Feast of St. Thérèse of Lisieux
My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
—2 Corinthians 12:9
I am glad for weaknesses, constraints, and distress for Christ’s sake, for it is when I am weak that I am strong.
—2 Corinthians 12:10
Father Richard describes how Francis, Clare, and later, Thérèse of Lisieux (1873–1897), found a direct experience of God through humility:
In his letters to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul, following Jesus, forever reversed the engines of ego and its attainments, and it is this precise reversal of values—and new entrance point—that Francis and Clare of Assisi understood so courageously and clearly. Seven centuries later, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, a Carmelite nun who became the youngest, least educated, and most quickly designated doctor of the Church, also sought this downward path, which she called “a new way” or her “little way.”
Thérèse—lovingly called the Little Flower by most Catholics—was right, on both counts, since her way of life was indeed very new for most people and very “little” instead of the usual upward-bound Christian agenda. Doing “all the smallest things and doing them through love” was the goal for Thérèse. [1] The common path of most Christianity by her time had become based largely on perfectionism and legalism, making the good news anything but good or inviting for generations of believers. [2]
Thérèse, almost counter to reason, declared: “If you want to bear in peace the trial of not pleasing yourself, you will give me [the Virgin Mary] a sweet home.” [3] If you observe yourself, you will see how hard it is to be displeasing to yourself, and that it is the initial emotional snag that sends most of us into terribly bad moods without even realizing the mood’s origins. To resolve this common problem, both Francis and Thérèse teach us to let go of the very need to “think well of yourself” to begin with! “That is your ego talking, not God,” they would say.
Only someone who has surrendered their foundational egocentricity can do this, of course. Psychiatrist and popular writer Scott Peck told me personally over lunch that this quote was “sheer religious genius” on her part, because it made the usual posturing of religion well-nigh impossible. It mirrors these teachings from St. Francis:
Show your love to others by not wishing that they be better Christians. [4]
We can patiently accept not being good. What we cannot bear is not being considered good, not appearing good. [5]
Until we discover the “little way,” we almost all try to gain moral high ground by obeying laws and thinking we are thus spiritually advanced. Yet Thérèse wrote, “It is sufficient to recognize one’s nothingness and to abandon oneself as a child into God’s arms.” [6] People who follow this more humble and honest path are invariably more loving, joyful, and compassionate, and have plenty of time for simple gratitude about everything.
References:
[1] Thérèse, Story of a Soul, trans. John Clarke (Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 1972), 196.
[2] Joseph F. Schmidt, Walking the Little Way of Thérèse of Lisieux: Discovering the Path of Love (Frederick, MD: The Word Among Us, 2012), 135–136.
[3] Thérèse to Sr. Geneviève (Céline Martin), December 24, 1896, in Thérèse of Lisieux: General Correspondence, vol. 2, 1890–1897, trans. John Clarke (Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 1988), 1038. Note: Thérèse imagined her note to be written by Mary, and wrote “Message from the Blessed Virgin” on the envelope.
[4] See A Letter to a Minister, in Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, vol. 1, The Saint (Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 1999), 97. Paraphrased by Richard Rohr.
[5] Thomas of Celano, The Remembrance of the Desire of a Soul 101, in Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, vol. 2, The Founder (Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2000), 337.
[6] Thérèse to P. Roulland, May 9, 1897, in General Correspondence, vol. 2, 1094.
Adapted from Richard Rohr, Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi (Cincinnati, OH: Franciscan Media, 2014), 110–112, 114.
Image credit and inspiration: Dimitri Kadiev, Be Praised—mural of Francis and Clare on the side of the CAC (detail), photo of paint on adobe wall. Click here to enlarge image. This mural art on the outside of the CAC represents Francis’ love and acceptance of life in its varied and diverse manifestations.
Story from Our Community:
Growing up, I saw the Poor Clares each Christmas when they would drop off a gift for my father who was one of their physicians. Their gifts were always homemade, sometimes a lovely piece of artwork. My grandfather had known them and would stop by their chapel on Friday afternoons … to say a prayer. I sometimes drop by to enjoy a quiet [respite] from the loudness and pain of our lives these days. I treasure the simplicity and quiet, and the value of animals and earth. I felt their gifts and space to be a nourishing spiritual presence in my life.
—Mary O.
