Ruminations of an Irascible Hermit.: The Little Flower

Saturday, October 1, 2022

The Little Flower - my older sister in Carmel

I have always struggled with my relationship with St Thérèse of Lisieux. She is so popular and loved by so many yet I have always been put off by what I can only describe as the “saccharine” sickly sweet devotion surrounding her. Reading her Story of a Soul many years ago I struggled with aspects of her personality where she could be described as spoilt and even bit of a brat.

But this year something has changed. Since I was granted Spiritual Affiliation to the Carmelite Order (O.Carm) in 2021 I have begun to sense this real sense of kinship with my fellow Carmelite saints. I have always loved St Teresa of Avila & St John of the Cross, and this years because of his canonisation I discovered St Titus Brandsma. So I can now add St Therese to this growing list - Today I now feel her presence as my big sister in the Order, teaching me her “Little Way” of holiness.

Once you get past all the flowers and sweet images of her, she is a real giant of the faith. She was declared a Doctor of the Church for a reason and today for the first time in my life I can wholehearted say “St Therese - pray for me” 🙏

Today on her feast day I hope you too can discover something of her “Little Way” of spiritual childhood, to be holy in the garden of Jesus

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Disclaimer

Please note. I am a Catholic layman, not a qualified theologian or philosopher. What I say and write here are my own personal thoughts and ideas, although I always try to conform my writings to the Magisterium of the Church.

I- with firm faith believe and profess everything that is contained in the symbol of faith: namely,

I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven: By the power of the Holy Spirit, he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died and was buried. On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. I believe in the one holy catholic and apostolic church. I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

With firm faith I believe as well everything contained in God's word, written or handed down in tradition and proposed by the church--whether in solemn judgment or in the ordinary and universal Magisterium--as divinely revealed and called for faith.

I also firmly accept and hold each and every thing that is proposed by that same church definitively with regard to teaching concerning faith or morals.

What is more, I adhere with religious submission of will and intellect to the teachings which either the Roman pontiff or the college of bishops enunciate when they exercise the authentic Magisterium even if they proclaim those teachings in an act that is not definitive.