Saint of the day October 1, 2024

St. Therese, often called the Little Flower, was born in Normandy, France, in 1873. She was the youngest of the five daughters born to Lois and Zelie Martin. Therese was a very lively, loveable little girl. Her father called her his "little queen:. Yet she could be overly sensitive. In the story she wrote of her life, The Story of a Soul, she tells how the Infant Jesus helped her overcome this weakness.

It was Therese's great desire to enter the Carmelite convent where two of her sisters were already nuns. But since she was only fifteen, permission was not granted. Therese felt sure that Jesus wanted her to spend her life loving him and only him. She kept praying and asking the prioress to admit her. She even dared, on a trip to Rome, to ask Pope Leo XIII himself to grant her heart's desire, and finally, she was allowed to enter.

Although she was only fifteen, Therese did not expect to be babied. "Obedience, prayer, and sacrifice" was her program. She had a thirst to suffer for the love of God. Therese had the spiritual courage of a real heroine. "May Jesus make me a martyr of the heart or the body, or better, both!" she wrote. And she meant it. In winter she suffered from the cold and dampness of her plain bedroom. There were other kinds of suffering, too. Whenever she felt humiliated or misunderstood, she would offer her pain to her beloved Jesus. She would hide her hurts with a smile. She went out of her way to spend time with people who were hard to get along with. She told Jesus to do with her whatever was His will.

Sister Therese tried hard to be humble. She called her great confidence in God her "little way" to holiness. She always had a burning desire to become a saint. The young nun wanted to find a "shortcut" or an "elevator", to take her quickly to sanctity. She looked in the Bible and found the words, "Whoever is a little one, come to me". When she lay dying, she could say, "I have never given the good God anything but love, and it is with love that he will repay. After my death, I will let fall a shower of roses. I will spend my heaven doing good on earth." The Little Flower died on September 30, 1897. She was proclaimed a saint by Pope Pius XI in 1925, and a Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II in 1997.

Reflection

As we honor this saint who has captivated the hearts and minds of so many, ponder the importance of family life. Some families are broken and divided; others are graced as schools of love. Saint Thérèse was blessed to be raised in a family that formed her deeply in the love of God and others. She was widely unknown outside of her family and religious community when she died, but God shared her precious soul with the world through her detailed autobiography and numerous letters. Let her soul touch yours by getting to know her through her writings. Seek her intercession so that she can fulfill her promise that her “Heaven will be spent doing good on earth.”

St. Therese taught us her "little way". To follow this way, we can joyfully offer our small sacrifices to Jesus each day. We can go out of our way to be kind to difficult people. If our feelings are hurt, we can offer this to Jesus, instead of holding a grudge.

Her sense of commitment led her to a profound experience of the love of God and of neighbor. She never had an easy life, but she lived with great peace and joy.