Catholic Fire

October 1st is the feast of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, a saint who is very dear to my heart. Over the years, she has been a close friend and a powerful intercessor for me. Let me share a little about one of my favorite saints with you and why she is so special to me. I first learned about St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus when I was 15 years old, a sophomore in a Catholic high school. In English class, her autobiography, Story of a Soul , was one of the options on our required reading list. As I read her love for Jesus and learned of her "Little Way", I couldn't help but admire and desire to emulate this beautiful saint, who expressed so much joy in the midst of suffering. I cheered when this young woman who was my age when she acted with such strong faith and determination and did the forbidden, speaking out when she was told to remain silent, pleading with the Pope to let her enter Carmel. I was fascinated with the poetic way she expressed herself (being a poet myself...

by Jean M. Heimann, M.A. Theology October 1st is the feast of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, a saint who is very dear to my heart. Over the years, she has been a close friend and a powerful intercessor for me. Let me share a little about one of my favorite saints with you and why she is so special to me. I first learned about St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus when I was 15 years old, a sophomore in a Catholic high school. In English class, her autobiography, Story of a Soul, was one of the options on our required reading list. As I read her love for Jesus and learned of her "Little Way", I couldn't help but admire and desire to emulate this beautiful saint, who expressed so much joy in the midst of suffering. I cheered when this young woman who was my age when she acted with such strong faith and determination and did the forbidden, speaking out when she was told to remain silent, pleading with the Pope to let her enter Carmel. I was fascinated with the poetic way she...

"I rejoice to be little, because only children and those who are like them will be admitted to the heavenly banquet." ~ St. Therese of the Child Jesus

"Life is only a dream: soon, we shall awaken. And what joy! The greater our sufferings, the more limitless our glory. Oh! do not let us waste the trial that Jesus sends." "Life passes. Eternity comes with great strides. Soon, we shall be living with the very life of Jesus. Having drunk deep at the source of all bitterness, we shall be defied in the very source of all joys, of all delights." ~ St. Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church