The Little Flower

It's October 1st! Besides now being undeniably autumn, this date has another important significance to me: It is St. Therese of Lisieux's feast day!

For some reason still unknown to me, the parish that I grew up in decided that choosing Confirmation saints was unnecessary. So when I got to college and really started examining the Catholic Church and taking my faith seriously, I decided that I wanted a patron.

I don't feel like I chose Therese, I feel like she chose me. Somewhere along the line, I had acquired The Essential Writings of St. Therese of Lisieux, a collection of Therese's letters, plays, and excerpts from her Story of a Soul. I found it on my shelf and opened it for the first time.

It SPOKE to me.

I sat in my dorm room and read it from cover to cover, underlining and marking every page. Every word she spoke was exactly what I had been searching for- she showed me that simply loving Christ and living humbly can change the world. She died at age 24; already I have seen more years than she ever did, but she is recognized as a Doctor of the Church- an honor bestowed on only the very greatest of canonized Saints. I fell in love with her "Little Way", and the earnestness and honesty with which she spoke of her love of God and desire to bring souls to Him.

For my adopted patron's feast this year, I am going to begin her writings again and fan that flame she lit in me seven years ago.

"I offer myself as a victim of holocaust to Your merciful Love... I want, O my Beloved, at each beat of my heart to renew this offering to You an infinite number of times, until the shadows having disappeared I may be able to tell You of my LOVE in an Eternal face to face!"

St. Therese of Lisieux, Pray for us!