St. Therese of The Child Jesus

St. Therese of The Child Jesus

In    today’s modern world, its tempting to view St. Therese as a cute, little saint with a safe spirituality. That would be an incorrect view for this saint.

She is remarkable, in part because of her Little Way. It is not a trivial way. It not a “so easy” way, that we do not have to think about it. Often times, the simplest things are also the deepest. Often, simple things are the most difficult to appreciate and to master.

Therese is remarkable for a number of reasons. But all the reasons stems from her sense of vocation. In her writings she explains how she recognized her full vocation.

Do Great Things For God

Her vocation was not simply to be a nun. Her fuller vocation was to do great things for God! This is what the Church describes as “Holy Desire”. Not the desire to be great for myself, but for God! This desire is not a desire to great things in the world, or to achieve a sense of accomplishment. It is the desire to do something great for another! The desire to do something great for God!

This type of desire springs from love. It is why the Church selects this Gospel reading, in which it discusses who is the greatest in the kingdom of God! The homily discusses this further.

St. Therese is the patron for foreign missions, having never really physically traveled. She longed to join missionaries in their work. She prayed for missionaries. The homily explores this further.

She wanted to be an Apostle, and struggled to find her way. Given her great love and desire for the Lord, what should be her role (beyond just being a nun). She searched for the answers and found it in St. Paul’s writings. The homily explains this further, but Therese realizes that her role must come from God.

In further reading St. Paul’s writings she was struck when she read about setting your heart and eyesight on the most excellent of all things.

Hear about the love St. Therese has for the Church and for God. Hear more about this saint and her call to Holy Desire and her Fuller Vocation. Listen to this Meditation piece.