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She died at the
age of 24 of tuberculosis. Her main work
is The Story of a Soul, written at the behest of her superiors in order
to share her life with others. She became
the patron saint of missionaries even though she lived her entire adult life in
a cloistered convent in France. Her “little
way” of simplicity and practicality illuminates how each person can become a
saint: “I see that it is enough to recognize one's nothingness and to abandon oneself, like a child, into God's arms.”
St. Thérèse of Liseiux
was born in 1873 to Zélie and Louis Martin, who have been since the only married couple canonized
together by Pope Francis in 2015. She was
the sister of four surviving daughters, all of whom became nuns. She asked Pope Leo XIII permission to enter
the convent at 15. He directed that she
follow her superiors’ directions.
However, she was allowed to enter the Carmelite convent at Lisieux the following
spring, when she was 15. She spent nine
years in the convent before she died.
Although her
life in the convent was a hidden life, she desired nothing more than to be
holy, to be a saint. She served in the
convent through prayer and obedience, offering herself and her suffering for
others, especially priests. She is
called the Little Flower. She wrote: “I will scatter flowers, perfuming the
Divine Throne, and I’ll sweetly sing my hymn of love. These flowers are every little sacrifice,
every glance and word, and the doing of the least of actions for love.” St. Thérèse knew she could not do great or
heroic acts, so she dedicated herself to doing little acts of love, everything
for love. So should we all! St. Thérèse, pray for us.
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