There are a least three Saints Teresa in the Catholic Church. The second one, chronologically, Therese of Lisieux, France was the one chosen by Mother Teresa of Calcutta as her namesake.

Therese of Lisieux was a young woman born in 1873 of a devout Catholic family, one of five sisters, all of whom became nuns. Therese was only fifteen years old when she became a Carmelite nun. Nine years later she died of tuberculosis in the Carmelite convent of Lisieux, the town where she grew up. She is not known for heroic exploits or great achievements of any kind. She worked in the laundry at the convent , and was the “novice mistress” for a while. Today there are great and beautiful cathedrals on virtually every continent dedicated to St. Therese of Lisieux, sometimes called “The Little Flower.”

When Therese was ill with TB her sister asked her to write some of her childhood reminiscences. Later this same sister spoke to the Prioress about Theresa’s impending death: “. . . you will not be able to obtain much information to write her obituary. If you were to tell her to do so, she could write something. . .” As a result, the Prioress did ask, and Therese willingly obeyed. She produced a book she called The Story of a Soul. On the basis of this book she was made a saint.

The Story of a Soul is the account of both her physical, emotional life, and of her spiritual life. She wrote of her discovery of the meaning of Jesus’ words, “I say to you, unless you be converted and come as little children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3). Therese wrote, “The way of spiritual childhood is the path that leads to eternal life” She called her path “The Little Way,” and quoted Proverbs 9: “Whoever is a little one, come to me.”

It has been said that Theresa’s “Little Way” is simply the concept of humility, but in her book she reveals a soul who discovers the “smallness” needed to receive the greatness of God. Her method of divesting herself of the things that preoccupy the world in order to be filled with the Spirit of Christ, so resonated in the hearts and minds of Christian readers that she became one of the most popular of Catholic saints, mentioned in the writings of several popes, and inspiring the nun from Armenia, Agnes Bojanxhiu to choose “Teresa” for her Christian name before she became Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Therese’s book reveals a soul at home with the Spirit of God. Her words speak to every generation.

Love in Him,

Prue