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Saints and feasts
St. Teresa of Lisieux
Virgin
Teresa of Lisieux found a little way to holiness through confidence in God's merciful love, hidden sacrifice, and faithful love in the ordinary duties of Carmelite life.
The reading
ⓘ Butler source
Butler's Lives of the Saints, Volume IV (October-November-December), October 3, St Teresa of Lisieux, Virgin, Christian Classics 1990, pp. 8-16.
Teresa entered Carmel at fifteen with one desire: to love Jesus and win souls for Him. Her cloistered life at Lisieux was hidden, but she learned that no act is small when it is offered with trust and love.
Her little way was a path of spiritual childhood. She accepted her own littleness, relied on God's merciful love, and turned daily duties, misunderstandings, sacrifices, and acts of kindness into gifts for Christ. She prayed especially for priests and missionaries while never leaving her convent.
Tuberculosis brought severe suffering, and her final months included a dark trial of faith. Teresa continued to choose love until her death at twenty-four. Through Story of a Soul, the little Carmelite taught countless Christians to seek holiness through confidence, humility, and fidelity in ordinary things.
Historical note
Teresa's little way means spiritual childhood, confidence in God's mercy, and loving fidelity in ordinary duties. Her final illness and trial of faith show that it was not an escape from suffering.
Carry this reading into prayer
St. Thérèse’s Act of Oblation to Merciful Love
The prayer is printed among Thérèse’s writings, and the editor records that she carried it night and day in her copy of the Gospels.
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Nearby saint lives
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From the saint’s writings
Morning Prayer of St. Thérèse
This prayer is printed in the “Prayers of Sœur Thérèse” section of Thomas N. Taylor’s preconciliar translation.
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From the saint’s writings
St. Thérèse’s Consecration to the Holy Face
This prayer is printed in the “Prayers of Sœur Thérèse” section of Thomas N. Taylor’s preconciliar translation.
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From the saint’s writings
St. Thérèse’s Offering of the Holy Childhood
This prayer is printed in the “Prayers of Sœur Thérèse” section of Thomas N. Taylor’s preconciliar translation.
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From the saint’s writings
St. Thérèse’s Offering of the Holy Face
This prayer is printed in the “Prayers of Sœur Thérèse” section of Thomas N. Taylor’s preconciliar translation.
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From the saint’s writings
St. Thérèse’s Prayer to the Holy Child
This prayer is printed in the “Prayers of Sœur Thérèse” section of Thomas N. Taylor’s preconciliar translation.
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From the saint’s writings
St. Thérèse’s Prayer to the Holy Face
This prayer is printed in the “Prayers of Sœur Thérèse” section of Thomas N. Taylor’s preconciliar translation.
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From the saint’s writings
St. Thérèse’s Prayer to Obtain Humility
This prayer is printed in the “Prayers of Sœur Thérèse” section of Thomas N. Taylor’s preconciliar translation.
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Connected novena
Novena to St. Thérèse of Lisieux
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Litaniae Sanctorum
Invoke the communion of saints with the traditional Latin Litany of the Saints.
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Keep learning
What is Charity?
Read question 467 and its complete answer in the Baltimore Catechism.
Read the Beatitudes in Matthew 5