On October 1st we celebrate the memorial to Saint Thérèse of The Holy Face, also known as St. Thérèse of Lisieux and St Thérèse  – The Little Flower. She was born Therese Martin in France in 1873 and died from tuberculosis 24 years later in 1897. When she was fifteen she entered the Carmelite monastery at Lisieux and took the name Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face.

She lived a life of simplicity, humility, and trust in God. “Therese never went on missions, never founded a religious order, and never performed great public works. Her only book, published after her death, was a brief edited version of her journal called Story of a Soul,” and in it she dramatically proclaims, “’Love proves itself by deeds, so how am I  to show my love? Great deeds are forbidden me. The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love.’”

Her spirituality and her method of achieving holiness is known as “her little way” – her little way – let’s examine for a moment what that means.

Therese saw herself as a child of God. She liked to keep things simple and focused. Trust, especially trust in God, is a childlike, not a childish  virtue – childlike, because its qualities consist of innocence and being down-to-earth. She believed that life presents many challenges and opportunities for grace. This was a young woman who tolerated great emotional, physical and spiritual suffering, yet, she was able to rise above all of it.

Her “Little Way” coaches us to do the ordinary things of life with extraordinary love. A smile, a note or email of encouragement, a phone call or visit, joining your suffering to the suffering of Jesus and Mary, being positive rather than giving in to the impulse to be grumpy, doing simple unnoticed tasks to help another person – deeds done with the love of, and for Christ, who is within each person – this is the heart of her “little way” – her Christian spirituality.

Saint Therese would say that the smallest action, done with love, is more important than great deeds done out of obedience or self-gratification. She was an average person who saw that our daily life is truly not average or ordinary because it provides us with the opportunity for union with Jesus and His life giving energy and grace.

We can also see her greatness in her method of prayer; again, Therese teaches simplicity – talk to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in a direct, personal and genuine manner. She tells us, “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”

“She did not like long repetitive prayers; in fact, she was known to fall asleep during community prayer.” What she excelled at was prayer from the heart; she prayed from her heart as a child speaking honestly and trustingly to a parent they love.

We honor Saint Therese today because she was faithful to the Gospel of Jesus and the heart of His message.  So many Catholics are drawn to her because she has shown them that sanctity through simplicity is possible for all of us. She helps us understand that short heartfelt prayers, and simple deeds done with love for both Jesus and neighbor, are a sure path to union with Christ. She truly lived the Christian way of beauty.

Copyright © 2012 Deacon Paul O. Iacono All Rights Reserved. Special thanks to the website the Society of the Little Flower – http://www.littleflower.org/ for information about St. Theresa’s life; and to the iconographer Guillem Ramos-Poqui who painted this beautiful icon of St. Therese of the Holy Face in 2009. It measures 29″ by 251/2 inches.