Why Thérèse?

Why is this blog named after St. Thérèse of Lisieux?

Because she's a Doctor of the Church, that's why.

No, that's not really why I chose her, although it is true and that does make her awesome.

Coming from a Catholic family makes me a "cradle Catholic", but both of my parents converted from Lutheranism. Mom and Dad were 24 and 22 when they got married, and before they decided to take lifelong vows promising love and fidelity until the end of their days, my mother was a bit unsure about saying "yes". Knowing of my mother's distress, a friend of hers asked her to pray the St. Thérèse novena.

If you've never heard of this prayer, it goes a little something like this:

O little Thérèse of the Child Jesus, please pick for me a rose from the Heavenly gardens and send it to me as a message of love. O little Flower of Jesus, ask God today to grant the favors I now place with confidence in thy hands . . . (mention your petitions here). St. Thérèse, help me to always believe as thou didst, in God’s great love for me, so that I might imitate thy “Little Way” each day. Amen.

This is said every day for nine days.

When given this prayer, a lot was going through my mother's mind, mostly due to the fact that she wasn't yet Catholic... "What is so special about saints? Why do Catholics pray to them? What is a novena? What am I asking her for? How do I pray this...?" (At least that's my way of paraphrasing it.) She was desperate for an answer, so she tried her best and asked Thérèse for 'any flower' as her sign.

Next thing you know, a sign from heaven shows up in the form of MANY various flowers: a little girl gave her a dandelion, my dad sent a bouquet of roses, a friend sent 'thank you' flowers, a clerk in her department store gave her a bouquet... a lot happened. The answer was clear, and she said yes!

After that miraculous display of heavenly aid, my mother promised to honor Saint Thérèse by naming a daughter after her. And that is how I got my name! :)

Hearing this story since I was a young girl, I thought very highly of St.Thérèse, but misunderstood her for a long time. Since my only context was that she sent flowers and answered prayers, she seemed to me like a super cool fairy godmother. (That at least seemed far more exciting than her human life on earth.) When I reached my adult life however, I didn't need a fairy godmother, I needed a saint.

I have learned a lot by looking into that "Story of a Soul" that was Thérèse's life. Though I still don't think I have a full grasp on who she was, I do know she had a heart full of love. She had complete trust and confidence in Jesus' unending love for her, and that poured into every encounter she had with others. This was so important to her that she vowed to do it in Heaven! "I wish to spend my heaven in doing good upon the earth.”

She has always answered my prayers; delivering both roses and silence. Through her silence, Thérèse posed questions: Is what you are seeking going to lead you closer to the Heart of Christ? Or is it simply something you want? Is God first in your heart? Do you trust in God's plan for you? ... Good friends ask the hard questions... and good friends bring you life.

Thérèse has led me to Life through more than just tough questions. She has inspired me to seek Truth, Goodness, Beauty, and holy friendships. And that's exactly what I want to do here. Saint Thérèse talked about the power of "little things done out of love", and though what I have is little, I've heard love can change the world. So here is to a new year full of discovering "little things" together! :)