“A word or a smile is often enough to put fresh life in a despondent soul.” – St. Therese of Lisieux
Feast Day – October 1st
Saint Therese of Lisieux
Saint Therese of Lisieux
“A word or a smile is often enough to put fresh life in a despondent soul.” – St. Therese of Lisieux
Feast Day – October 1st
Saint Therese of Lisieux, also known as Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, was a French Discalced Carmelite nun and referred to as ‘The Little Flower’. Her ‘little way’ was the foundation of St Therese’s spirituality. St Therese was canonized by Pope Pius XI.
St Therese of Lisieux Quotes
“Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.”
“I understood that every flower created by Him is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would no longer be enamelled with lovely hues. And so it is in the world of souls, Our lord’s living garden.”
“Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.”
“A word or a smile is often enough to put fresh life in a despondent soul.”
‘Remember that nothing is small in the eyes of God. Do all that you do with love.”
The Fruits of Conversion in the Life of St. Therese of Lisieux
By Linda Fraiser, O.C.D.S.
Linda Frasier, O.C.D.S. is a member of the O.C.D.S. Denver Community of the Holy Spirit. She is a retired Registered Nurse and completed graduate work in Spiritual Formation and Soul Care (Spiritual Direction). She is currently a student at the Carmelite Institute of Britain and Ireland.
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Canticle to the Holy Face
by St. Therese of Lisieux
Jesus! Thy dear and Holy Face Is the bright star that guides my way;
Thy gentle glance, so full of grace, Is my true heaven on earth, today.
My love finds out the holy charm Of Thy dear eyes with tear-drops wet;
Through mine own tears I smile at Thee, And in Thy griefs my pains forget.
Oh! I would gladly live unknown, Thus to console Thy aching heart.
Thy veiled beauty, it is shown To those who live from earth apart.
Fain would I fly to Thee alone!
Thy Face it is my fatherland; It is the sunshine of my days;
My realm of love, my sunlit land, Where through the hours I sing Thy praise;
It is the lily of the vale, Whose mystic perfume, freely given,
Brings comfort, when I faint and fail, And makes me taste the peace of heaven.
Thy face, in its unearthly grace, Is like the divinest myrrh to me,
That on my heart I gladly place; It is my lyre of melody;
My rest—my comfort—is Thy Face. My only wealth, Lord is thy Face;
Naught ask I more than this from Thee; Hidden in the secret of Thy Face,
The more I shall resemble Thee!
Leave on me the divine impress Of Thy sweet, patient Face of love,
And soon I shall become a saint, And draw men’s hearts to Thee above.
So, in the secret of Thy Face, Oh! Hide me, hide me, Jesus blest!
There let me find its hidden grace, Its holy fires, and, in heaven’s rest,
Its rapturous kiss, in Thy embrace!
O.C.D.S. Community of The Holy Spirit, Denver 