Our saint for today is a nun who died at the age of 24, lived in the convent for only 9 years but was chosen by the Church to be Patroness of the Missions, together with a great missionary, St. Francis Xavier. I’m sure you know St. Therese of Lisieux, or Therese of the Child Jesus, also known as the “.” Little Flower". Let’s try to take a swift look at the inspiring life of our Saint today. St. Therese or Marie-Francoise-Therese Martin was born on January 2, 1873 in Alencon, France to a devout couple, Louis and Zeline. God gave them nine children, four of whom died in infancy. The remaining five were girls, who all became nuns.When Therese was 4 ½ years old, her mother died and it caused her the greatest sorrow in life. Her father decided to live in Lisieux so that the girls could be near the relatives of their mother. Being the youngest, Therese became quite capricious. She had frightful tantrums and would even roll on the floor when she could not have her own way. She was a nervous child, was very intelligent and remembered everything. Their father, who had a nickname for all his daughters called her “My Queen.” Gradually, however, when Therese was growing up, she learned how to forget herself, tried to be charitable and resolved to make others happy. But she cried and suffered in silence when others were rude and unkind.After her mother’s death, her sister Pauline became Therese’s second mother. But when she was 9 Pauline entered Carmel. Therese was shocked and suffered nervous tremors. Pauline tried to comfort her by writing often to her. She only got well when she said she had a vision of Mother Mary smiling to her. Soon, another sister joined the Carmelites. It dawned on Therese that she would also become a Carmelite. When she was 15 years old she told her father that she, too, wanted to join her two sisters, but the superior found her too young. Yet, she was too determined that when her father brought them and her sister Celine for a pilgrimage to Rome, she had the chance to see the Pope. She dressed herself like an accomplished adult, put her hair up, to impress and spoke to the Pope, asking permission to enter Carmel, but the priest-superior of Carmel told the Pope that she was too young and he prevailed.That pilgrimage brought them to several places where Therese met many priests and observed that they are weak and feeble men, subject to human weakness. While Carmel have a special duty to pray for priests, Therese resolved that she would pray more for the sanctification of priests. She had some communication with priests and she composed a powerful prayer for priests. Soon afthe Bishop of Bayeaux allowed Therese to enter Carmel. She became a postulant on April 9, 1888. All at once she saw the ups and downs of convent life. She had to adjust to various temperaments and accept criticisms. She was observant of the strict rules and obeyed them lovingly. Yet when alone with Jesus, she experienced great calm and joy in spirit. When she made her profession, her superior said of her: “The angelic child is 17 1/2 with the sense of a 30 year old, the religious perfection of an old novice, and a possession of herself. She is a perfect nun.” Due to her exemplary life, she was asked under obedience to write her autobiography which is now entitled “The Story of a Soul” Meanwhile, the health of her father deteriorated and he was placed in an asylum. His illness brought great sorrow and humiliation for his daughters. He died on July 29, 1894. Therese lived a very simple, humble and prayerful life. She considered herself inferior to others: a little flower unnoticed by people, “a grain of sand, always light to be lifted more easily by the breeze of love.” She died of tuberculosis on September 3, 1897.
