Saint Therese of Lisieux's prayer for humility
O loving and gracious Infant Jesus, how full of love for us poor mortals is Thy divine heart! The fire of Thy love is burning day and night, emitting sparks of grace in the shape of countless benefits, showered on all men, even the greatest sinners. In order to comprehend the greatness of Thy heart, one would have to possess the love and wisdom of Thy dear Mother, of St. Joseph, or of Thy most devoted worshiper Father Cyril. How cold is my heart toward Thee; filled as it is with temporal and earthly concerns and the greatest self-love, there is no room left for a heroic love of God and my neighbor. What a miserable and wretched being I am! Thou, infinite majesty itself, most holy and most perfect, art most humble of heart; I, wretchedness and sin, am proud and conceited, and therefore also without peace of heart. Thou shouldst verily turn away Thy beautiful countenance from me, because I possess so little virtue. And yet I consider myself better than others, and even venture to criticize and belittle them! I know my own misery, and still I expect to be esteemed and praised, and even preferred to others! The least humiliation and neglect on the part of others pains me, and Thou art so humble, so forbearing, and so patient with the children of men! Divine Heart of my most loving Jesus infuse into me true humility and a right knowledge of myself, so that I may deserve to find one day favor in Thy sight. Give me grace to be humble and simple like a child, if I wish to go to the Father. Amen.
As St. Therese does in this prayer, and did throughout her short life, give Christ your failures and shortcomings; turn your face not your back to Him (Jer 32:33); and ask Him for the graces you need to do better. And don’t ever be afraid to ask for His forgiveness for your sins and His grace to resist them better in Confession.
#prayer #sttherese
O loving and gracious Infant Jesus, how full of love for us poor mortals is Thy divine heart! The fire of Thy love is burning day and night, emitting sparks of grace in the shape of countless benefits, showered on all men, even the greatest sinners. In order to comprehend the greatness of Thy heart, one would have to possess the love and wisdom of Thy dear Mother, of St. Joseph, or of Thy most devoted worshiper Father Cyril. How cold is my heart toward Thee; filled as it is with temporal and earthly concerns and the greatest self-love, there is no room left for a heroic love of God and my neighbor. What a miserable and wretched being I am! Thou, infinite majesty itself, most holy and most perfect, art most humble of heart; I, wretchedness and sin, am proud and conceited, and therefore also without peace of heart. Thou shouldst verily turn away Thy beautiful countenance from me, because I possess so little virtue. And yet I consider myself better than others, and even venture to criticize and belittle them! I know my own misery, and still I expect to be esteemed and praised, and even preferred to others! The least humiliation and neglect on the part of others pains me, and Thou art so humble, so forbearing, and so patient with the children of men! Divine Heart of my most loving Jesus infuse into me true humility and a right knowledge of myself, so that I may deserve to find one day favor in Thy sight. Give me grace to be humble and simple like a child, if I wish to go to the Father. Amen.
As St. Therese does in this prayer, and did throughout her short life, give Christ your failures and shortcomings; turn your face not your back to Him (Jer 32:33); and ask Him for the graces you need to do better. And don’t ever be afraid to ask for His forgiveness for your sins and His grace to resist them better in Confession.
#prayer #sttherese
Humility of Saint Therese:
On offering up sufferings
She carried the spirit of humility by offering up sufferings and penances out of love for God and souls throughout her time at Carmel. On numerous instances she fought back retaliatory instincts when faced with disagreeable circumstances or people.
For one example, St. Therese wrote in Story of a Soul of an instance where "A holy nun of our community annoyed me in all that she did; the devil must have had something to do with it, and he it was undoubtedly who made me see in her so many disagreeable points. I did not want to yield to my natural antipathy, for I remembered that charity ought to betray itself in deeds, and not exist merely in the feelings, so I set myself to do for this sister all I should do for the one I loved most."
Every time I met her I prayed for her, and offered to God her virtues and merits....I did not rest satisfied with praying for this Sister, who gave me such occasions for self-mastery, I tried to render her as many services as I could, and when tempted to answer her sharply, I made haste to smile and change the subject, for the Imitation [of Christ] says: 'It is more profitable to leave everyone to his way of thinking than to give way to contentious discourses.'
And sometimes when the temptation was very severe, I would run like a deserter from the battlefield if I could do so without letting the Sister guess my inward struggle. One day she said to me with a beaming face: 'My dear Soeur Thérèse, tell me what attraction you find in me, for whenever we meet, you greet me with such a sweet smile.' Ah! What attracted me was Jesus hidden in the depths of her soul—Jesus who maketh sweet even that which is most bitter."
Striving for sanctity in this life is never simple. But Jesus can make it easier if we allow him to help carry our burdens as His yoke is easy and His burden light (Matt 11:30).
He can also cool immoderate desires and tamp down our all too natural proclivity to envy others, sometime to the point of out and out dislike, if not hatred, if we can be receptive to the graces He wishes to give us to do so!
#saints #sttherese
On offering up sufferings
She carried the spirit of humility by offering up sufferings and penances out of love for God and souls throughout her time at Carmel. On numerous instances she fought back retaliatory instincts when faced with disagreeable circumstances or people.
For one example, St. Therese wrote in Story of a Soul of an instance where "A holy nun of our community annoyed me in all that she did; the devil must have had something to do with it, and he it was undoubtedly who made me see in her so many disagreeable points. I did not want to yield to my natural antipathy, for I remembered that charity ought to betray itself in deeds, and not exist merely in the feelings, so I set myself to do for this sister all I should do for the one I loved most."
Every time I met her I prayed for her, and offered to God her virtues and merits....I did not rest satisfied with praying for this Sister, who gave me such occasions for self-mastery, I tried to render her as many services as I could, and when tempted to answer her sharply, I made haste to smile and change the subject, for the Imitation [of Christ] says: 'It is more profitable to leave everyone to his way of thinking than to give way to contentious discourses.'
And sometimes when the temptation was very severe, I would run like a deserter from the battlefield if I could do so without letting the Sister guess my inward struggle. One day she said to me with a beaming face: 'My dear Soeur Thérèse, tell me what attraction you find in me, for whenever we meet, you greet me with such a sweet smile.' Ah! What attracted me was Jesus hidden in the depths of her soul—Jesus who maketh sweet even that which is most bitter."
Striving for sanctity in this life is never simple. But Jesus can make it easier if we allow him to help carry our burdens as His yoke is easy and His burden light (Matt 11:30).
He can also cool immoderate desires and tamp down our all too natural proclivity to envy others, sometime to the point of out and out dislike, if not hatred, if we can be receptive to the graces He wishes to give us to do so!
#saints #sttherese
Saint Therese's life
St. Therese, also known as the “Little Flower” (honoring her desire to be as one of Jesus' little flowers) served our Lord lovingly in the Lisieux Carmel from 1888 until her untimely death from tuberculosis at the age of 24 in 1897.
She left this world relatively unknown, but it was her autobiography Story of a Soul that quickly brought her well deserved posthumous fame and acclaim after its first publication in 1898. Her moving account of her life as a Carmelite nun resonated with both religious and laity alike, and she was canonized in 1925 by Pope Pius XI.
(Therese actually took another name along with that one that reflected the love she had for Jesus for His Holy Face. When she made her Profession of Vows at the Carmelite Monastery in Lisieux in September, 1890 she referred to herself as St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face.)
St. Therese’s “Little Way” has been a special source of inspiration for many. She reasoned that as an aspiring saint she wasn’t capable of the mighty deeds of various missionaries and martyrs for the faith.
However, she realized something quite important, indeed vital, that ensured that she would become one of our greatest saints and one of only 36 Doctors of the Church: that doing everything for the love and glory of God was what mattered most.
Even the smallest penances or acts of charity, such as offering up one’s suffering for the good of souls, or the most banal household chores, if done well with love for God and neighbor could bring one great graces and spiritual merits!
She described her “Little Way” in the following manner shortly before her death: “It is the path of spiritual childhood, it is the way of trust and of entire self-surrender…to cast down before Jesus the flowers of little sacrifices.”
In this prayer she seems to be chiding that part of her that nurtured the kind of toxic self-love mentioned earlier that afflicts much of humanity as well as God’s religious, and keeps many of us, if not most of us these days away from Him.
Yet one gets the sense from reading passages from Story of a Soul that Jesus did indeed answer her prayer for the “grace to be humble and simple like a child”, as she turned over any of her doubts, aridities, and trials to Him.
St. Therese’s focus was always on putting Jesus and others ahead of herself as part of her “Little Way”. Admittedly this wasn’t easy for her. It’s never easy for any of us. One gets the feeling from reading her autobiography, however, that Jesus made her sufferings more bearable and even sweeter at times.
#saints #sttherese
St. Therese, also known as the “Little Flower” (honoring her desire to be as one of Jesus' little flowers) served our Lord lovingly in the Lisieux Carmel from 1888 until her untimely death from tuberculosis at the age of 24 in 1897.
She left this world relatively unknown, but it was her autobiography Story of a Soul that quickly brought her well deserved posthumous fame and acclaim after its first publication in 1898. Her moving account of her life as a Carmelite nun resonated with both religious and laity alike, and she was canonized in 1925 by Pope Pius XI.
(Therese actually took another name along with that one that reflected the love she had for Jesus for His Holy Face. When she made her Profession of Vows at the Carmelite Monastery in Lisieux in September, 1890 she referred to herself as St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face.)
St. Therese’s “Little Way” has been a special source of inspiration for many. She reasoned that as an aspiring saint she wasn’t capable of the mighty deeds of various missionaries and martyrs for the faith.
However, she realized something quite important, indeed vital, that ensured that she would become one of our greatest saints and one of only 36 Doctors of the Church: that doing everything for the love and glory of God was what mattered most.
Even the smallest penances or acts of charity, such as offering up one’s suffering for the good of souls, or the most banal household chores, if done well with love for God and neighbor could bring one great graces and spiritual merits!
She described her “Little Way” in the following manner shortly before her death: “It is the path of spiritual childhood, it is the way of trust and of entire self-surrender…to cast down before Jesus the flowers of little sacrifices.”
In this prayer she seems to be chiding that part of her that nurtured the kind of toxic self-love mentioned earlier that afflicts much of humanity as well as God’s religious, and keeps many of us, if not most of us these days away from Him.
Yet one gets the sense from reading passages from Story of a Soul that Jesus did indeed answer her prayer for the “grace to be humble and simple like a child”, as she turned over any of her doubts, aridities, and trials to Him.
St. Therese’s focus was always on putting Jesus and others ahead of herself as part of her “Little Way”. Admittedly this wasn’t easy for her. It’s never easy for any of us. One gets the feeling from reading her autobiography, however, that Jesus made her sufferings more bearable and even sweeter at times.
#saints #sttherese
littlewayofspiri00martuoft.pdf
6.5 MB
The "Little Way" of spiritual childhood : according to the life and writings of Blessed Thérèse de l'Enfant Jésus
by Martin, Gabriel, 1873-1949
#sttherese
by Martin, Gabriel, 1873-1949
#sttherese
"My Vocation is Love", St. Therese of Lisieux
by Jean Lafrance
"At last I have found my vocation. In the heart of the Church, I will be Love!"
Has St. Thérèse simply discovered the common vocation of all of us, or has she found her own particular vocation? Or are both true at the same time? Is it both her special vocation and the universal vocation common to all of us? This essay argues that it is both: the special calling of St. Thérèse consists precisely in her giving herself completely to that which is the fundamental vocation of us all- to live in love. Most of us all not called to live the vocation of love in the same way as she did- as a Carmelite devoted to contemplation and the intense expression of love in little things- but her vocation has something to show every one of us about our own unique vocation.
Her desire to live all vocations
To be your Spouse, O Jesus, to be a Carmelite, by my union with you to be the mother of souls, should content me. yet it does not. Without doubt, these three priviliges are indeed my vocation: Carmelite, spouse, and mother. And yet I feel in myself other vocations—I feel myself called to be a soldier, priest, apostle, doctor of the church, martyr. Finally, I feel the need, the desire to perform all the most heroic deeds for you, Jesus.I feel in my soul the courage of a crusader, of a soldier for the Church, and I wish to die on the field of battle in defense of the Church.
I feel in me the vocation of a priest! With what love, O Jesus, would I bear you in my hands, when at the sound of my words you came down from heaven! With what love would I give you to souls! But alas, just as much as I desire to be a priest, I admire and envy the humility of St. Francis of Assisi, and feel the call to imitate him in refusing the sublime dignity of the Priesthood.
Dreaming of the tortures in which Christians are to share at the time of the Antichrist, I feel my heart thrill, and I would like these tortures to be kept for me. Jesus, Jesus, if I wanted to write all my desires, I would have to take your Book of Life, where the deeds of your saints are recorded: all these deeds I would like to accomplish for you.
Each person has their own gift
At prayer these desires made me suffer a true martydom. I opened the Epistles of St. Paul to seek some relief. The 12th and 13th chapters of the First Epistle to the Corinthians fell before my eyes. I read, in the first, that not all can be apostles, prophets, and doctors, etc., that the Church is composed of different members, and that the eye cannot also be at the same time the hand.
Therese finds her vocation in charity
The answer was clear, but it did not satisfy my desires, it did not give me peace. Without being discouraged I continued my reading, and this phrase comforted me: “Earnestly desire the more perfect gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way” (1 Cor 12:31). And the Apostle explains how all gifts, even the most perfect, are nothing without Love... that charity is the excellent way that leads surely to God. At last I had found rest.... Considering the mystical Body of the Church, I had not recognized myself in any of the members described by St. Paul, or rather, I wanted to recognize myself in all... Charity gave me the key to my vocation. I understood that if the Church has a body composed of different members, the noblest and most necessary of all the members would not be lacking to her. I understood that the Church has a heart, and that this heart burns with Love. I understood that Love alone makes its members act, that if this Love were to be extinguished, the Apostles would no longer preach the Gospel, the Martyrs would refuse to shed their blood... I understood that Love embraces all vocations, that Love is all things, that it embraces all times and all places... in a word, that it is eternal!
Then in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: “O Jesus, my Love, at last I have found my vocation, my vocation is Love!
#vocation #sttherese
by Jean Lafrance
"At last I have found my vocation. In the heart of the Church, I will be Love!"
Has St. Thérèse simply discovered the common vocation of all of us, or has she found her own particular vocation? Or are both true at the same time? Is it both her special vocation and the universal vocation common to all of us? This essay argues that it is both: the special calling of St. Thérèse consists precisely in her giving herself completely to that which is the fundamental vocation of us all- to live in love. Most of us all not called to live the vocation of love in the same way as she did- as a Carmelite devoted to contemplation and the intense expression of love in little things- but her vocation has something to show every one of us about our own unique vocation.
Her desire to live all vocations
To be your Spouse, O Jesus, to be a Carmelite, by my union with you to be the mother of souls, should content me. yet it does not. Without doubt, these three priviliges are indeed my vocation: Carmelite, spouse, and mother. And yet I feel in myself other vocations—I feel myself called to be a soldier, priest, apostle, doctor of the church, martyr. Finally, I feel the need, the desire to perform all the most heroic deeds for you, Jesus.I feel in my soul the courage of a crusader, of a soldier for the Church, and I wish to die on the field of battle in defense of the Church.
I feel in me the vocation of a priest! With what love, O Jesus, would I bear you in my hands, when at the sound of my words you came down from heaven! With what love would I give you to souls! But alas, just as much as I desire to be a priest, I admire and envy the humility of St. Francis of Assisi, and feel the call to imitate him in refusing the sublime dignity of the Priesthood.
Dreaming of the tortures in which Christians are to share at the time of the Antichrist, I feel my heart thrill, and I would like these tortures to be kept for me. Jesus, Jesus, if I wanted to write all my desires, I would have to take your Book of Life, where the deeds of your saints are recorded: all these deeds I would like to accomplish for you.
Each person has their own gift
At prayer these desires made me suffer a true martydom. I opened the Epistles of St. Paul to seek some relief. The 12th and 13th chapters of the First Epistle to the Corinthians fell before my eyes. I read, in the first, that not all can be apostles, prophets, and doctors, etc., that the Church is composed of different members, and that the eye cannot also be at the same time the hand.
Therese finds her vocation in charity
The answer was clear, but it did not satisfy my desires, it did not give me peace. Without being discouraged I continued my reading, and this phrase comforted me: “Earnestly desire the more perfect gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way” (1 Cor 12:31). And the Apostle explains how all gifts, even the most perfect, are nothing without Love... that charity is the excellent way that leads surely to God. At last I had found rest.... Considering the mystical Body of the Church, I had not recognized myself in any of the members described by St. Paul, or rather, I wanted to recognize myself in all... Charity gave me the key to my vocation. I understood that if the Church has a body composed of different members, the noblest and most necessary of all the members would not be lacking to her. I understood that the Church has a heart, and that this heart burns with Love. I understood that Love alone makes its members act, that if this Love were to be extinguished, the Apostles would no longer preach the Gospel, the Martyrs would refuse to shed their blood... I understood that Love embraces all vocations, that Love is all things, that it embraces all times and all places... in a word, that it is eternal!
Then in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: “O Jesus, my Love, at last I have found my vocation, my vocation is Love!
#vocation #sttherese
Ecce Verbum
"My Vocation is Love", St. Therese of Lisieux by Jean Lafrance "At last I have found my vocation. In the heart of the Church, I will be Love!" Has St. Thérèse simply discovered the common vocation of all of us, or has she found her own particular vocation?…
Commentary on the Vocation of St. Therese
These words of St. Thérèse are often cited as explaining the common vocation of all persons. Every person is called to love, and finds his fulfillment in love. And yet St. Thérèse seems to consider that she has found her specific vocation in love. Some persons are called to be eyes for the Church, others to be hands, others to be feet... her place is in the Church's heart. Some are called to be teachers, some healers, some helpers... she is called to be a lover.
Is there a contradiction between these two ways of understanding? Do we have to choose, and say either that love is the common vocation of us all, or that it is the special vocation of St. Thérèse, and perhaps some other Carmelites? Is her little way of love really possible and meaningful for those who cannot devote themselves to her way of life, for those who have a family, and cannot be a “spouse of Christ” etc.?
These two ways of understanding the “vocation to love” are not contradictory. Indeed, they are complementary: the vocation to love as a specific vocation presupposes, builds, and expresses the vocation to love as a common vocation. Thérèse's specific vocation consists precisely in devoting her life in an exemplary manner to that which is common to every vocation, to that which is the root and the heart of every vocation... to love. She makes love her profession, as it were.
By devotely herself absolutely to love alone, she shows forth more clearly that this love is the essential point for all Christians, and ought to be the center and wellspring of all Christian life. The fundamental meaning of every vocation is a love story that unfolds between God and the person whom he calls. Thus, St. Thérèse, by demonstrating with her own life the central place of love for all men and women, performs a specific function for Christ and for the Church. The universal vocation to love is the foundation for St. Thérèse's special vocation to be a living model and teacher of such love. Her little way is both her own unique vocation, and is a way that can be followed by anyone, whatever his or her vocation his.
#vocation #sttherese
These words of St. Thérèse are often cited as explaining the common vocation of all persons. Every person is called to love, and finds his fulfillment in love. And yet St. Thérèse seems to consider that she has found her specific vocation in love. Some persons are called to be eyes for the Church, others to be hands, others to be feet... her place is in the Church's heart. Some are called to be teachers, some healers, some helpers... she is called to be a lover.
Is there a contradiction between these two ways of understanding? Do we have to choose, and say either that love is the common vocation of us all, or that it is the special vocation of St. Thérèse, and perhaps some other Carmelites? Is her little way of love really possible and meaningful for those who cannot devote themselves to her way of life, for those who have a family, and cannot be a “spouse of Christ” etc.?
These two ways of understanding the “vocation to love” are not contradictory. Indeed, they are complementary: the vocation to love as a specific vocation presupposes, builds, and expresses the vocation to love as a common vocation. Thérèse's specific vocation consists precisely in devoting her life in an exemplary manner to that which is common to every vocation, to that which is the root and the heart of every vocation... to love. She makes love her profession, as it were.
By devotely herself absolutely to love alone, she shows forth more clearly that this love is the essential point for all Christians, and ought to be the center and wellspring of all Christian life. The fundamental meaning of every vocation is a love story that unfolds between God and the person whom he calls. Thus, St. Thérèse, by demonstrating with her own life the central place of love for all men and women, performs a specific function for Christ and for the Church. The universal vocation to love is the foundation for St. Thérèse's special vocation to be a living model and teacher of such love. Her little way is both her own unique vocation, and is a way that can be followed by anyone, whatever his or her vocation his.
#vocation #sttherese