Some years ago a friend of mine commented on my praying for the intercession of saints. She singled out The Little Flower, St Theresa of Lisieux. For her this well known saint did practically nothing; hidden away in a Carmelite convent in France from an early age and dying at the age of twenty-four. My only rebuttals at the time was that a book she wrote, The Story of a Soul, was one of the most widely read in the world. At the direction of her superior at the convent, who was also her sister Pauline, this little saint kept a diary of her life. The second thing was a quote that she would “Spend her heaven doing good on earth”.
Still this didn’t change my friend’s mind. I remembered this incident when I received another book this Christmas, Do Something Beautiful for God. It contained quote from Saint Teresa of Calcutta for each day of the year and also a short bio about her in the introduction, In the latter it mentioned that Mother Teresa who is one of the most widely known person in the world named The Little Flower as her role model. In the book the author says: Theresa (The little flower) believed that love is expressed through attention to the small things that fill our daily lives. Theresa practiced the small things that fill our daily lives. Mother Teresa practiced “the little way” taught by St Theresa.
Therefore, what did the Carmelite nun who lived an obscure, short life actually do? She influenced perhaps millions of people including one person who received the Nobel Peace Prize. The United States Medal of Freedom, and the United Nations Albert Schweitzer Prize.
Do Something Beautiful for God DynamicCatholic.com The
The Story of a Soul Free digital on line
DJ Pasternak, Author 