Editor’s Note: This is the final installment of this series. Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

On Oct. 15, Pope Francis released an apostolic exhortation on St. Thérèse of Lisieux. This year marks 150 years since Thérèse’s birth and 100 years since her beatification. The message was published on the liturgical feast of St. Teresa of Ávila, a fellow Carmelite from whom Thérèse inherited “a great love for the Church.” Thérèse, a doctor of the Church, has called the faithful to follow her along her “Little Way,” inspiring countless people to greater charity toward their neighbor and more complete trust in God.

The Register spoke with several devotees of the Little Flower who have studied and written about her spirituality and offered timely insights gleaned from this new papal document on the beloved saint.

Heather Khym is the cohost of the internationally popular Abiding Together Podcast. She and her husband, Jake, are the co-founders of Life Restoration Ministries, where she serves as director of vision and ministry of the British Columbia-based apostolate. She has more than 25 years of experience as a speaker and retreat leader, offering workshops and conferences in the United States and Canada.

Anthony Lilles is professor of spiritual theology and director of the M.A. program at St. Patrick’s Seminary and University in Menlo Park, California, and co-author of  Living the Mystery of Merciful Love: 30 Days With Thérèse of Lisieux.

Kris McGregor, founder and executive director of Discerning Hearts, is a regular on EWTN Radio, conducts retreats with Anthony Lilles and Father Timothy Gallagher, and provides commentary on saints for EWTN’s The Doctors of the Church series. 

Edward Sri is a theologian and author of a new book featuring various saints, including St. Thérèse of Lisieux, called When You Pray: Trust, Surrender and the Transformation of Your Soul (Ascension Press).

I appreciate the Marian connection the Pope draws out, too: “Therese practised charity in littleness, in the simplest things of daily life, and she did so in the company of the Virgin Mary. … Mary was the first to experience the ‘little way’ in pure faith and humility.” Why is Thérèse’s Marian devotion imperative to understanding her spiritual life and philosophy?

LILLES: Mary is the exemplar for the Little Way; in a certain way, Mary taught St. Thérèse to live by love through offering small, hidden acts of love, especially when they seemed wasted. This is how Mary loved Jesus the first moment she conceived him to his last breath on the cross. It is how Jesus loves us even now. St. Thérèse knew the secret of allowing Mary to show us how to love, as does her Son.  

SRI: Pope Francis makes an important point about the humanness of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As Catholics, we put Mary on a high pedestal, as we should. She is the Immaculate Conception, the Mother of God, the Queen of All Saints. But we can’t forget her humanness — she was one of us. Yes, she was sinless, but she still faced moments of trial, suffering and darkness. There were moments when the Bible reveals that Mary “did not understand,” and all she could do was “keep and ponder” these events in her heart. Even with her singular graces, she still had to “walk by faith” and “not by sight” and be faithful to those unique graces. Thérèse saw the human Mary and understood that Mary’s humility — her total abandonment to the Father and her closeness with her Son in his self-abasement — were what united her with her Son the most. In this way, we can see Mary being the first to live the Little Way. 

We see this especially in the Magnificat. Mary recognizes that God has done great things in her and all generations will call her blessed. But she sees that her exaltation in the Lord is not based on her spiritual effort, skill or talent. She recognizes she is not her own savior: God is. She says, “The Almighty has done great things for me.” In other words, Mary is utterly convinced of how small she really is — how dependent she is on God — and because of that, God was able to exalt her and do great things in her. In this sense, Mary in the Magnificat beautifully sums up what St. Thérèse nearly 19 centuries later will describe in her Little Way.

 

The Pope, of course, highlights her famous declaration, “my vocation is Love!” Why has this declaration so touched the hearts of the faithful, generation after generation?

KHYM: We all want to know what life is about and what we are supposed to do. We also all desire love above all things because this is the image in which we were made, our God is love. Thèrèse reminds us that all of us have a calling in our life, and it is to love and be loved. Each of us is qualified for this vocation by the gift of our baptism; no one is left out. Every person, in every circumstance, every age, every race, no matter where you find yourself or what your position is, we are all called to love. When our life is animated and motivated by love, everything has profound meaning, which results in true joy and satisfaction. This is the real measure of a successful life: How well did I love?

LILLES: This is a very fitting mystery for the Pope to call to our attention. The perfection of Christian holiness consists in the love that comes from the heart. Christ made known that at the final judgment, we will be judged by love alone. So it is that all our activities, efforts, disciplines and observances are to be done for love, by love and with love. When St. Thérèse accepted her calling to be love in the Church, Christ made her a prophetic reminder of the truth of love and the primacy of the heart for the whole Church.  

 

The Pope also references her “shower of roses” — what roses have you personally received?

KHYM: I love that we are surrounded by the communion of saints and invited into a relationship with them. I was introduced to St. Thérèse when I was only 17. A wise, older woman told me about her, and, suddenly, I saw Thérèse everywhere. A holy card here, a statue there, in a church, a book on someone’s shelf, she was pursuing me, and I was inspired. Thérèse has never failed to shower my life with roses, physical roses and spiritual ones, even to the point that a few years ago I received a first-class relic of her, a piece of her hair. This little saint has become a life companion for me, a prayer warrior, a mentor, a spiritual director and a friend. Thérèse is above no one; she meets us in our littleness and shows us a beautiful path to the arms of Jesus. I’m so grateful for what she has taught me. 

 

“… her genius consists in leading us to what is central, essential and indispensable. By her words and her personal experience she shows that, while it is true that all the Church’s teachings and rules have their importance, their value, their clarity, some are more urgent and more foundational for the Christian life. That is where Therese directed her eyes and her heart,” the Pope explains, highlighting how “From heaven to earth, the timely witness of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face endures in all the grandeur of her little way,” highlighting that “Therese shows us the beauty of making our lives a gift … testifies to the radicalism of the Gospel … makes us discover the value of a love that becomes intercession for others ... points out to us the little way … teaches us the beauty of concern and responsibility for one another … can help us rediscover the importance of simplicity, the absolute primacy of love, trust and abandonment, and thus move beyond a legalistic or moralistic mindset that would fill the Christian life with rules and regulations, and cause the joy of the Gospel to grow cold” and “inspires us to be missionary disciples, captivated by the attractiveness of Jesus and the Gospel.” How much the world needs such witness. How does our friend of the Little Way encourage us along this path?

KHYM: In our faith journey, we can easily get distracted and miss the point. Jesus laid out the essentials so clearly — love God; love others — but somehow we often forget this and make our faith much more complicated than it is. We can get ultra-focused on holy things, on following the rules, checking the spiritual boxes, rooting out sin, even on devotions, and miss the heart of it completely. Thérèse keeps the most important thing, love, at the forefront. It is the place from which all the other things should flow. She shows us that Jesus is everything. He is all we need. He is our hope, our consolation, our joy, and the beauty that we long for. He is the love we desperately need, and the greatest gift we can offer him is our love, poured out for him and his people. It’s not easy, but it’s simple. 

The Pope concludes his exhortation with a sweet prayer: “Dear Saint Therese, the Church needs to radiate the brightness, the fragrance and the joy of the Gospel. Send us your roses! Help us to be, like yourself, ever confident in God’s immense love for us, so that we may imitate each day your ‘little way’ of holiness. Amen.” Please share your final thoughts on the importance of Thérèse and her message of holiness, today and always. 

SRI: From the beginning of our marriage, Beth and I chose St. Thérèse as a patron for our family. We visited her tomb in Lisieux for our honeymoon, regularly seek her intercession, were blessed to be on pilgrimage together there again this past summer. I’ve been teaching on the life and writings of St. Thérèse for college students and graduate students for 25-plus years. She is my favorite saint and one who so clearly and simply brings us to the heart of the Gospel, as Pope Francis describes in his apostolic exhortation. 

MCGREGOR: St. Thérèse of Lisieux stands as a beacon of inspiration for souls around the world with her genuine humility, deep sense of gratitude, and unwavering love God and for others. Her life, immersed in prayer and a profound awareness of God’s love, unerringly guides those on the everyday journey toward holiness. Known for her Little Way, she helps us to find God in the ordinary moments and interactions of our daily lives, urging us to embody Christ’s love to others through concrete words and deeds.

Pope Benedict XVI and others have referred to St. Thérèse as a mystic. While mysticism is often associated with specific types of prayer and profound experiences, as seen in the works of St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila, St. Thérèse’s experience was different. Her mysticism was grounded in daily life, emphasizing a deep communion with God through persistent prayer and self-giving. This made her path in the spiritual life accessible and relatable, illustrating a broader, more inclusive form of mysticism, available to all who are baptized into the Mystical Body of Christ. She found immense joy and meaning in the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, and in simple, ordinary moments, showcasing a profound grasp of Christian mystery.

Thérèse’s ability to discern spiritual significance in seemingly trivial instances aligns with St. Ignatius of Loyola’s call to find God in all things, transforming our daily lives and enhancing our spiritual awareness. Even in her final moments, marked by extreme suffering, she remained steadfast, joyfully uniting her pain and struggles with her Crucified Savior on the cross. Her life and teachings remain vitally relevant, encouraging a deepening of faith, hope and, of course, love, for all who encounter this “Little Flower,” who now ranks tall among the giants of our Catholic tradition.