All of Us Are Little Flowers

Recenly I was asked to write a piece about St. Thérese of Lisieux, also known as the Little Flower. I have to confess that I had never been "into" this particular saint and I really did not know much about her. She lived toward the end of the 19th century and was only 24 years old when she died. She seemed like a spoiled child because, even though she joined the convent, she had come from a well-to-do family. Her life and example simply never appealed to me. So I had to do some research in order to know what to write about.

Was I ever surprised! I discoverd that I love her sense of spirituality. In fact, I think I have started to fall in love with her in a strange sort of way.

I think what I found most likable about her is that she had a wonderful way of seeing that living life and growing in maturity (personal, emotional, spiritual, etc) was so easy and so simple. I love her analogies and her imaginative ways of looking at reality. Here's an example:

"I can aspire to sainthood in spite of my smallness. It is impossible for me to see myself greater than I am because I must see myself as I am, with all my imperfections. But I want to find the way to go to heaven by a direct route, one that is as short as possible, a totally new route.

"We are in an era of inventions. For example, these days, one doesn't have to bother to climb stairs because the wealthy have elevators to easily replace them. Me, I would like to find an elevator to lift myself all the way up to Jesus, because I am too small to climb the harsh staircase of perfection." (from 15 Days of Prayer with Saint Therese of Lisieux, by Constant Tonnelier, Liguori Publications, 1999.)

In another place she told the nuns she lived with that she would soon be going to heaven where she would "throw flowers with the angels. After all," she said, "that's as good a way as any to spend one's eternity!"

Stories of this saint continue to make me laugh and to believe that this life is all worthwhile. And, I guess, that I can make it, too.