Thérèse Martin, a French teenager who became a Carmelite nun in the late 19th century, did nothing earth-shattering: she lived an obscure life in a cloistered monastery in a small town in France, and died of tuberculosis in her mid-twenties. Yet her impact is huge: canonized in 1925, named co-patron of the missions in 1927 despite never having been a missionary, made co-patroness of France in 1944, and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1997, she was described by Pope St. Pius X as the greatest saint of modern times. Why? Her importance is because of what she wrote and taught: a “little way” of holiness that is a path that anyone can follow to become closer to Jesus.
What is St. Thérèse’s “little way”? In her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, she describes it as follows:
I concluded... I may aspire to sanctity in spite of my littleness. For me to become great is impossible. I must bear with myself and my many imperfections; but I will seek out a means of getting to Heaven by a little way... I mean to try and find an elevator by which I may be raised to God, for I am too tiny to climb the steep stairway of perfection. I have sought to find in Holy Scripture some suggestion as to what this elevator might be... “Whosoever is a little one, let him come to Me” ... wishing to know further what He would do to the little one, I continued my search and this is what I found: “You shall be carried at the breasts and upon the knees; as one whom the mother caresses, so will I comfort you”. Never have I been consoled by words more tender and sweet. Your arms, then, O Jesus, are the elevator which must raise me up even to Heaven. To get there I need not grow; on the contrary I must remain little, I must become still less.
It is God who makes the “little one” succeed:
Thérèse loves Jesus simply and wholeheartedly, like a little child:
I ask not for riches or glory, not even the glory of Heaven... No, I ask for Love. To love you, Jesus, is now my only desire. Great deeds are not for me; I cannot preach the Gospel or shed my blood. No matter! My brothers work in my stead, and I, a little child, stay close to the throne and love you for all who are in the strife. But how shall I show my love, since love proves itself by deeds? The little child will strew flowers... that is to say, I will let no tiny sacrifice pass, no look, no word. I wish to profit by the smallest actions, and to do them for Love. I wish to suffer for Love’s sake, and for Love’s sake even to rejoice...
She shows her love with little actions:
Courage is needed to start:
Jesus provides the strength:
...I saw at a glance that the task was beyond my strength. Throwing myself without delay into Our Lord’s arms, I imitated those tiny children, who, when they are frightened, hide their faces on their fathers’ shoulder... The knowledge that it was impossible to do anything of myself rendered my task easier. My one interior occupation was to unite myself more and more closely to God, knowing that the rest would be given to me over and above. And indeed my hope has never been deceived; I have always found my hands filled when sustenance was needed... But had I done otherwise, and relied on my own strength, I should very soon have been forced to abandon my task.
We need not worry so much about imperfections:
God is tolerant and understanding
Thérèse’s “little way” is to rely, like a child, on God’s goodness:
In the end, it is God’s goodness, not our accomplishments, that will make all the difference:
For all of us, St. Thérèse’s “little way” is something not just to admire, but to live out in our daily lives. This is why this young nun from a small town in France, who lived over a century ago, is so important for us today: her “little way” can bring us to Jesus.