The Little Way: Fresh Air for the Soul

THE LITTLE WAY: FRESH AIR FOR THE SOUL A Retreat with Saint Thérèse of Lisieux Copyright © 2018 by Jean Maalouf [Scripture quotations are] from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Excerpts contained in this publication are taken from the following sources: Story of a Soul, translated by John Clarke, O.C.D. Copyright (c) 1975, 1976, 1996 by Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites ICS Publications 2131 Lincoln Road, N.E. Washington, DC 20002-1199 U.S.A. www.icspublications.org. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

St. Therese of Lisieux: Her Last Conversations translated by John Clarke, O.C.D. Copyright (c) 1977 Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites ICS Publications 2131 Lincoln Road, N.E. Washington, DC 20002-1199 U.S.A. www.icspublications.org. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

General Correspondence Volume One translated by John Clarke, O.C.D. Copyright (c) 1982

by Washington, Province of Discalced Carmelites ICS Publications 2131 Lincoln Road, N.E. Washington, DC 20002 U.S.A. www.icspublications.org. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

General Correspondence Volume Two translated by John Clarke, O.C.D. Copyright (c) 1988 by Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites ICS Publication 2131 Lincoln Road, N.E. Washington, DC 20002 U.S.A. www.icspublications.org. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Poetry of St. Therese of Lisieux translated by Donald Kinney, O.C.D. Copyright (c) 1995 by Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites ICS Publications 2131 Lincoln Road, N.E. Washington, DC 20002-1199 U.S.A. www.icspublications.org. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Context of Holiness by Mark Foley, O.C.D. © 2008 Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites, Inc. ICS Publications 2131 Lincoln Road, NE Washington, DC 20002-1199 www. icspublications.org. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Published and distributed by Paulines Publishing House Daughters of St. Paul 2650 F.B. Harrison Street 1302 Pasay City, Philippines E-mail: edpph@paulines.ph Website: www.paulines.ph Cover design: Ann Marie Nemenzo, FSP Photo credits: Shanna Marie Perez All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission.

1st printing 2018 ISBN 978-971-590-861-0

at the service of the Gospel and culture

“My God, I love you!” (S 271) “A soul that is burning with love cannot remain inactive.” (S 257) “Everything is a grace!” (S 266; LC 57) “I am not always faithful, but I never get discouraged. I abandon myself into the arms of Jesus.” (L 143) “…[I]t is love alone that counts.” (LC 262) “LOVE COMPRISED ALL VOCATIONS… MY VOCATION IS LOVE.” (S 194) “Jesus does not demand great actions from us but simply surrender and gratitude.” (S 188) “The elevator which must raise me to heaven is Your arms, O Jesus!

And for this I had no need to grow up, but rather I had to remain little and become this more and more.” (S 208)

Dedication To my parents and all my loved ones here and in eternity, and especially to my sister who has been inspired by Saint Thérèse of Lisieux to see how “Everything is a grace!”

Abbreviations L

[The Collected Letters], St. Thérèse of Lisieux, General Correspondence, vols. 1, 2, trans. John Clarke, O.C.D. (Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 1982, 1988)

LC

St. Thérèse of Lisieux: Her Last Conversations, trans. John Clarke, O.C.D. (Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 1977)

Pr

The Prayers of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, trans. Aletheia Kane, O.C.D. (Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 1997)

PST The Poetry of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, trans. Donald Kinney, O.C.D. (Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 1996) S

Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, trans.

John Clarke, O.C.D. (Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 1976)

Contents Introduction

1

Day One

Living Your Deepest Calling

17

Day Two

“It Is Love Alone That Counts”

31

Day Three The Holy Ground of the Ordinary

43

Day Four

The Little Way: A Breath of Fresh Air for the Soul

55

Day Five

The Logic of the Cross

70

Day Six

“How Great Is the Power of Prayer!”

83

Day Seven Evangelization: Thérèse’s Style

96

Important Biographical Dates 110 Theresian Sparkling Insights

115

The Lever and Fulcrum of Thérèse for Lifting the World 118

Introduction Remarkable is the progress we’ve accomplished in our society today. Many fields, especially in technology and medicine, have enjoyed an unparalleled surge never seen before. However, this great progress was not matched by a similar progress in the realm of the human heart and soul — at least not yet. The story of Cain who killed his brother Abel (see Gn 4) never came to an end; it kept reoccurring again and again. We still tend to undermine — if not eliminate — each other physically, or at least psychologically, morally, socially, or spiritually.

Indeed, we continue — maybe more than ever before — to live in a world with many crises and conflicts. Violence and atrocities of all kinds are increasing. Scandals abound. Lies and hypocrisy are becoming the most common currency. Fraud and robberies supersede shamelessly what one does for a living. Eccentricity and dysfunctions seem to have become the “new normal.” Relativism and morbid subjectivism are destroying any solid references. The wisdom of the ancient, the revelations of religions, the secular traditions of the human, the common good of society, and the common sense of sanity do less and less constitute a valid argument in a “serious” discussion. Mere pragmatism dominates politics, businesses, and the very way we live and relate to each other. Pornography, perversion, dishonesty, idolatry, and money worshiping are not only gaining ground, but they seem to become the “modern spirit” fashion. Individualism, consumerism, instant gratification, self-interest, and the superficial “celebrity” syndrome are considered the new reality. We take refuge in hidden idols such as ambition, careerism, tendency to dominate others by placing 1

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ourselves at the center of the universe and claiming to be the sole masters of our lives. We choose looks over substance and we count on the “more,” the “bigger,” the “faster,” and the “instant” for our immediate gratification. We no longer have time for the true, the beautiful, and the eternal.

Are we really surprised by the fact of having reached this point?

Why should we be! This is exactly what happens when we put God aside. Either God, or idols. The first commandment, “I am the Lord your God…you shall have no other gods before me” (Ex 20:23), does not belong to the ancient past and the pagan cultures only.

God knew we would forever be tempted by other gods — strange ones, sophisticated ones, simple ones, new ones. In our image, likeness, and size we can create them. We did.

However, this is not all there is. There is also a way out of such a mess. In fact, there are many ways, and all of them have the same substance: Knowing and loving the true and only God. The Little Way of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux is one of these ways. It is, as she said, a “very straight, very short, and totally new” (S 207) way — a shortcut.

About the Little Way Basically, the Little Way consists in the loving, confident, and total trust in God regardless of — maybe in spite of or even because of — one’s weaknesses, imperfections, or failures. This is a way that is available to everyone, and it does not require more than the ordinary, day-to-day experience of which every life is made. It is a deep breath of fresh air for the soul.

No one can explain the Little Way better than Thérèse herself.

This is how she introduced it: You know, Mother, I have always wanted to be a saint. Alas!

I have always noticed that when I compared myself to the saints, there is between them and me the same difference that exists between a mountain whose summit is lost in the clouds and the obscure grain of sand trampled underfoot by the passers-by. Instead of becoming discouraged, I said to myself:

Introduction

3

God cannot inspire unrealizable desires. I can, then, in spite of my littleness, aspire to holiness. It is impossible for me to grow up, and so I must bear with myself such as I am with all my imperfections. But I want to seek out a means of going to heaven by a little way, a way that is very straight, very short, and totally new. (S 207)

Holiness and imperfections! What about perfection?

Of course it is good to strive for perfection in everything we are and do. But perfection is not a sine qua non condition for holiness.

God works with imperfect people. He always did from Moses, Abraham, David, and all the prophets, to the Apostles, and every saint canonized or not canonized by the Church. Who was perfect?

Thérèse was not an exception to this reality, and she was the first to admit her “littleness” and “imperfections,” as she said. But she also said that she wants to find her way “to heaven” and she absolutely wanted to be a “saint.”

The way Thérèse lived her life was ordinary, so ordinary that her fellow sisters at the Carmel of Lisieux did not notice her holiness, fidelity, or “extraordinary” love. They never expected or suspected her to be “someone” or “something” more than another sister in the community. Nothing special. Nothing different from someone who was doing the daily duties and the things that everyone was doing.

A certain view in our tradition wants us to believe that the holier a person is, the more angelic he or she is supposed to be. Not necessarily so. Thérèse’s own life proved that one could be a saint when one is more human. Who is more divine and at the same time more human than Jesus?

A saint is not some kind of “oddity” or “irregularity” or “eccentricity” or even “abnormality.” A saint is a person born with a normal share of human qualities as well as human weaknesses.

A saint did not escape the consequences of original sin. A saint is subject to all the circumstances of the human condition. God’s

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grace is sufficient (see 2 Cor 12:9) for making a person a saint, in the midst and in spite of all these circumstances.

Thérèse is a human saint. Her sanctity is an ordinary sanctity for ordinary people. Her life was an example of faith and love focused on God’s presence that can be within the reach of anyone and practiced by anyone. In this sense, we can certainly say that Thérèse has “democratized” holiness, making it possible for anyone to become a saint, even if not canonized. How many people do we know, or have heard of, who live a saintly life in their most ordinary life! Knowingly or not, when such people live totally in the presence of God with a complete trust in Providence as a child in the arms of the Father, they are living at least some aspects of the Little Way that Thérèse has suggested.

Therefore, holiness is not as far away as it seems implied in what we usually say, when we do something that does not look right, “Hey, I’m not a saint, I’m not perfect,” as if a saint belongs to some other species. This is, as Thérèse proved, a false belief for holiness is accessible to anyone.

Moreover, it would not be helpful if pious authors go on covering up the faults of the saints in order to make them look good or better, when we know that no one is perfect except God. So, showing the “imperfections” of Thérèse’s humanity can make her a more approachable person — someone people who have their own “imperfections” can relate to. That is why some people called her the “people’s saint,” or “Thérèse is part of our story.”

Focusing exclusively on, and exaggerating, the heroic virtues of a saint may appear an admirable task, but it carries the risk to become irrelevant also. The majority of Christians will find themselves on an almost impossible path to follow. What if these saints were represented in a way that they would not recognize themselves if they came back to earth! Thérèse herself rejected this kind of talk. She wouldn’t accept the image even of the Virgin Mary, which exalts Our Holy Mother’s greatness without considering her normal ordinary earthy life. She said:

Introduction

5

For a sermon on the Blessed Virgin to please me and do me any good, I must see her real life, not her imagined life. I’m sure that her real life was very simple. They show her to us as unapproachable, but they should present her as imitable, bringing out her virtues, saying that she lived by faith just like ourselves…. She is more Mother than Queen. (LC 161)

Thérèse’s theology is a theology of experience — an existential theology. It springs from a real life — a fervent Catholic upbringing and the religious community she joined — and applies to the real life of anyone, anywhere, and at anytime. Thérèse’s Little Way is the story of our life because, as Pope John Paul II said, the Little Way “is nothing other than the Gospel way of holiness for all” and he added, “Thérèse offers a mature synthesis of Christian spirituality.”1 Also, during the general audience of April 6, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI said: “’Little Thérèse’ has not failed to help the simplest souls, little ones, the poor, those who suffer and who pray to her, but she has also illumined the whole Church with her profound spiritual doctrine…. I would like to invite you to rediscover this little-great treasure, this luminous commentary on the Gospel fully lived! ‘Story of a Soul,’ in fact, is a marvelous history of Love, recounted with such authenticity, simplicity and freshness, before which the reader cannot but be fascinated.” Furthermore, Hans Urs Von Balthasar wrote: “She [Thérèse] penetrates straight through all triviality and counterfeit to the simple, naked truth of the Gospel.”2 Also, Fr. Bernard Bro, preacher at Notre-Dame in Paris, saw in Thérèse’s life and writings “one of the most certain and simplest evangelical shortcuts ever proposed.”

Indeed, since the gospel is God’s way, then it must be Thérèse’s way for daily living. It is in the gospel that Thérèse found a meaning for her existence and a reference for her doctrine. She was crystal clear about that. She said: “It is especially the Gospels which sustain 1.

2.

Pope John Paul II, Divini Amoris Scientia (Apostolic Letter of 10/19/1997), 2, 7.

Hans Urs Von Balthasar, Two Sisters in Spirit: Thérèse of Lisieux and Elizabeth of the Trinity (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1992), 45.

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me during my hours of prayer, for in them I find what is necessary for my poor little soul. I am constantly discovering in them new lights, hidden and mysterious meanings” (S 179). She also said: “I have only to cast a glance in the Gospels and immediately I breathe in the perfumes of Jesus’ life, and I know on which side to run” (S 258). Indeed, Thérèse went beyond what was thought and practiced in the Christianity of her time. Her method was to bring everything to the simplicity of the gospel and follow it.

The Little Way shows us that, in order to live a holy life, we don’t need to be perfect, sophisticated, or flawless and blameless.

Just doing little things with great love and making sure of doing God’s will, will be good enough. God is not concerned about our limitations and weaknesses but about our love. God is interested in our love more than in our imperfections. So, even in our darkest moments — when we see only the worst in ourselves and in our circumstances — we can practice the Little Way by unconditionally loving God, totally trusting him, and completely surrendering to his Providence.

The Little Way will help us to find God at any time, in any place — in the known and the unknown, the expected and the unexpected, and the explainable and the unexplainable.

The Little Way is a prophetic way. The total confidence in the Lord does not only allow to foresee the tomorrows, but — and this is more important — it also enables a tomorrow to come into being.

It allows the fullness of life that is hoped for to come into existence in the here and now of our daily life.

About the Finder of the Little Way This book is not about the life story of Thérèse. Many books have been written specifically about that. This is a book about the Little Way as spiritual guidance on our life’s journey. Therefore, besides the most important dates of Thérèse’s life that are mentioned at the end of the book, only the facts of her life that relate to the topic of the Day will be referred to on that particular day, reflected on, and interpreted.

Day 1

Living Your Deepest Calling Invitation to Presence: You are invited to introduce yourself to yourself without referring to what you do for a living, where you live, how much you own, what position you have, and the like. Just think of the answer and keep it in your mind and heart for now.

Focus: Finding and living our fundamental life purpose.

• • •

Opening Prayer Allow me, dear God, to join your child Thérèse and say: “I desire to accomplish Your will perfectly and to reach the degree of glory You have prepared for me in Your Kingdom. I desire, in a word, to be a saint, but I feel my helplessness and I beg You, O my God! To be Yourself my Sanctity!” (S 276) Amen.

• • •

Scripture Reading: I have set before you life and death…Choose life. (Dt 30:19) As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.

17

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My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts; all your waves and your billows have gone over me.

By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. (Ps 42:1-2, 7-8) I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. (Jer 29:11) Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Mt 6:21) Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. (Lk 10:41-42) It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. (Gal 2:20) It is God’s will that you grow in holiness. (1 Thes 4:3 NAB)

Learning from Thérèse You know, Mother, I have always wanted to be a saint. Alas! I have always noticed that when I compared myself to the saints, there is between them and me the same difference that exists between a mountain whose summit is lost in the clouds and the obscure grain of sand trampled underfoot by the passers-by.

Instead of becoming discouraged, I said to myself: God cannot inspire unrealizable desires. I can, then, in spite of my littleness, aspire to holiness. It is impossible for me to grow up, and so I

Living Your Deepest Calling

19

must bear with myself such as I am with all my imperfections.

But I want to seek out a means of going to heaven by a little way, a way that is very straight, very short, and totally new.

(S 207) When reading the accounts of the patriotic deeds of French heroines, especially the Venerable JOAN OF ARC, I had a great desire to imitate them; and it seemed I felt within me the same burning zeal with which they were animated, the same heavenly inspiration. Then I received a grace which I have always looked upon as one of the greatest in my life because at that age I wasn’t receiving the lights I’m now receiving when I am flooded with them. I considered that I was born for glory and when I searched out the means of attaining it, God inspired in me the sentiments I have just described. He made me understand my own glory would not be evident to the eyes of mortals, that it would consist in becoming a great saint! This desire could certainly appear daring if one were to consider how weak and imperfect I was, and how, after seven years in the religious life, I still am weak and imperfect. I always feel, however, the same bold confidence of becoming a great saint because I don’t count on my merits since I have none, but I trust in Him who is Virtue and Holiness. God alone, content with my weak efforts, will raise me to Himself and make me a saint, clothing me in His infinite merits. (S 72) When I was beginning to learn the history of France, the account of Joan of Arc’s exploits delighted me; I felt in my heart the desire and the courage to imitate her. It seemed the Lord destined me, too, for great things. I was not mistaken, but instead of voices from heaven inviting me to combat, I heard in the depths of my soul a gentler and stronger voice, that of the Spouse of Virgins, who was calling me to other exploits, to more glorious conquests, and into Carmel’s solitude. I understood my mission was not to have a mortal king crowned but to make the King of heaven loved, to submit to Him the kingdom of hearts.

(L 224)

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Pause: Ponder Pope John XXIII’s persistent decisions: “I must

be holy at all costs,” “My obligation to aim at sanctification at all costs must be ever present in my mind,” “My only wish is that my life should end in a holy manner,” “I want to be a holy pastor,” “Everyone calls me ‘Holy Father,’ and holy I must and will be.”16

Personal Considerations 1. Does what I do respond to my most profound longing? Do I know what my priorities are? What is the reality in my life that pulls at my heart like a magnet? If “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mt 6:21), where would my treasure be? What makes the things I do meaningful and what makes me realize that I live a fulfilled life?

2. Everyone must have a fundamental purpose in life. Is mine clear to me? What am I here for? Do I live by rules more than I do by values? Can the love of God and others that leads to sainthood, as was the case for Thérèse, be a possibility for my life well lived? How can I become the best version of myself ?

16. Pope John XXIII, Journal of a Soul (New York: McGraw-Hil Book Company, 1963), 94, 111, 280, 283, 303.

Living Your Deepest Calling

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3. In the book of the Hebrews we read this verse (11:3): “What is seen was made from things that are invisible.” How can I apply this verse to Thérèse’s life, and mine?

4. What is the ultimate source of happiness and unhappiness? Do I see any relationship between happiness and holiness? Why do we usually keep putting off the pursuit of holiness for a “better” time? How do I define “holiness” anyway?

5. How have I come to know myself in depth? Who or what helped me to reach that self-knowledge? What was the most striking thing I discovered? Am I able now to introduce myself to others without referring to what I own, what I do for a living, how I look, where I live, and the like? What would life be like if we would and could not lie to ourselves and to others, and what would be the title of the book of my life?

Affirmation: With God’s grace, I choose to be in God’s image and likeness — the way I was created to be.

Now create a relevant affirmation of your own based on your experience and/or the above personal considerations.

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• • •

Closing Prayer Dear Lord, When your child, Augustine, wrote, “O Lord… You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they can find peace in you,” he described with utmost accuracy the spiritual thirst and the existential longing that haunted your other child Thérèse, and that is haunting me, too.

Let your Word, Lord, be my guidance against the forces that distract me from you and from my better self.

Please, help me to fulfill the purpose for which I was made, and to redesign the package I call “me” according to your will. Help me to discern my fundamental life purpose and see its connection to your universal plan.

Help me to hear and understand your calling for me and recognize all that you have in store for my life on this earth.

Free me from the prison of my past and the illusion of my shortsighted successes and achievements, if these prevent me from focusing on your special assignment for me.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me” (Ps 51:10), so that I may be able to keep my sanity in check by focusing on what I am here for — the very purpose that gives meaning to my life.

“You know, O my God, I have never desired anything but to love You, and I am ambitious for no other glory. Your Love has gone before me, and it has grown with me, and now it is an abyss whose depths I cannot fathom” (S 256).

You are my Alpha and Omega — my origin, my destination, and my destiny.

Pull me closer to you. Take me to the next level. I want more of you.

Amen.

• • • Now write your own personalized closing prayer for today based on “Living Your Deepest Calling.”