"I prefer the monotony of obscure sacrifice to all
ecstasies. To pick up a pin for love can convert a soul."
These are the words of
Theresa of the Child Jesus, a Carmelite nun called the "Little Flower" who
lived a cloistered life of obscurity in the convent of Lisieux, France. [In
French-speaking areas, she is known as Thérèse of Lisieux.]
And her preference
for hidden sacrifice did indeed convert souls. Few saints of God are more
popular than this young nun. Her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, is
read and loved throughout the world. Thérèse Martin entered the convent at the
age of 15 and died in 1897 at the age of 24.
And shortly before she died, she wrote: "I want to spend my heaven doing good on
earth."
On October 19, 1997, Pope John Paul II proclaimed her a Doctor of the Church,
the third woman to be so recognized in light of her holiness and the influence
of her teaching on spirituality in the Church.
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