St.
Therese of Lisieux
in our own time
Guest Columnist
By Msgr. Francis X. Meehan
Could a devotion to St. Therese of Lisieux still be important for our
time?
Special saints have special moments in history. One thinks of the rising
popularity over the past decades of canonized saints such as Faustina,
the great revealer of the Divine Mercy, or Bishop John Neumann or Elizabeth
Seton or even possible saints such as Pope John Paul II, Archbishop Romero,
Julian of Norwich or Dorothy Day. Each of them surely holds a place in
God’s providence of power and grace — always through and in
the Lord Jesus.
Accordingly, one might be forgiven a fear that, in the passing of time,
Therese’s significance could fade, or that she could become less
prominent.
But one thing remains certain: The Catholic Church encourages great freedom
of heart in all our devotions. Let no one be constrained. Imagine their
laughter in heaven if our saints were to look down and catch us arguing
about who is the most important for any time.
Allow just a few remarks here on why Therese is still a powerful model,
especially for our young people, now and through this 21st century.
I am especially moved by a new work on Therese, titled, “Everything
is Grace: The Life and Way of Therese of Lisieux.” It is written
by one of our own, a Philadelphia Christian Brother, Joseph Schmidt.
Brother Joe is known to thousands of Philadelphians because of the youth
work he did here in Philadelphia with his blood brother, Msgr. Frank Schmidt
— along with so many women and men who have accompanied and followed
them in our archdiocesan Office for Youth and Young Adults.
Brother Joe writes from many years of spiritual teaching in an international
renewal center of the Christian Brothers in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains
near Santa Fe, N.M.
In his book, he takes key sayings — mostly from Therese’s
autobiography, “The Story of a Soul” — and unfolds them
into explanations of the spiritual journeys both of Therese and ourselves.
Those sayings include: “Jesus was there sleeping in my boat.”
… “Suffering opened wide its arms to me.” … “Prayer
is a surge of the heart.” … “I am left with Love alone.”
As I read the book, I sensed a surge in my own heart, a bracing, a renewed
faith. For me, for anyone, to return to Therese of Lisieux is not a case
of nostalgia for an earlier Catholic culture. Rather it is a recognition
of the many human and spiritual needs of our time — needs for a
deep sense of God’s mercy, a vision of God as love; a diminishment
of fear; a refreshing spirituality for lay, clergy and religious; a wider
consciousness of the larger social world; a caring for those who are poor,
for missionaries, for those living next door, for those inside our home.
In a time when so many Catholics see themselves as belonging to this faction
or that, as liberal or conservative, in an age of scandal and disappointment,
in a time when too many Christians think of themselves as “spiritual
but not institutionally religious,” the spirituality of St. Therese
continues to emphasize — in Brother Joe’s words — “that
love is at the heart of the Church” and identifies “once again,
the mystery of the Church as the living Christ continuing the work of
redemption in the world today.”
Let no one be constrained. Let there be great freedom of spirit in choosing
and loving our saints. Even now, in this time, enter joyously upon the
“little way” of Therese, doctor of the Church, teacher of
spirituality, patron of the missions, and reflector of God’s mercy
and love in every area of our lives.
Msgr. Meehan assists spiritual directors in their work for St. Charles
Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood.