Words have always been fascinating to me. From a young age, and thanks to the diligence of my wonderful parents, an abundance of reading material was always readily available for our curious consumption. If you are a member of the pre-Internet generations, your bookshelves might once have displayed a set of the Encyclopedia Britannica, as ours did in the 1970s and ’80s. These iconic volumes served as our main source of facts and information during that era. I remember poring over their pages, delighted in the knowledge I was able to absorb by delving into these fascinating portals of wisdom. It was a way to discover the strange and unknown world beyond the four walls of our humble abode, and it encouraged me to pursue a love of books and learning.
My children, however, have an affinity for STEM-related subjects and are leaning heavily toward pursuing careers involving technology and science. Having barely scraped by my college biology course with a C, I am utterly in awe of their skills and knowledge in these fields, and I am so proud of their accomplishments so far.
While great scientists such as Aristotle and Einstein were able to unlock the secrets of the natural world, souls like St. Therese of Lisieux received gifts of profound spiritual knowledge and understanding. These saints were often able to explain supernatural realities in a manner that helps us to more easily understand them, which is why their writings stand the test of time and continue to influence us today. Many of these saints have commented on how these truths are communicated not through books or study, but by means of a gentler, more subtle communication of God with the soul.
St. Therese, in her Autobiography, The Story of a Soul, explains that during her prayer time she often failed to understand the material she was reading and instead gained understanding by means of direct communication from God. She says, “Without showing Himself, without making His voice heard, Jesus teaches me in secret.” (Story of a Soul, Kindle, 205) She speaks of how Jesus is the teacher and “Director of directors” (SoS, 174) who instructs her in the “science of Love” (SoS, 205), which is contained in the “book of life.” (SoS, 204) She conveys to her sister Marie, also a Carmelite sister in the Lisieux convent, how much she desired to serve Jesus, and that seeking the truths of God’s love and living them out was her one desire in life.
Her autobiography notes how, as a schoolgirl, she applied herself to her studies and relished subjects such as history and science but preferred her copy of the Imitation of Christ to her textbooks. In her words, she describes how the truths contained in this classic spiritual treasure “nourished me with purest flour, with honey and oil in abundance.” (SoS,124)
This description of the words of the Imitation is only one example of the loveliness of the prose and poetry she composed. Therese had a deep understanding of Scripture and an incredible knack for explaining the mysteries of their meaning through poetic language. When I first read The Story of a Soul around three decades ago, I was captivated by how she beautifully elaborated on the words of the gospels and other passages from the Bible and had woven exquisite analogies throughout the text to explain God’s immense love for us and her profound sanctity and union with Him. Through reading her writings, I came to realize how God loves each of us, regardless of our past or present sinfulness, and how what He desires most is that we “turn and become like children,” (Matt 18:3), returning that love to Him.
This theme of love is central to her Autobiography, and it is interspersed throughout the book. Writing to her sister Marie, she declares, “It is only love that makes us acceptable to God.” (SoS, 206) Several lines later, she repeats herself, saying, “He has no need of our works but only of our love. (SoS, 206) St. Therese understood well the words of St. Paul that, of all the virtues, “the greatest of these is love (1 Cor 13:13),“ and she lived her life as a testimony to the spiritual graces and favors that are showered on souls who love God and others as she did.
Returning love for love was her one desire, and she attests that she had, indeed, sacrificed all her worldly riches in pursuit of this goal. While her desire to know and understand eternal truths was insatiable, and her life was devoted solely to this quest for sanctity, Therese laments the fact that many souls fail to pursue this knowledge and love of God as she does. Jesus is thirsting for our love, she says, and so often His people neglect to respond to the graces He bestows to enter into union with Him. She cautions that even His closest followers may at times fall into this lukewarmness and indifference:
“Jesus is parched, for He meets only the ungrateful and indifferent among His disciples in the world, and among His own disciples, alas, He finds few hearts who surrender to Him without reservations, who understand the real tenderness of His infinite Love. (SoS, 206)
For Therese, the “science of love” was not complicated at all but was actually very simple. She reminds us that we need not seek out great tasks or lofty endeavors to please God, but only to surrender, show gratitude, and remain humble, accepting our dependence on Him for everything. This is the easiest way, she says, to reach heaven.
As St. Therese’s death on September 30, 1897, approached, she foretold her mission, which continues today: a mission to teach souls her “Little Way.” She described it as “the way of spiritual childhood, the way of trust and absolute surrender.” (SoS, 12) Like a reliable scientific equation, this “Little Way” is a formula we can apply to our own lives today; a method of ascending to God by accepting His Will for our lives and offering small sacrifices with love. According to St. Therese, it is a most sure and simple way to union with Him.
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