Saint Thérèse, the little way

An elevator for little souls
Thérèse said there was a place in heaven for little souls as well as the great ones: "I understood that our Lord's love is revealed as perfectly in the most simple soul who resists his grace in nothing, as in the most excellent soul". It was then a matter of finding another route to sanctity: "one that was very straight, very short and entirely new".

By way of illustration she seized upon what was then a recent invention, the lift: "I wish to find an elevator which would raise me to Jesus, for I am too small to climb the rough stairway of perfection". Thérèse searched the Scripture for the elevator.

In two biblical passages she found what she was seeking:

"Whoever is a little one, let him come to me!"
Proverbs 9:4

"As a mother caresses her babe, so I will comfort you. I will hold you at my breasts, and will rock you on my knees."
Isaiah66:12-13

The lift to holiness
Thérèse found the "lift" for which she was searching: "The elevator which must raise me to heaven is your arms, O Jesus!". But there was one condition. Rather than growing up, she was to remain little. She was to accept her powerlessness, and have boundless trust in the divine mercy.

Nothing, not even her imperfections, was to discourage her any more. "God remembers we are only dust," she said. "As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion on us!" She would later say to one of her novices, "What offends him and what wounds his heart is the lack of confidence".

The little way
The "little way" of St Thérèse is centered on the infinite mercy of God, and recognizes that everything is a grace. Since it believes that Providence is in control from moment to moment, it means proactively embracing the Will of God in every detail and circumstance of our life.

Once established in her new doctrine, Thérèse observed, "Jesus is doing all in me, and I am doing nothing". She was no longer trying to save herself, stumbling on the "stairs". Now she was in the lift, being rapidly made holy by the grace of God.

Because everything is a grace, Thérèse came to realize that God has no need of our works. But the "little way" is not an invitation to do nothing. She also knew that, paradoxically, we prove our love by works. She was also aware that works without love count for nothing. Within the walls of the then little-known Carmelite convent in Lisieux, she would become the greatest saint of modern times by her self-surrender to "Merciful Love", and by "not allowing one little sacrifice to escape, not one look, one word, profiting by all the smallest things and doing them through love".



Saint Thérèse, pray for us and all these little ones.