I have often heard it said that we do not choose a saint; rather, the saints choose us. I wasn’t familiar with this idea when I first entered the seminary, but it perfectly describes how St. Thérèse of Lisieux came into my life.
Growing up, I knew of St. Thérèse and her Little Way, but I did not
know her. Two years ago, however, during my first semester of seminary, I started to have a really difficult time. I became aware of my own brokenness and couldn’t believe that God would want me in the seminary. I felt like I was drowning in my weakness with no way out. Thankfully though, it was at that time that we had our first weekend of recollection, a silent weekend retreat at the seminary where we took a pause in the semester to spend intimate time with the Lord. The retreat was led by a priest who had a great devotion to St. Thérèse and had studied her work extensively. He even called her his friend. During one of his talks, he shared with us one of her prayers that he felt he was supposed to tell one of us: the simple request “O Good Virgin Mary, grant that your little Thérèse stop tormenting herself.” These words cut me to the heart and released me from so much of my fear. Thérèse had chosen to speak to me and now I had to respond.
I immediately went and read her autobiography
Story of a Soul and the letters she wrote to a struggling seminarian named Maurice. Each word seemed like it had been written to and for me, as she extolled how great it is to be weak and little since that is what attracts Jesus Our Savior to us. It is only by being empty and abandoning ourselves completely into His Divine Providence that we can do His Will.
Having read so many of her works and spoken to her so many times in prayer, I truly consider Thérèse to be my friend. But she is also much more than that. To me, St. Thérèse is both the wise older sister and the playful younger sister. I can turn to her at any time with any problem and be comforted. She pops up here and there in a book, a homily, or prayer, and gently nudges me to remind me she’s always with me, no matter what. She is always ready with words of encouragement and prayers on my behalf whether I’m having a great day or if I’m struggling. Many of my brothers here have had similar experiences, as St. Thérèse has a special place in her heart for those preparing to be priests. That being said, her teaching rings true for everyone desiring to follow God; do small things with great love and God will gather you up in His arms and carry you to everlasting life. St. Thérèse of Lisieux, pray for us!
Mr. Moore is a College IV seminarian for the Archdiocese of Baltimore.