Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

St. Therese of Lisieux is a pretty popular saint among Catholics today. Many people have heard about her or read her writings from her autobiography, Story of a Soul. Story of a Soul is a phenomenal book that has her writings about her childhood and growing up and her family life and eventually, her calling in becoming a Carmelite nun. While I was reading it, I became jealous in some ways. She had such a big, exciting family and was raised a very devout Catholic, which was an upbringing I never had. A few of her sisters became Carmelite nuns also and were such a great inspiration to her, which is something that I feel like I relate to with my older sisters. Her book also talks about her simple way of life and very simple childhood growing up.

She was content playing in the fields, focusing on her school work, looking at all the flowers. She even got the nickname “little flower” herself. It was easy for me to focus on these beautiful and easy parts of her life and how she must have just been so happy! But that is not all that her life was about.

St. Therese lost her mother when she was young. As Therese got older, she herself had a lot of difficulties with her own health. She was sick and bed ridden for such long periods of time, I’m sure she wished she could just put these issues aside and go play and be with her friends and her family. Her life wasn’t just all sunshine and rainbows. She was a real person who really struggled. But there was one thing that kept her going, and that was her faith in Jesus.

St. Therese was a beautiful girl who had such a strong, powerful connection to Jesus and knew that she wanted to praise him every second that she could, through every hardship and every difficult trial she went through. In our world today, we are constantly surrounded by people who have the ability to post all the best highlight reels of their lives. Social media does not make anything easier on us. It does however make it easier for us to compare ourselves, to lose our confidence, to feel like we aren’t ever doing enough no matter how much you do. It is easy to get lost in this sea of Christian influencers and views and likes. St. Therese didn’t have any of that during her lifetime.

I wonder what she would have been like today, if she had these obstacles that we do. She lived a life that to any person on the outside, seemed like a very plain and very simple existence. But to her, it was the most glorious thing that she could do for God. That is what I aspire to live like. I aspire to live like St. Therese, not caring for all the attention in the world, but instead, caring about the attention that I give Jesus. Yes, we can get all consumed in the numbers of followers and likes, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we are pleasing God. We have to focus first on ourselves, our hearts, and whether or not what we are doing is truly for Him and pleasing to Him.

For some of us, that might mean taking care of our families and making it to Mass. Praising God does not have to come from a place where you have all eyes on you or that the most people are listening to you. Praising God comes from your heart. To praise and worship God comes from a place deep within our soul that He created, something that yearns for Him and longs to be with Him again one day. We don’t have be the one standing in front of the Church. Sometimes, we serve others the most from where we’re sitting in the back. In this world that tells us that we have to have all eyes on us, I look towards St. Therese and her simple way, or her little way as it’s called.

It is in those little, tiny, everyday moments and acts of love that people can see Jesus in us. Do not let this world consume you, but instead, look at what is inside your heart. Love deeply. Always keep your eyes on Jesus, and don’t be afraid to be yourself.