Saint Therese of Lisieux, famously known as the “Little Flower,” has profoundly impacted countless Catholics for over a century. Fun fact – she’s also one of the patron saints of FOCUS!
St. Therese described herself as a little soul. Most of us are little souls too.
Only a few of us are out on the battlefield, blazing trails and leading the way—and that’s perfectly fine – not everyone is called to those roles! Many of us may feel that we’re too weak and little to become a saint. And still, we’re all called to do just that.
St. Therese knew she was too weak to become a great saint. In other words, she’s just like us. (She even struggled with praying the Rosary!)
Yet, she became one of the greatest Catholic saints. Ever. St. Therese shows us how to achieve sainthood by taking baby steps. The key is a childlike trust in God, while having great love for God and others.
So, if that sounds like something you can do, here are 4 tips for growing in holiness inspired by St. Therese through words from her book, “Story of a Soul”:
1. LEARN HOW TO LOVE PEOPLE
“I must seek out…the company of sisters who are the least agreeable to me…I want to be friendly to everybody to give joy to Jesus.”
Few of us know how to truly love people we are not in love with, are related to, or choose to be friends with.
If you want to learn how to love everyone, including people you don’t know well (or even don’t like), we can start by doing little things: smiling at a passerby, doing the dishes for your roommate, refraining from complaining.
We can start with little acts of love, especially toward those whom we don’t get along with, to teach us how to love. Just like with anything you practice and train in, you will learn to love by practicing how to love.
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2. SIMPLIFY YOUR PRAYER LIFE
“For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”
God is simple. He’s just happy that we show up to spend time with Him. We don’t have to do x, y and z for it to be good prayer. If it’s difficult or you get distracted – keep refocusing yourself. Trust that it’s still good, even if you didn’t get the warm-fuzzies.
If you don’t know where to begin, we’ve got you covered with an easy guide to intercessory prayer so you can pray for your friends, family, and others, with ease.
3. FOCUS ON YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, NOT ON YOUR FAULTS.
“We have merely to love Him, without looking at ourselves, without examining our faults too much.”
Children try to please their parents, but sometimes they make messes and spills. God isn’t this judgmental figure waiting for us to mess up. If we’re trying to become holy, God doesn’t reject us over our messes and spills. If we focus on God’s love and goodness, it’ll be harder for us to be discouraged.
4. KEEP TRYING TO BECOME A SAINT
“The good God does not demand more from you than good will…Soon, won over by your useless efforts, He will come down Himself and, taking you in His arms, He will carry you up.”
The Bible has numerous quotes about the importance of becoming a saint (Revelation 14:12, Romans 1:7, Ephesians 1:1, to name a few). The key to growing in holiness is that we continue to try. Even if we struggle to see progress in ourselves, if we get up every time we fall and begin again, God is pleased with that.
St. Therese shows us that, while becoming a saint is not easy, it is simple. We don’t have to be discouraged about anything — weakness, failure, sin, or suffering. We can trust that God will make us a saint if we choose to take one small step forward, every day.
Additional Resources
Learn more about St. Therese of The Child Jesus and praying for others in our post on our resource site, FOCUS Equip.
For more great (and free) Catholic resources, check out the FOCUS blog. We offer numerous videos, PDF resources, and more to help aid your faith life.
Additionally, try out our podcast, which features talks from our SEEK conference and our YouTube channel for videos and more!
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