Generations of Catholics have admired this young saint, calling her “Little Flower”, even though she never went on missions, never founded a religious order, never performed great works and having only published one book which was after her death. But within 28 years of her death, the public demand was so great that she was canonized.

She was born in France in 1873, a pampered daughter of a mother who had wanted to be a saint and a father who had wanted to be a monk. Only 5 of their 9 children survived and they were very close all of their lives.

Her mother died of breast cancer when she was 4 years old and her sixteen year old sister became her second mother. Therese became very ill around the age of 9 and those around her thought she was dying. When she saw her sisters praying to a statue of Mary in her room, she in turn prayed. She saw Mary smile at her and suddenly she was cured. She tried to keep it secret but others badgered her with questions.

Because she was spoiled by her father, she had trouble containing her wild emotions. She wanted to enter the Carmelite convent to join her sisters but was worried about handling the rigors of convent life since she couldn’t handle her own emotional outbursts. She prayed for help but there was no sign of an answer. After much rejection and persistence, she was finally allowed to enter the convent.

She knew she would never perform great deeds so instead she performed small sacrifices. She smiled at those she didn’t like. She ate everything she was given without complaining and took the blame when it wasn’t her fault. They cost her more than bigger ones as these went unrecognized.

She saw herself as too small to climb the steep stairs of perfection and she read in scripture, ‘Whosoever is a little one, come to me.” Therefore she asked Jesus to carry her to heaven.

In 1896, she coughed up blood but kept working without telling anyone until she became so sick a year later that everyone knew. She had lost her joy and confidence with her great pain. She tried to remain smiling and cheerful but succumbed to death on September 30th, 1897 when she was just 24 years old.

Her sister spread her writings and Therese’s “little way” of small daily sacrifices, instead of great deeds, appeals to many Catholics who are trying to find holiness in their ordinary lives.

She is the patron saint of AIDS patients, aviators, African missions, Central Africa, florists, foreign missions, France, missionaries, tuberculosis, and the Diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska, Fresno, California, and Pueblo Colorado.

Her feast day is October 1.

For God’s Glory.