The Spirituality of St. Therese of Lisieux

An extraordinary charity

What makes St. Therese such a great saint was not because she accomplished many great things, but that she accomplished simple tasks with extraordinary charity. According to author Segundo Galilea, the spirituality of St. Therese is not complicated. No excessive will power was exercised and no emphasis was made to accomplish what was difficult. She rather insisted on the quality of love and charity in everything that she did. The spirit of extraordinary charity she placed in all that she did was rooted in God - in the core of her heart and soul as a Carmelite nun.

Her "Little Way"

Even in her childlike attitude is found an amazing wisdom that leads us to see how small each one is in relation to God and all the trials and tribulations experienced in life. This is especially seen when Therese said to her sister Celine:

"Do not try to rise above your trials, for we are too small to rise above our difficulties. Therefore, let us try to pass under them."

All things in the Church for God

Because of her extraordinary charity, St. Therese wanted to live and experience every existing vocation in the Church. She wanted to become a contemplative, a missionary, a martyr, an evangelizer, a penitent, an educator, dedicated to the poor, and the servant of the sick. Like St. Paul, she wanted to be all things to all people so that she may win many souls to God.

St. Therese did live all what she desired for God as she expressed in her desire to be many things for Him. She "mystically" (as Segundo Galilea stated) lived the substance of every Catholic vocation in her state of life as a Discalced Carmelite. Through God's divine grace, she has "mystically" integrated the entire multiform mission of the Church in her soul.

A missionary in heart and soul

St. Therese sacrificed herself for the missions. But unlike St. Francis Xavier who traveled thousands of miles, preached the gospel incessantly, and died a martyr, St. Therese never left her Carmelite convent. Her missionary journey was more an inner journey - what author Mary Neill, OP, calls the "emigres de l'Interieur". In her inner journey, St. Therese experienced "spiritual martyrdoms" and "dangerous adventures". She traveled the inner geography of her soul in a very deeply affecting way that really touches the heart of anyone who has read her autobiography. Many will be inspired to live a more contemplative approach to life after reading her autobiography.

What also made St. Therese a true missionary in heart and soul was her ministry and mission of encouraging missionaries through her correspondence with them. In the midst of laundry work, cleaning rooms, looking after linen, she took time to bring courage and faith to the missionaries she corresponded with. She wrote to Carmelite sisters in Hanoi, Vietnam, to Pere Roulland (a missionary in China), and to a seminarian named Maurice Belliere.

"The Story of a Soul"

A lot can be learned from St. Therese. Not only from secondary sources on her life and spirituality, but most important of all the primary source of her little Way - her autobiography, "The Story of a Soul". It is really a very inspiring book - one that anyone can identify with spiritually. She writes her autobiography in a candid and very simple style. After reading the book, one will truly know in mind, heart and soul, that there is a God who truly loves all - no matter how small or simple one is.

Sources of this blog post

• Great Saints Great Friends, by Mary Neill, OP, and Ronda Chervin
• The Doctors of the Church, by John F. Fink
• The Friendship of God, by Segundo Galilea

St. Therese of Lisieux, Co-Patroness of Missions

St. Therese of Lisieux, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

Birth and childhood

St. Therese of Lisieux was born Marie Françoise Martin on January 2, 1873 A.D., at Alençon, France. Therese is the youngest of nine children - with only five of them surviving (all girls) to adulthood. Her father was Martin, a watchmaker, and her mother was Zelie Guerin. When the mother of Therese passed away in 1877 A.D., her father moved the family to Lisieux so that Therese and her sisters could be near an aunt who can help raise the family.

Entering the Carmelite convent at Lisieux

Therese was nearly fourteen when she insistently wanted to enter the Carmelite convent where her sisters Pauline and Marie entered. She was refused admission at first because of her youth, but when she reached the age of 15 years, with a Papal dispensation, she entered the Carmelite Monastery of Lisieux. She was professed in 1890 A.D. and took the religious name she will come to be known by: Therese of the Child Jesus.

Life as a Carmelite

Therese became afflicted with tuberculosis. However, she bore her illness with great patience and fortitude. She did not perform extraordinary things, but rather, she fulfilled her daily duties in an extraordinary way - in a spirit of love and charity. Soon, she was appointed novice mistress of the community, in which position she taught humility and simplicity to the new novices (both in word and by example). When her older sisters got the idea for her to write her autobiography, by order of the prioress, which was Pauline (the eldest sister of Therese), she undertook to write the story of her life. This autobiography came to be titled, "The Story of a Soul".

The Story of a Soul

The Story of a Soul is actually composed of three manuscripts: manuscript A - this is the one asked of Therese by her sister Pauline; manuscript B - this tells about her "little way", for which she is famous; and manuscript C - this compiles a memoir of Therese and her experiences as a Carmelite (this Therese wrote in obedience to prioress Mother Gonzague, the one who succeeded her sister Pauline). This book, in one of its editions, is published in only 159 pages and divided into eleven chapters. Reading the book will truly introduce the reader not only to the "little way" of Therese, but also how she lived this spirit in her life as a Carmelite nun in Lisieux.

Death and sainthood

Therese died of tuberculosis in September 30, 1897 A.D. at Lisieux. She immediately attracted a tremendous following as "the Little Flower" and "the saint of the little way". She was canonized in 1925 A.D. by Pope Pius XI and was declared copatron of the missions (because of her spiritually encouraging correspondence by letters with many missionaries) together with St. Francis Xavier in 1927 A.D. She was also named copatroness of France together with St. Joan of Arc in October 1, 1944 A.D. In 1997 A.D., one hundred years after he death, she was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II. The Church celebrates her feast day every October 1.

Memorials of Saints (October 1)

Feasts, Obligatory and Optional Memorials of Saints

• St. Therese of Lisieux, virgin & doctor of the Church
• Remigius, bishop and confessor;
• Romanus the Melodist;
• Melorus Melar or Mylor, martyr;
• Bavo or Allowin

Therese Martin: the "Little Flower," died 30 September 1897 A.D. of tuberculosis in Carmel of Lisieux at age 24; born in Alencon; contemplative who, in her biography, "The Story of a Soul" urged all to follow "the little way"; proclaimed doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II, 19 October 2001 A.D.; patroness of the missions, of France.

• St. Therese's book The Story of a Soul is mentioned as one of the fourteen classics in the book The Classics of Catholic Spirituality
• More details on the story of her life are found in the book, Saints and Spiritual Friendship
• She is also one of the patron saints of France together with St. Denis, St. Bernadette Soubirous, St. Joan of Arc, St. Martin of Tours and St. Remigius. Learn more
• She is also a co-patron of Missions, Learn more
• The Spirituality of St. Therese of Lisieux