’s plan for her.
The Little Way
She wrote: “We live in an age of inventions. We need no longer to climb laboriously up flights of stairs. And, I am determined to find an elevator to carry me to Jesus, for I was too small to climb the steep steps of perfection. So I sought the answer in Holy Scripture…and read, ‘Whoever is a little one, let them come to me’” (see Luke 8:16). (Voices of the Saints, Bert Ghezzi, pg. 690)
Therese discovered that it was Jesus who would serve as “…the elevator to carry her up to Heaven” if she remained one of God’s little ones. (Voices of the Saints, Bert Ghezzi, pg. 690)
She found that doing the “loving thing in every situation” no matter how ordinary or challenging was that path to sainthood…that was her “little way” of living perfectly. (Voices of the Saints, Bert Ghezzi, pg. 690)
She is our reminder that holiness (and the path to Heaven) does not require a degree in theology or to perform grand actions that are covered in the news, but rather a humility to seek and serve God in the simple moments of our days…in prayer and caring for those most in need…without fanfare or even how we planned it out.
Saint Therese of Lisieux…pray for us!
- Today’s Readings
- Father David's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (and Rosary) at the 30-minute mark on the Family Rosary YouTube page.
- To join the Rosary and Mass Livestream, visit the Family Rosary YouTube or Facebook page at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, Monday – Friday. Consider inviting others to join too! (*If you are not a member of Facebook and a signup window appears, simply select the X at the top of the pop-up message and continue to the livestream.)
