“Do you realize that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you-for you alone? He burns with the desire to come into your heart… don’t listen to the demon, laugh at him, and go without fear to receive the Jesus of peace and love…”

On this First Friday of October, let us turn on gaze for a moment on the life of a simple and holy young woman who gave her life completely to the Lord, St. Therese of Lisieux. As we continue to face turbulence from events in the world, let us copy this nun and let us cultivate a relationship with the Lord like that of a small child. A relationship that is humble, trusting and confident in God.

St. Therese lived her life by developing ‘the little way’ that helped her grow closer to the Lord. There are two fundamental convictions which she believed. The first one is that God shows love by mercy and forgiveness and secondly that she could not be ‘perfect’ in following the Lord. But she believed that all things should be done first and foremost with great love. Since God is Love, by imitating this love one would grow closer to the Lord. St. Therese applied these principles to her daily life, treating all of her sisters with this same love. The difficult ones as well as those she found compatible with herself. She sensed that everything that she was able to do, was only possible because of the generous love of God. She was convinced that at the end of her life, she would appear before the  Lord with empty hands because all that she had been able to accomplish was done in union with God. All of her goodness had come from Him, not one bit of it actually had belonged to her.

Catholics as well as other Christians have found St. Therese’s ‘Little Way’ a practice that puts holiness within their reach. Instead of some lofty weighty plan, with this ‘Little Way‘ we find that if we live out our days confident in God’s love for us, we are able to become a messenger of that love. If we recognize that each day is a gift in which we have the chance to make a difference in the world by how we choose to live, we can be a reflection of God’s love to those we meet. We can give life to God’s love. If we are able to overlook the faults of others and instead focus on what is good, we will do so much more for the Lord, by spreading His message of Love and forgiveness.

As we enter into this month dedicated to the holy rosary as well as to the sanctity of life, let us turn our prayers to St. Therese and ask for her intercession that we too may become messengers of God’s merciful love and conquer the world for Christ. Viva Cristo Rey!