Pray with
St Thérèse of Lisieux
1873-1897
St Thérèse of Lisieux passed an outwardly uneventful and hidden life in the Carmel of Lisieux. There she worked out and later taught the novices her Little Way – that of doing small hidden acts of love and sacrifice, in humility, simply to please Jesus and to save souls. She sacrificed the life of the missions that she longed for, believing she could do more good in Carmel. She died at 24 and is now Patroness of the Missions and the youngest Doctor of the Church.
‘For me prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of gratitude and of love, embracing both trial and joy. It’s a vast, supernatural force which opens out my heart, and unites me closely to Jesus’ (Story of a Soul, 11).
‘I just do what children have to do before they’ve learnt to read; I tell God what I want quite simply, without any splendid turns of phrase, and somehow He always manages to understand me’ (Story).
In Letter 122, she writes: ‘O Lord, when I feel nothing, when I am incapable of praying or practising virtue, then is the moment to look for small occasions, nothings, to give You pleasure. For example, a smile, a friendly word, when I should much prefer to say nothing at all or look bored… When I find no occasions at least I want to keep telling You that I love You; it is not difficult and it keeps the fire of love going; even if that fire were to seem wholly out, I should throw little bits of straw on the ashes, little acts of virtue and of charity; and I am sure that, with Your help, the fires would be enkindled again’.