Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, a Carmelite nun, is revered for her "Little Way" of spiritual childhood, which teaches profound love and trust in God through simple, everyday acts, and for her influential spiritual autobiography, "Story of a Soul."
Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, also known as Thérèse of Lisieux or "The Little Flower," was a French Discalced Carmelite nun who lived in the late 19th century and is celebrated for her unique spiritual approach called the "Little Way." This spiritual path emphasizes finding holiness not through heroic deeds, but through profound love, trust, and surrender to God in the ordinary routines and small sacrifices of daily life, transforming them into acts of great merit through pure intention. Her posthumously published autobiography, "Story of a Soul," became immensely popular worldwide, inspiring countless individuals to seek sanctity in their own lives and demonstrating that holiness is accessible to everyone, regardless of their station or perceived spiritual gifts, which led to her being declared a Doctor of the Church.
Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin, Doctor, known affectionately as "The Little Flower of Jesus," was born Marie Françoise Thérèse Martin on January 2, 1873, in Alençon, France. She was the youngest of nine children born to Louis and Zélie Martin, both of whom have also been canonized as saints of the Church, making them the first married couple to be canonized together. From a tender age, Thérèse was immersed in a deeply devout and loving family environment, characterized by strong faith, charity, and a profound love for God. After her mother's untimely death when Thérèse was just four and a half years old, the family moved to Lisieux, where her spiritual journey would profoundly blossom within the confines of a Carmelite monastery.
It was Christmas Eve, 1886, and young Thérèse, nearly fourteen, was filled with the innocent excitement of the season. For years, it had been a cherished family tradition for her to receive gifts in her little shoe by the fireplace, a custom usually reserved for the youngest children. Thérèse, despite her age, still clung to this beloved ritual, perhaps a remnant of her overly sensitive childhood, for she was known to burst into tears at the slightest perceived slight or disappointment. As she ascended the stairs to bed, she overheard her beloved father, Louis, sigh and say to her sister Céline, "Well, thank goodness, this is the last year Thérèse will be putting out her shoe!" Céline, ever protective, began to explain that Thérèse was still a child. In that moment, Thérèse's heart, usually so fragile, felt a sudden, profound transformation. Instead of the familiar tears welling up, a wave of strength and charity washed over her. It was as if Jesus Himself had entered her soul, filling her with a fortitude she had never known. She quickly suppressed the urge to weep, descended the stairs, and with a radiant smile, picked up her shoe, not in childish expectation, but with a newfound joy. She declared cheerfully that she was indeed grown up and ready for her gifts. This profound "Christmas Conversion" marked a pivotal turning point. From that night forward, the tears and excessive sensitivity vanished. Thérèse later wrote, "On that night, Jesus, who knew I was so weak and fragile, clothed me with His strength." This grace liberated her, enabling her to embark more fully on the path of self-forgetfulness and generous love, laying the foundation for her "Little Way" of spiritual childhood, where she would find sanctity in the smallest acts of charity performed with immense love.
1897
It was then that I plunged into the depths of the Canticle of Canticles, and I saw that the first request of the Spouse is to be drawn. "Draw me, we will run." (Cant. 1:4). O my Jesus! there is no need to say to me: "You must run," no, there is no need to say that; it is sufficient to say: "Draw me!" for when a soul is drawn, it runs. It rushes impetuously after the object of its love, and if it is not drawn, it cannot take a single step. But, O my Jesus! how can I be drawn, when I am so small? My littleness, my weakness, these are my strength. It is precisely because I am so little and so weak that I am able to be drawn by Thy powerful arm. I have only to make my will one with Thine. And if Thou dost draw me, I shall run, I shall fly!
I wish to love Thee, O Jesus, as Thou hast never been loved! To love Thee, and to draw Thee to love others. For that, I must be drawn myself. I must be transformed into Thee. I must become like unto Thee.
I know that Thou art the Sun of Justice, the Sun of Love. Thou art the Sun of souls. Thou art the Sun that warms and gives life to all things. Thou art the Sun that shines on the good and the wicked. Thou art the Sun that sheds its light on all.
My Jesus, what is my little boat compared with the vast ocean of Thy love? What are my feeble efforts compared with the infinite power of Thy grace?
I am a little boat, but Thou art the immense ocean. I am a tiny spark, but Thou art the infinite flame. I am a mere drop of water, but Thou art the boundless sea.
I want to be drawn to Thee, O Jesus, in such a way that I may draw many souls after me. I want to be a tiny spark that sets fire to a whole forest. I want to be a drop of water that swells into a mighty river. I want to be a little flower that perfumes the whole world.
Oh, what a grace it is to be a Carmelite! To be a spouse of Jesus, to be a mother of souls! To be a missionary, to be an apostle, to be a martyr! All these desires, they are in my heart. I want to be all of them.
But how can I be all this, when I am so small, so weak, so imperfect?
It is then that I looked at the mystical body of the Church. I had already seen that the Church is a body composed of different members, and that each member has its own function. I had seen that the eye sees, the ear hears, the hand works, the foot walks. And I had seen that all the members are necessary, and that none of them can say to another: 'I have no need of thee.' (1 Cor. 12:21).
And I had seen that the most important members are those that are hidden, those that are the most despised. For example, the heart. The heart is hidden, it is despised, but it is the most important member, for it gives life to all the other members.
And I had seen that my vocation was to be the heart in the Church. To be the heart that loves. To be the heart that burns with love. To be the heart that draws all souls to Jesus.
Yes, I have found my place in the Church, and this place, O my God, Thou hast given it to me. In the heart of the Church, my Mother, I shall be love. Thus I shall be everything, and thus my dream will be realized.
It is for this reason that I have prayed to Thee, O Jesus, that Thou wouldst draw me into the furnace of Thy love, that Thou wouldst consume me with Thy love, that Thou wouldst make me burn with Thy love, that Thou wouldst make me die of love.
I desire to be a saint, but I know that I am so weak and imperfect that I cannot become a saint by myself. I know that I need Thy grace, Thy help, Thy strength. I know that I need Thy love.
And I know that Thou wilt give me Thy love, for Thou art Love itself. Thou art the infinite love. Thou art the merciful love. Thou art the love that forgives all sins. Thou art the love that transforms all things.
I want to be a victim of Thy merciful love. I want to be consumed by Thy love. I want to be a holocaust to Thy love.
Oh, how sweet it is to abandon oneself to Thy love! How sweet it is to trust in Thy love! How sweet it is to rest in Thy love!
I have no other desire but to love Thee, O Jesus, and to make Thee loved. I have no other desire but to work for Thy glory, and to save souls.
And I know that Thou wilt help me, for Thou art the Good Shepherd. Thou art the Shepherd who gives His life for His sheep. Thou art the Shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep. Thou art the Shepherd who carries the lost sheep on His shoulders.
I want to be a little lamb in Thy flock. I want to follow Thee wherever Thou goest. I want to listen to Thy voice. I want to feed on Thy word.
I want to be a missionary, to carry Thy name to the ends of the earth. I want to be a martyr, to shed my blood for Thee. I want to be a doctor of the Church, to teach Thy truth to all souls.
I want to be all these things, and I know that I can be them, not by my own strength, but by Thy grace. I know that I can be them, if I abandon myself to Thy love, if I trust in Thy love, if I rest in Thy love.
Oh, how beautiful it is to be a child of God! How beautiful it is to be a little soul in the hands of God! How beautiful it is to be a little flower in the garden of God!
I want to be a little flower that blossoms for Thee, O Jesus. I want to be a little flower that offers Thee its perfume. I want to be a little flower that gives Thee its beauty.
I want to be a little flower that is plucked by Thee, O Jesus. I want to be a little flower that is placed in Thy heart. I want to be a little flower that is consumed by Thy love.
This is my prayer, O Jesus. This is my desire. This is my vocation.
1997-10-19
Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, a Discalced Carmelite nun, died in Lisieux on 30 September 1897 at the age of 24. During her life she had not been able to make her voice heard, except to the sisters of her community and to the novices, as well as to the five missionaries for whom she was the spiritual sister. But her earthly life was immediately followed by a surprising and rapid posthumous triumph. Her writings, especially L’histoire d’une âme, translated into many languages, soon made her known in every part of the world. Her message, the “little way” of spiritual childhood, was welcomed by the faithful everywhere. The extraordinary spiritual influence of Thérèse of Lisieux has been recognized by the Church in various ways: first, with her beatification on 29 April 1923 and her canonization on 17 May 1925; then, with her proclamation as patroness of the missions by Pius XI in 1927, and as co-patroness of France by Pius XII in 1944. And now, precisely 100 years after her death, she is being proclaimed a Doctor of the Universal Church.
This centenary year of the death of Thérèse of the Child Jesus thus offers us a providential opportunity for her proclamation as a Doctor of the Church. The Church, in fact, has always recognized in her a special charism as a teacher of the faith and a model of Christian life. The doctrine of the “little way” is a genuine synthesis of the Gospel. It is the way of holiness for all, the way of confidence and total abandonment to God's merciful love. This doctrine, born of her experience and expressed in her writings, has been recognized and confirmed by the Magisterium of the Church, which has seen in it a prophetic intuition of the truth of the Gospel.
The spiritual itinerary of Thérèse of Lisieux is marked by the discovery of her vocation to love in the heart of the Church, as she herself tells us: 'I understood that the Church, having a Heart burning with Love, if this Heart were consumed, this Love would have to express itself. And so I understood that Love alone set the members of the Church in motion, that if Love were to die out, the Apostles would no longer proclaim the Gospel, and the Martyrs would refuse to shed their blood... I understood that Love comprised all vocations, that Love was everything, that it embraced all times and all places... in a word, that it was eternal! Then, in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: 'O Jesus, my Love... my vocation, at last I have found it... My vocation is LOVE!'
This discovery of her vocation to love is the key to understanding the whole of Thérèse's life and doctrine. Love is the central theme of her spiritual writings, the driving force of her interior life, the source of her apostolic fruitfulness. The “little way” is nothing other than the path of love, lived out in the most ordinary circumstances of daily life. It is a path open to all, because it is based on the recognition of one's own weakness and littleness, and on total trust in God's merciful love.
Thérèse grasped with profound theological insight the essence of the Christian vocation: to be love in the Church. She did not seek to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things with extraordinary love. Her entire life was a witness to this truth: 'You know, my God, that I have always desired to be a saint. But I have always realized that I am very small and that I cannot do great things. My great desire is to do great things for You, but I am so small that I cannot do them. So I have resolved to do small things for You, but with great love.'
Devotees often anticipate or report receiving physical roses, or the spiritual fragrance of roses, as a sign of Saint Thérèse's intercession and answered prayers.
This tradition is directly linked to her famous promise: "I will spend my heaven doing good on earth. I will let fall a shower of roses."
The practice of praying a nine-day novena to Saint Thérèse is widespread, often concluding on her feast day, with many seeking her intercession for specific intentions.
Her reputation for powerful intercession and the popular belief that she grants graces, often symbolized by the "shower of roses," has made this a common devotional practice.
On her feast day, special prayers and intentions are often offered for missionaries and for the spread of the Gospel, acknowledging her co-patronage of missions.
Despite her cloistered life, Pope Pius XI declared her co-patroness of missions in 1927, recognizing her profound spiritual contribution to missionary endeavors through prayer and sacrifice.
Pilgrims from around the world, particularly in France, travel to Lisieux to visit the Basilica of Saint Thérèse and her family home, Les Buissonnets, to deepen their devotion and venerate her relics.
Lisieux is the location of her Carmelite convent, her family home, and her shrine, serving as the central hub of her devotion and a significant pilgrimage destination.
Many individuals and spiritual communities dedicate her feast day to reflecting on and recommitting to living out her "Little Way" of spiritual childhood, focusing on performing small acts of love and trust in God in daily life.
The "Little Way" is her unique and influential spiritual doctrine, emphasizing humility, simplicity, and complete trust in God's merciful love, making it a cornerstone of devotion to her.