Childlike Simplicity

We celebrate the memorial of the ever-popular St. Therese of the Child Jesus, whose "little way" has made sanctity accessible to all since the publication of her autobiography, The Story of A Soul, in a limited edition aimed at other Carmelites in 1898, year after her death. It made such an impact that further editions appeared and won the hearts of readers around the world.  Its simplicity, honesty and beauty are still captivating today and St. Therese remains not only one of the most popular saints, but she has been declared a Doctor of the Church (1997) and her message is more relevant than ever.  Her spirituality is based on being childlike, on being transparent, unselfish, fearless, loving and loveable, as opposed to being childish, pouting, or self-centered.  She bore the criticism and annoyances and even intolerance of some of the members of her community as well as her physical suffering from tuberculosis with patience and in union with the suffering of Jesus for the sake of others.  She corresponded with missionaries and offered her sufferings for them.  She looked for nothing extraordinary, but just lived with  the ordinary day-to-day aggravations that are part of the human condition, and accepted and embraced them as the path to sanctity and union with Jesus. Her motto, taken from St. John of the Cross, "Love is repaid by love alone." sums up her life perfectly and poses a challenge for us.
Bro. Rene