Live St. Thérèse’s Little Way and Climb to Heaven in God’s Arms| National Catholic Register

COMMENTARY: Practical prayer-life applications for daily life from the Little Flower.

The witness and words of St. Thérèse of Lisieux have captivated millions of lives. Her writings and life have drawn countless souls into contemplating the mysteries of God, but her life’s mission was so simple: She was convinced of the “Little Way.”  

In describing her arrival at her own vocational awareness, Thérèse wrote in her autobiography:  

I understood that it was love alone that made the Church’s members act, that if love ever became extinct, apostles would not preach the Gospel and martyrs would not shed their blood. I understood that love comprised all vocations, that love was everything … in a word that it was eternal. Then, in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: Oh Jesus, my love … my vocation, at last I have found it: My vocation is love.

To be love and to choose love in every moment is the summary of her “Little Way.” Living from this stance of love made her one of the most impactful saints of modern times.  

In her writings, Thérèse mentioned that we must approach our faith life as a young child approaches a staircase. We must call out to our Father, who stands at the top of the staircase and plead for him to pick us up. When we do so, he will come running down the steps and pick us up in his arms to bring us to the heights of the stairs — always looking heavenward.  

As Edward Sri, a well-known theologian and author, explained to the Register last year:

Thérèse famously used the image of a spiritual elevator that could lift her to God. But the key to getting to the top of that spiritual elevator ride with God is first surrendering to the fact that we need the elevator — to accept that we are too small and poor to climb to God on our own — and putting our trust in God and not ourselves.

This way is so powerful because it depends on God working through us. It is a surrender to the One who always takes care of us. Thérèse understood this surrender as a move to live “with empty hands.” She wrote, “In the evening of life I shall appear before you with empty hands, for I am not asking you, Lord, to count my works.” 

She realized that when we contemplate our frailty in the face of death, we understand our utter dependence on God for everything.  

Thérèse’s childlike simplicity shines through in so many other ways.  

Carmelite Bishop Guy Gaucher (1930-2014) was known as a great scholar on the life and writings of St. Thérèse. In 2005, he wrote a letter entitled, “Why I Love You, O Therese!” In it, he notes a variety of reasons for his gratitude toward this great saint that he spent so much of his life learning about. He addresses his letter to Thérèse herself:   

You go right to the fundamental issue with clear simplicity, inflexible as steel.  ‘As for me, I no longer find anything in books, with the exception of the Gospel. The Gospel is enough.’ I love you because you remained a child, or, rather, you rediscovered all the graces of a child at maturity, a privilege so rare.

Bishop Gaucher found himself captivated by her simplicity because it was strong and because it relayed a power that was outside of this world.  

Sri has also spoken about the beauty of Thérèse’s call to surrender. He noted that this can be seen, especially, in one’s own sinfulness:

When we fail, instead of navel-gazing, we can recognize our littleness and let the Lord into our hearts by surrendering our shortcomings to him.

Having the willingness to allow God to see us in our brokenness and heal us of our false perceptions of ourselves is tantamount to the journey of holiness, as the Little Flower shows us in her Letter 243:

As soon as God sees us convinced of our own nothingness — He stretches out His hand to us; but if we wish to attempt great things, even under the pretext of zeal, He leaves us alone. It is sufficient therefore to humble oneself and to bear our imperfections meekly: that is true sanctity.

This truth can be viewed in the daily reflections on the readings of the Mass provided by the Society of the Little Flower. These serve as an avenue to think and live like St. Thérèse. Recently, one of the reflections read:

We are sorry when our religion is merely external observance and not a wholehearted response, reflected in our actions, rituals and behaviors. You are so close to us, Holy God, and your presence is the power which guides and transforms us. Teach us again to be holy and pure, like You!

Holiness is all about littleness. Living like Thérèse is about focusing on the proximity of God’s deep intimacy with us.  

So today, and always, be caught up in the power of the “Little Way” of St. Thérèse. Surrender your whole self to Christ, who fills our empty hands with his Sacred Heart and leads us to the sanctity we were born for.  

St. Thérèse, pray for us!