“As iron sharpens iron, so man sharpens his fellow man.” (Proverbs 27:17).
The Joe Catholic blog is intended to provide Catholics and non-Catholics with resources to assist them in answering God's call to holiness. Our goal is to help people learn their faith, so they can live their faith and share their faith.
October is packed with the feast days of some of the most popular saints of the Church. Today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower of Jesus. St. Therese is one of the most beloved saints of modern times and is known as a great intercessor. Millions have read her autobiographical work, A Story of a Soul.
St. Therese is known for her "little way" of doing small acts of charity and kindness. She would keep a small string of sacrifice beads to remind her to do good acts. She spoke of a simple, childlike spirituality that has touched the lives of many. While her insight may be simple, they were not simple minded, for in the fact the Church has declared her a Doctor of the Church.
One of my favorite accounts about St. Therese is one describing her interaction with a fellow nun who was especially difficult to get along with. St. Therese's response was to simply be nicer to that nun and smile at her as often as possible. There is a great scene in the movie Therese (now available for streaming on Netflix) depicting this story. The other nun is so moved by Therese's kindness that she can't help but ask, "Why do you like me so much." Although Therese doesn't specifically say so in the scene, it's because she sees Christ in that nun.
Herein lies one of the simply ways which we can model the Little Flower. I am sure each of you reading this post, knows at least one person you work with or encounter regularly who challenges your ability to be friendly.
Give St. Therese's "little way" a try and enjoy this video from Arcadia Films on St. Therese.
