“I’ve always wanted to become a saint. Unfortunately, I’ve always found the same difference between the saints and me as there is between a mountain and a humble grain of sand…I will look for some means of going to heaven by a little way which is very short and very straight.” – St. Thérèse of Lisieux
Does holiness seem impossible for you? Do you feel inadequate, fault-ridden? Does the sanctity of the great saints seem unattainable?
Fear not. Over a hundred years ago, a humble French girl felt the same way you do—and she came up with a solution. The Little Way of St. Thérèse of Lisieux proved not only to be her own path to Heaven, but a path for countless others who have followed in her footsteps.
The central theme of St. Thérèse’s method is the idea of spiritual childhood: emulating the absolute trust, tender love, and confidence that a child has toward her father. It is through this humble dependence on God—recognizing our littleness, our nothingness—that our love and trust expand.
“It is your arms, Jesus, which are the elevator to carry me to heaven. So there is no need for me to grow up. In fact, just the opposite: I must become less and less.”
What joy and peace are to be found when we, like children, throw ourselves into the merciful arms of God! Of course, we must give up some things: our self-sufficiency, which doesn’t exist anyway; our pride, which always plagues our spiritual life; our endless worries, our discouragement, our fear. Trading all that in exchange for Thérèse’s way of absolute trust and love—it’s a no-brainer.
Learn more about St. Thérèse’s “Little Way” in Mornings with St. Thérèse, a collection of 120 short, daily readings from Thérèse herself that introduces you to her thought and spirituality. Available right here at The Catholic Company!
