St. Therese of Lisieux

Know what I've been up to? Babysitting for the summer, quilting (yeah!), and a few projects for our church. This year marks the 90th Anniversary for the Church of the Little Flower. The Little Flower refers to St. Therese of Lisieux, who wrote about and practiced what she called "the little way."

She believed strongly that not everyone could become a great saint, one whose name will forever be remembered.


She practiced and wrote about how the small, everyday duties of life could be one way to achieve heaven. Rather than just wash dishes because the dishes are dirty, wash them because doing so is a way to serve the others in the family. Take on chores that no one wants to do, so that your love for others is manifested in your duties to them. By loving the ones around you, you are loving Christ Himself.

Many of our parishioners have spent the year learning about and trying to take on some of the teachings of St. Therese. Some of the ways we have done this include: 

• reading her autobiography
• studying and discussing her teachings
• reviewing her quotes, which are published in the weekly bulletin
• discussions of her life and the lives of her family
• giving her a more prominent role in the life of our church

So far it has made a difference in our lives here at the Marcotte lot. Richard and I have found opportunities to share St. Therese's life with our children and grandchildren. 

We've also found that by being mindful of the little ways we can show love to each other has allowed us to be less critical and disagreeable with each other. Hopefully our behavior will influence others in our lives who watch us. 

I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from St. Therese:

"Love proves itself by deeds....The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love."

Book Review: Rediscover Catholicism

 

After our son Rory gave us a copy of Matthew Kelly's latest book, entitled Rediscover Catholicism: A spiritual guide to living with passion & purpose, as part of our Christmas gift, Richard and I decided to give it a read.  I began reading a couple of weeks ago and am taking much more time to get through the 300+ pages than is usual for me. 

This book takes more time to absorb since it's such a powerful read. Kelly's theory is that anyone who is Catholic has the potential to find happiness and to live an authentic life. 

By this he means we can become "the best version of ourselves" by living the lives we were meant to live according to God's plan for us.    

I especially appreciate Kelly's direct, simple explanations of why we display statues of the saints in our churches: simply put they are reminders of a life of holiness.  We do not worship the saints, but by reading about their lives and work, we learn how to live our lives. 

Kelly goes on to give five examples of saints whose histories teach us about discipline and holiness and that holiness is possible for ordinary, everyday people.  To me this last part is especially important.  I tend to be ordinary and as such I sometimes forget that many of the saints were common, ordinary people. 

An earlier book by the same author

I have not finished the entire book, but I will quite soon.  I just didn't want to wait any longer to write about it.  While reading earlier today I began to worry that I'd forget something important, such as this one line that, to me at least, is extremely powerful: "I promise you, it is better to spend time with dead people  who bring you to life than with live people who lead you to death" (126). 

Of course, Kelly is not speaking literally here, he means that reading or studying the lives of the saints is a much better use of time since we learn to become the best version of ourselves and grow closer to God as a result than spending time with those people or doing those things that drive us from God.

Kelly shares many other truly powerful ideas.  I hope you spend some time discovering them for yourself. 

Although intended for Catholics, the book is right for many others as well.  If you are curious about some the "oddities" of Catholicism, this book will answer many questions.  If you are a Catholic who has left the church for any of various reasons, Kelly addresses them in a straightforward manner and will help you to come to terms with your disappointment, anger or disenchantment. 

There are many ways to pick up a copy including visiting the Dynamic Catholic website or author Matthew Kelly's site. I also found it at Amazon and Books a Million.