Oct 1 – Feast of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor, Patroness of Missions
Born to a pious middle-class French family of tradesmen, Francoise-Marie Thérèse Martin (1873–1897) was the daughter of Blessed Louis Martin and Blessed Marie-Azelie Guerin Martin, and all four of her sisters became nuns. Her mother died when Francoise-Marie was only four, and the family moved to Lisieux, Normandy, France to be closer to family.
She was cured from an illness at the age of 8, when a statue of the Blessed Virgin smiled at her. She was educated by the Benedictine nuns of Notre-Dame-du-Pre, and confirmed there at the age of 11. Just before her 14th birthday, she received a vision of the Child Jesus. She immediately understood the great sacrifice that had been made for her, and developed an unshakeable faith.
She tried to join the Carmelites, but was turned down due to her age. She was a pilgrim to Rome for the Jubilee of Pope Leo XIII whom she met, and who knew of her desire to become a nun. She joined the Carmelites at Lisieux on 9 April 1888 at the age of 15, taking her final vow on 8 September 1890 at the age of 17.
She is known by all for her complete devotion to spiritual development and to the austerities of the Carmelite Rule. Due to health problems resulting from her ongoing fight with tuberculosis, her superiors ordered her not to fast. She became novice mistress at the age of 20 and, at age 22, was ordered by her prioress to begin writing her memories and ideas. The material would turn into the book History of a Soul.
She defined her path to God and holiness at The Little Way, which consisted of child-like love and trust in God. She had an ongoing correspondence with the Carmelite missionaries in China, often stating how much she wanted to come work with them. Many miracles are attributed to her, and she was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1997 by Pope John Paul II.
“You know well enough that our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.” – Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
- Patron Saint Index
Is 66:10-14
Mt 18:1-5
“…the one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven”
At first, this sounds like an oxymoron. How can we become small and yet be considered great in God’s kingdom? Why does Jesus use a little child as an example? We might immediately think of a child’s innocence. But surely Jesus cannot be asking us, as adults, to return to the innocence of childhood? So, what other qualities of a child are we being invited to rediscover?
Perhaps, the answer is humility.
Think about the position of a child in the social world of Jesus’ time. A child had very little status, power or influence. A child could not command respect because of achievements, wealth, reputation or position. A child simply was. There was no impressive résumé to prove his or her worth either.
Perhaps this is what Jesus means by becoming ‘little’: not making ourselves completely worthless, but letting go of our need to make ourselves important. To become ‘little’ is to recognise that we do not have to prove our greatness before God.
This same reversal of worldly expectations can be seen in the Beatitudes where Jesus says, “Happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God. Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied. Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh.” (Luke 6:20–21)
The Beatitudes are full of paradoxes. The poor are called happy. The hungry will be satisfied. Those who weep will laugh. Jesus is not telling us that poverty, hunger or suffering are things we should simply seek out. Rather, he is turning our understanding of what it means to be blessed upside down. The things the world often considers signs of success, security and happiness are not necessarily the things that make us great in God’s eyes.
Perhaps Jesus is saying to us: Stop trying so hard to be great in the eyes of the world.
We spend so much of our lives chasing after things that make us feel important — achievements, wealth, recognition, status, influence, popularity. These things are temporary. They may bring us happiness, but they can also become the very things we depend on to define our worth. And when our earthly life comes to an end, what happens to all these things? We cannot bring our wealth, status or achievements with us. Will our worldly greatness matter in God’s kingdom?
Jesus gives us a sobering reminder of this in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). The rich man had everything he could have wanted in this life, while Lazarus lay suffering at his gate. Yet after death, the rich man found himself in torment, regretting that he had failed to show compassion to the poor man who had been right in front of him. Perhaps seeking the kind of greatness that the world celebrates can actually become our downfall if it causes us to forget what God values.
In fact, Jesus is inviting us to a different kind of greatness.
Today, as we celebrate the feast of St Thérèse of the Child Jesus, this Gospel takes on an even deeper meaning. St Thérèse understood herself as a little flower in God’s garden. Her ‘Little Way’ was not about doing extraordinary things, but about doing ordinary things with extraordinary love, humility and trust. She understood something very important about being ‘little’ — we do not have to become great before God. We simply have to allow God to love us and trust that He will take care of us.
Think of a young child. A child is totally dependent on a parent. The child trusts that the parent will provide, protect and care for him or her. A child does not need to understand everything before trusting. There is a certain simplicity in that relationship — “I may not know everything, but I know my Father loves me.”
Perhaps this is the child-like faith Jesus is asking of us. It does not mean that we stop asking questions. It does not mean that we won’t struggle, doubt or ask God, “Why?” This is why the mystery of faith does not require us to understand everything. Instead, it perhaps means being able to say honestly, “Jesus, I may not understand why this is happening. I may not know where you are leading me. But I choose to trust You.”
I am learning to love Jesus like a child; not because I have all the answers, but because I am learning to trust Him even when I don’t. And when I think something is impossible, I always cling to this Bible verse: “For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37)
Perhaps this is what it means to become ‘little’. To become less concerned with being great in the eyes of the world, and more willing to become small enough to place ourselves completely in God’s hands. To know that I do not need to have all the answers. To know that I do not need to be powerful or important. To know that I can simply be a child in my Father’s hands. And perhaps, in God’s kingdom, that is what true greatness looks like.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Cynthia Chew)
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, help us to trust in you as a child does, to not be concerned with being great in this world, and to understand that true greatness lies in humility without the need for answers.
Thanksgiving: Thank you for loving us despite our pride, our need for control, and for the many doubts we have. We want to love you as a child. May we decrease so that you can increase in our lives. Amen.
Leave a comment