Last night it rained. Thus today the air has been crisp and clean. The atmosphere has just been cleansed of what had been sullying it. The weather, and the effects it has had, I feel, are analogous to what has been happening in my soul. Spirits are at work in my soul, shifting and sifting what is in me. If we earnestly ask God for clarity in discernment, He gives it to us.
Such symbolism through meteorological movements, I feel, is apropos given that today is the feast day of Saint Therese of Lisieux. Saint Therese often felt that the weather mirrored the state of her soul.
This morning for our ecclesial reading at Vigils, we heard an excerpt from her autobiography which is entitled "The Story of a Soul," which I read last Autumn amidst my visits here to the hermitage. I very much enjoyed reading it, so I was glad to hear some of it early this morning. In the particular passage we heard this morning, Saint Therese related how she had wondered why some saints were towering ones, while others were quite understated. She related how, to help her understand this variety amongst the saints, she turned to 1 Corinthians 12 and 1 Corinthians 13. In those letters, Saint Paul describes how, just as our physical bodies have their various constituent parts, so too the church is comprised of its many members, each of which has its own particular role to play. No one can take the part of someone else.
Similarly, Saint Therese described the myriad of saints, some towering, others less prominent, as being like a field of flowers. In this meadow, there are roses and lilies. There one also finds daffodils. God loves the vibrantly colored flowers, and He also loves the seemingly plain ones too.
In this array of souls akin to a variety of flowers, Saint Therese considered herself a little flower. She followed what she called her "little way," taking little steps each day to simply and humbly live her life as a Discalced Carmelite nun by meekly loving her fellow nuns.
I've often felt drawn to the writing of Saint Therese. In her little way, I feel that she describes an approach to life which I have long tried to follow. Though I think that I accomplish so little, and am so simple, that I think that I would be accurately described as a little sprout. I feel like a little blade of grass barely peeking up through the dirt.
Yet I feel more than a wee confident in her way. She felt that in how we treat others, through ordinary actions, we can make simple yet profound spiritual statements. People who live in this little way probably seem unremarkable to others. Yet her little way is sure. It has to be. It can't just be that we can only get to Heaven by performing prominent heroic deeds. Otherwise all of the little people out there couldn't get into Heaven.
Besides, her way is sure because "the greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted." Matthew 23:11-12. Saint Therese provides a good example for us because, in her little way of humble service to others, she lived the teachings of Jesus.
Such symbolism through meteorological movements, I feel, is apropos given that today is the feast day of Saint Therese of Lisieux. Saint Therese often felt that the weather mirrored the state of her soul.
This morning for our ecclesial reading at Vigils, we heard an excerpt from her autobiography which is entitled "The Story of a Soul," which I read last Autumn amidst my visits here to the hermitage. I very much enjoyed reading it, so I was glad to hear some of it early this morning. In the particular passage we heard this morning, Saint Therese related how she had wondered why some saints were towering ones, while others were quite understated. She related how, to help her understand this variety amongst the saints, she turned to 1 Corinthians 12 and 1 Corinthians 13. In those letters, Saint Paul describes how, just as our physical bodies have their various constituent parts, so too the church is comprised of its many members, each of which has its own particular role to play. No one can take the part of someone else.
Similarly, Saint Therese described the myriad of saints, some towering, others less prominent, as being like a field of flowers. In this meadow, there are roses and lilies. There one also finds daffodils. God loves the vibrantly colored flowers, and He also loves the seemingly plain ones too.
In this array of souls akin to a variety of flowers, Saint Therese considered herself a little flower. She followed what she called her "little way," taking little steps each day to simply and humbly live her life as a Discalced Carmelite nun by meekly loving her fellow nuns.
I've often felt drawn to the writing of Saint Therese. In her little way, I feel that she describes an approach to life which I have long tried to follow. Though I think that I accomplish so little, and am so simple, that I think that I would be accurately described as a little sprout. I feel like a little blade of grass barely peeking up through the dirt.
Yet I feel more than a wee confident in her way. She felt that in how we treat others, through ordinary actions, we can make simple yet profound spiritual statements. People who live in this little way probably seem unremarkable to others. Yet her little way is sure. It has to be. It can't just be that we can only get to Heaven by performing prominent heroic deeds. Otherwise all of the little people out there couldn't get into Heaven.
Besides, her way is sure because "the greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted." Matthew 23:11-12. Saint Therese provides a good example for us because, in her little way of humble service to others, she lived the teachings of Jesus.
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