Have you heard this Catholic fun fact?
St. Thérèse died from Tuberculosis on September 30, 1897. Before she died, she whispered that she wanted to offer her final suffering for all the babies that would be baptized that day.
Guess who was baptized that day? Giovanni Battista Montini—who would become Pope Saint Paul VI!
Isn’t that amazing?!?
In this way and in so many other miraculous moments, St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus fulfills her promise: “I will spend my Heaven doing good on earth.”
There is so much we can learn from St. Thérèse!
For example: have you ever struggled to take criticism? Or reacted emotionally to seemingly harmless words?
St. Thérèse can certainly relate! As a child, she was incredibly sensitive to certain remarks and often fell into emotional tantrums of discouragement or despair. But, at the age of fourteen, she handed her heart over to Jesus and was transformed.
One year later, after the blessing of Pope Leo XIII, she joined the order of Carmelite nuns.
While there, she devoted herself to the “little way” as the “little flower,” reminding us of Jesus’ message to “Consider the lilies of the field” (Matthew 6:28). In the same way that Jesus teaches that we should live in total dependency on Him, Thérèse models complete childlike spirituality.
More than anything, Thérèse believed she could achieve holiness through her littleness and her complete dependency on God. She became holy by doing less, by being little in the Father’s embrace. She allowed Jesus to transform her heart and that transformation continues to change the world. To her last breath, she offered a prayer that impacted the entire Church!
Celebrate this beautiful saint’s feast day with these resources:
Download a 13-page coloring download about St. Thérèse HERE.
While you color, you can listen to the Glory Story about St. Thérèse too! Get instant access to the download HERE.
You can these and more resources for the Feast of St. Thérèse HERE.
Lord Jesus, please help us to be more like your precious St. Thérèse and rest peacefully in your transformative love. St. Thérèse of Lisieux, pray for us!
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