ST. Therese of Child Jesus

The Church honors St. Therese of Child Jesus, who is a virgin and doctor of the church, on October 1.

She was born on January 2, 1873, in Rue Saint-Blaise, in Alençon, France, and was named Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin. She is better known as Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. A French Catholic Discalced Carmelite nun is widely venerated in modern times.

One of her notable sayings is, “I prefer the monotony of obscure sacrifice to all ecstasies. To pick up a pin for love can convert a soul.”

Thérèse of Lisieux, a Carmelite nun who is also called the “Little Flower,” was true to her saying the above as she lived a cloistered life of obscurity in the convent of Lisieux, northwestern France.

One of her good qualities was that she made secret sacrifices to help people change.

"The Story of a Soul" is the most-read book in the world. As a young nun, she promised to go through all the pain for the sake of others. She would pray for them and help priests save lives for God. This was her only important mission. She said that she had come to the Carmel convent "to save souls and pray for priests." And just before she died, she wrote, "I want to spend my heaven doing good on earth."

Because of how simple and realistic her spiritual life was, Thérèse has been a very important example of holiness for Catholics and other people. She is one of the most well-known saints in church history, even though she was unknown when she lived. Pope Pius X said that she was "the most important saint of our time."

She joined the convent when she was 15 years old and died in 1897 at the age of 24.

In 1925, Thérèse was made a saint. On October 19, 1997, Pope John Paul II named her a Doctor of the Church. She was the third woman to get this honor, which was based on how holy she was and how her teachings influenced piety in the church.

Louis and Zélie, her parents, were made saints in 2015, five years after they were made blessed.

Thérèse has a lot to teach us about how we look and what it means to be "self." People have become dangerously self-conscious and painfully aware of the need to be satisfied while knowing they are not. 

Like so many saints, Thérèse wanted to help other people, do something outside of herself, and forget about herself through quiet acts of love. She is a great example of the gospel paradox that we gain our life by losing it and that the seed that falls to the ground must die to live.

Modern men and women are less connected to God, to other people, and to themselves because they are so focused on themselves. We must learn to forget about ourselves, to think about a God who pulls us out of ourselves, and to serve others as the best way to show who we are. These are the things Saint Thérèse knew, and they are truer than ever today.

Saint Thérèse is the patron saint of florists, missionaries, pilots, and priests.