Thérése saw herself as one of God’s little flowers. She equated her sense of humility to God’s garden. she never lost her sense of humility always seeing herself as small. Eventually, Thérése won out, and entered the Discalced Carmelite convent at the young age of 15. When their efforts failed, she took it upon herself to speak to the Pope about it, when her father took her on a trip to Rome. She was so adamant, that she pestered her father and uncle to get the Bishops’ permission for her to enter before the minimum age. She saw that as her perfect path to sainthood.
With that in mind, Saint Thérése grew up wanting to enter the convent, like her sisters. …that in order to become a Saint, one must suffer much, always seek the most perfect path, and forget oneself (p.
Even as a child, she was astute enough to know So, she suffered much loss, but found great solace in her friendship with Jesus. Then as her sisters grew to adulthood, each one of them entered the convent, leaving her behind to live without them. She lost her mother to breast cancer at the age of four. Her desire to give back to God, in service to Him, out of love for Him, was born from her sufferings and challenges. She dreamed of one day becoming a Carmelite nun. How many of us, today, can say that we truly love God, for God’s sake, and not our own?Īs Thérése grew from child to adult, she remained small in stature, and humble in nature.
I found this attribute of Thérése to be awe-inspiring. Raised in a devout Catholic home, in France, in the late 1800’s, Thérése seemed to intuitively understand, at a very young age, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux’s teaching that we are to love God for God’s sake, not our own. Thérése made the quality of her life, a gift to God in thanksgiving for His creation of her. Thérése will grip your heart from the very beginning, right up to her last breath, as she tells you the story of her life – her “little way.” She lived for only 24 years, but in that time, she accomplished so much. Yet, Saint Thérése of Lisieux was anything but non-descript! From the title alone, we garner a peek at this beloved saint’s humility, as if the story could be about any soul – very non-descript.
So, I thought it appropriate to share a bit of what I learned about this beloved saint by reading her book, The Story of a Soul. Today we celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Thérése of Lisieux.
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