Today is the Memorial of St. Therese of Lisieux – the “Little Flower”. I watched a movie about her a couple of months ago and learned more about her today. She was only 15 years old when she convinced the authorities to allow her to enter the convent. She was incredibly humble and knew that she couldn’t do great things as compared to the saints. However, she wanted to be a saint, so offered up every sacrifice and act of charity as a scattering of flowers of love. Being so young and small, she worried about her vocation within the cloistered life and wrote: ” I feel in me the vocation of the Priest. I have the vocation of the Apostle. Martyrdom was the dream of my youth and this dream has grown with me. Considering the mystical body of the Church, I desired to see myself in them all. Charity gave me the key to my vocation. I understood that the Church had a Heart and that this Heart was burning with love. I understood that Love comprised all vocations, that Love was everything, that it embraced all times and places…in a word, that it was eternal! Then in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: O Jesus, my Love…my vocation, at last I have found it…My vocation is Love!” Pondering her statement, I thought about how discouraging it can be to be immersed in the current state of world. I often feel that the politics of the day and decisions made are far above me and there is little I can do to make a difference. However, if I take St. Therese’s words to heart, I can also love. That may look different depending on who you are, but for me loving is being fully present to those around me, to offer what I can to those who need help, to touch base with friends, family, and those who are struggling, and to be kind to myself. I think each person can find a way to love and the world would be a much better place.

I Found God today in encouragement to love.