The Divine Mercy message and devotion is not just about our devotion to God — it is about his love for us. God’s very nature is love — a perfect love shared by the Persons of the Most Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). “Divine Mercy” is the form God’s love takes when it flows from the Trinity to his creatures. Divine Mercy reveals itself when God, who is Love itself, loves us. God loved us when he created us. He loved us when he redeemed us. And he loves us when he sanctifies us. (These are three of God’s greatest acts of mercy).
The Divine Mercy takes on human flesh in Jesus Christ. “Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy,” explains Pope Francis in the papal document Misericordiae Vultus (The Face of Mercy).
So, mercy is a particular kind of love. When love encounters suffering, poverty, brokenness, and sin, it mercifully takes action to do something about it. Mercy is love going out to misery; Divine Mercy among other things, is love poured on sinful humanity to free it of sin and its consequences. As Pope John Paul II explained in the encyclical Dives in Misericordia (Rich in Mercy), mercy is love’s second name.
© 2015 Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M.
So, we now know that in the present time of mercy, we’re to implore God’s mercy with “loud cries.” But how do we learn to pray like that? The Lord himself teaches us through a beautiful prayer he taught St. Faustina called the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. This prayer is a kind of extension of what I call “the supercharged moment of the Mass.”
That moment is when the priest at the altar takes the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ and offers it “through him, with him, and in him” to the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit. It’s “supercharged” because it’s the perfect sacrifice of love, the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary, offered to our Merciful Father. You might say that such prayer becomes the loudest of the “loud cries” we can offer. Indeed, when we fervently pray these words of the chaplet — “for the sake of [Christ’s] sorrowful passion, have mercy on us …” — we can be confident that the Father will not only have mercy on us, but also “on the whole world.”
So, do you and your family want to help save the world and bring it back to God? Do you want to unleash an ocean of mercy upon hurting humanity? In this time of great mercy, if we fervently pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy in union with the offering of the Mass, we can do it.
But prayer alone isn’t enough. Unless we put merciful love into practice in our daily lives, “loud cries” for mercy may begin to sound like a “noisy gong” or a “clanging cymbal” (see 1 Cor 13:1). Christ reminds us of this in no uncertain terms through St. Faustina when he says, “I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it” (Diary, 742).
So, let’s briefly review the works of mercy. Generally speaking, the works of mercy include any act of love that seeks to alleviate the suffering of others. Getting more specific, Jesus taught St. Faustina “The Three Degrees of Mercy,” that is, mercy in deed, word and prayer (cf. 742). The Catechism of the Catholic Church unpacks this for us under the categories of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy: “Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead” (2447).
Pope Francis said it is his “burning desire” during the Jubilee Year of Mercy that we reflect on and rediscover the works of mercy, so as to bring to others the “goodness and tenderness of God” (Misericordiae Vultus, 15). And as we put these works into practice while persevering in supercharged prayer, we not only reveal the true face of our Merciful Father to the world — we help him to save it.
FATHER MICHAEL GAITLEY, MIC, is author of many books, including The Second Greatest Story Ever Told: Now Is the Time for Mercy (2015), and 33 Days to Merciful Love: A Preparation for Consecration to Divine Mercy (2016).
The Feast of Divine Mercy ranks highest among all the elements of The Divine Mercy devotion revealed to St. Faustina. Its institution was requested by the Lord Jesus for the first time in Plock, in 1931, while He was communicating His will regarding the painting of the Image: “I desire that there be a Feast of Mercy. I want this image, which you will paint with a brush, to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter; that Sunday is to be the Feast of Mercy” (Diary, 49)
The choice of the first Sunday after Easter for the Feast of Mercy has a very deep theological significance, which points to the close relationship between the Paschal Mystery of the redemption and the mystery of The Divine Mercy. The integral relationship is further emphasized by the Novena of Chaplets to The Divine Mercy which begins on Good Friday as a preparation for the Feast.
This feast is not only a day in particular for worshiping God in His mystery of mercy, but also a time of grace for all people. The Lord Jesus said: “I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners” (Diary, 699). “Souls perish in spite of My bitter Passion. I am giving them the last hope of salvation, that is, recourse to My Mercy. If they will not adore My mercy, they will perish for all eternity” (cf. Diary, 965, 998).
The greatness of this feast is measured by the measure of extraordinary promises that the Lord attached to this feast: Jesus said ... "Whoever approached the Fount of Life on this day will be granted complete remission of sins and punishment” (Diary, 300), and also, “On this day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My Mercy. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet” (Diary, 699).
To profit from those great gifts we must fulfill the conditions of the Divine Mercy devotion (trust in God’s goodness and active love toward neighbor), be in the state of sanctifying grace - having gone to Holy Confession, and worthily receive Holy Communion. Jesus explained: “No soul will be justified until it turns with confidence to My mercy; and this is why the first Sunday after Easter is to be the Feast of Mercy, and on that day, priests are to tell everyone about My great and unfathomable mercy” (Diary, 570).
Sr. M. Elizabeth Siepak, ZMBM; Cracow, December of 1991
FEAST OF MERCY (Diary Reference Paragraphs)
Clarification by Jesus of, 341
Command to celebrate, 280
Complete remission of sins and punishment on, 300
Conclusion of Jubilee Year of Redemption, 1935, 420
Conditions for complete forgiveness on, 699, 1109
Deeds of mercy along with, 742
Desire of Jesus for, 49, 299
Goodness of God and, 458
Healing and strengthening needy souls on, 99
Heart of Jesus rejoices in, 998
Importance to Our Lord of, 1517
Inspires trust, 570
“Last Hope” of salvation, 965, 687, 998, 1228
Neglect of, 341
Refuge and shelter for all, especially poor sinners, 699
Sunday after Easter as the Feast of Mercy, 49, 88, 280, 299, 420, 570, 699, 742
Its pattern was revealed in the vision St. Faustina had on February 22, 1931, in her convent cell at Plock. “In the evening, when I was in my cell,” she recorded in the Diary, “I saw the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment. One hand [was] raised in the gesture of blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast. From beneath the garment, slightly drawn aside from at breast, there were emanating two large rays, one red, the other pale After a while, Jesus said to me, ‘Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You’” (Diary, 47) “I want this image to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter; that Sunday is to be the Feast of Mercy” (Diary, 49)
For this reason, the content of this image is closely related to the liturgy of that Sunday. On this day, the Church reads the Gospel according to St. John about the risen Christ appearing in the Upper Room and about the institution of the Sacrament of Penance (Jn 20:19-29). Consequently, this image represents the Saviour risen from the dead who brings peace to people by means of the forgiveness of sins at the price of His passion and death on the cross.
The rays of blood and water that flow from the Heart that was pierced by a spear (not visible on the image) and the scars caused by the wounds of crucifixion call to mind the events of Good Friday (Jn 19:17-18; 33-37). The Image of the Merciful Saviour, therefore, combines the two Gospel events that best bespeak the fullness of God’s love for mankind.
The two rays are a distinctive feature of this image of Christ. The Lord Jesus, when asked about their meaning, explained: “The two rays mean Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. ... Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter” (Diary, 299). The Sacraments of Baptism and Penance purify the soul, and the Eucharist most abundantly nourishes it. Thus, the two rays signify the Holy Sacraments and all the graces of the Holy Spirit, whose biblical symbol is water, as well as the New Covenant of God with men in the Blood of Christ.
The image of the Merciful Jesus is often called the “Image of The Divine Mercy,” which is appropriate, since it is precisely in Christ’s Paschal Mystery that God’s love for humankind was most explicitly revealed.
The image not only represents The Divine Mercy, but also serves as a sign that is to recall the Christian obligation of trust in God and of active love toward neighbour. By Christ’s will the image bears a signature comprised of these words: “Jesus, I trust in You.”
“This image,” Jesus also declared, “is to be a reminder of the demands of My mercy, because even the strongest faith is of no avail without works” (Diary, 742).
To the veneration of the image, as relying upon the Christian attitude of trust and mercy, Our Lord attached special promises, namely, of eternal salvation, of great progress in the way of Christian perfection, of the grace of a happy death, and of all other possible graces which people will ask of Him with trust: “By means of this image I shall be granting many graces to souls; so let every soul have access to it” (Diary, 570).
Sr. M. Elizabeth Siepak, ZMBM; Cracow, December of 1991
IMAGE OF THE DIVINE MERCY (Diary Reference Paragraphs)
Blessing of, 49, 341
Cause of ecstasy, 1299-1300
Confessor’s advice about painting, 49
Disappointment in painting of, 313
Display of on First Sunday after Easter, 88
Effect of, 1379
Exposition of, in church, 570
Fathers Andrasz and Sopocko at feet of, 675
Gaze of Jesus from, 326
Greatness of, 313
In Faustina’s soul, 49
Inscription on, 47
clarification of, 327
concerns about, 88
Manner of painting of, 49
Obligation to paint, 154
Promises attached to veneration of, 48, 570
Promulgation of, 47
Public veneration of, 414, 742
Rays of Mercy on, 50
Reminder to do works of mercy, 742
Request from Jesus to paint, 1, 47
Responsibility to paint, 154
Signature on, 47
Source of, 47, 67
Veneration of, source of many graces, 742
Despite so many harbingers of catastrophe and daily temptations to discouragement and even despair, I’ve got some very good news: Now is the time of mercy. Now is a time of great and extraordinary grace for the Church and the world. Now is a time when God wants to pour a superabundance of his merciful love upon suffering humanity.
But don’t just take my word for it. In his March 6, 2014, address to the priests of the Diocese of Rome, Pope Francis said the following: “Listen to the voice of the Spirit that speaks to the whole Church in this our time, which is, in fact, the time of mercy. I am certain of this. … We have been living in the time of mercy for 30 or more years, up to now. … [St. John Paul II] had the ‘intuition’ that this was the time of mercy.”
‘LOUD CRIES’ FOR MERCY
The key to understanding the present time of mercy comes from Romans 5:20: “Where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more.” Expressed as a principle, we could say that in times of great evil, God gives even greater grace. And the good news is that, right now, he’s giving it. In fact, this is what that “intuition” of St. John Paul II was really all about. In response to unprecedented evil in the modern world, it seems that God is providing unprecedented grace.
This special gift of grace in our time includes the modern message of Divine Mercy, which comes to us from the great apostle of mercy, St. Faustina Kowalska. This Polish nun’s testimony to God’s mercy is reinvigorating the Church and inspiring untold numbers of people to turn to the very heart of Catholic spirituality, the very heart of the Gospel — namely, God’s mercy for sinners. Moreover, Faustina’s witness to mercy inspired St. John Paul II to send the whole Church on a powerful mission of mercy that truly can save the world.
Specifically, in the stirring last chapter of his encyclical letter on Divine Mercy, Dives in Misericordia (Rich in Mercy), John Paul gives the Church its marching orders in the present time of mercy. He indicates that we’re not to flee the evils that afflict modern humanity. Rather, we’re to directly confront them with the most powerful weapon of the Redemption: God’s merciful love.
According to Pope John Paul II, who beatified and canonized St. Faustina, merciful love transforms consciences, puts a stop to evil and can renew the face of the earth. But to unleash its power, the sons and daughters of the Church must appeal to God’s mercy with “loud cries” (Dives in Misericordia, 15). Now, by “loud cries,” the pope does not intend that we should shout when we pray. Rather, he encourages us to pray with intensity, fervor and zeal. Indeed, he invites us to pray with bold confidence in the saving power of God’s merciful love. And such prayer truly is “loud.” In other words, it pierces the heart of God and can help save the world.
But, again, don’t just take my word for it. Because of St. Faustina’s “loud cries” for mercy, Jesus told her, “For your sake I will withhold the hand which punishes; for your sake I bless the earth” (Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 431). He also revealed to her how prayer “ties his hands,” so to speak, and prevents him from inflicting the punishments the world deserves (see Diary, 818).
Today the world certainly seems to deserve a severe punishment. For instance, simply consider that there have been more than a billion abortions worldwide in the last 40 years. In light of that statistic alone, it’s a marvel that God has not already sent to the modern world the same fire and brimstone that rained down on Sodom and Gomorrah.
And yet, we’re still here. But why? It’s because, again, now is the time of mercy. As Jesus himself said to St. Faustina, “In the Old Covenant I sent prophets wielding thunderbolts to My people. Today I am sending you with My mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My Merciful Heart. … Before the Day of Justice I am sending the Day of Mercy” (Diary, 1588).
FATHER MICHAEL GAITLEY, MIC, is author of many books, including The Second Greatest Story Ever Told: Now Is the Time for Mercy (2015), and 33 Days to Merciful Love: A Preparation for Consecration to Divine Mercy (2016).
A novena is typically nine days of prayer in preparation of a celebration of a feast day. At the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy Novena is recited perpetually at the Hour of Great Mercy — the three o'clock hour.
Jesus asked that the Feast of the Divine Mercy be preceded by a Novena to the Divine Mercy which would begin on Good Friday. He gave St. Faustina an intention to pray for on each day of the Novena, saving for the last day the most difficult intention of all, the lukewarm and indifferent of whom He said:
"These souls cause Me more suffering than any others; it was from such souls that My soul felt the most revulsion in the Garden of Olives. It was on their account that I said: 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass Me by.' The last hope of salvation for them is to flee to My Mercy."
In her diary, St. Faustina wrote that Jesus told her:
"On each day of the novena you will bring to My heart a different group of souls and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy ... On each day you will beg My Father, on the strength of My passion, for the graces for these souls."
For each of the nine days, our Lord gave Saint Faustina a different intention:
all mankind, especially sinners;
the souls of priests and religious;
all devout and faithful souls;
those who do not believe in God and those who do not yet know Jesus;
the souls who have separated themselves from the Church;
the meek and humble souls and the souls of little children;
the souls who especially venerate and glorify His mercy;
the souls detained in purgatory;
and souls who have become lukewarm.
"I desire that during these nine days you bring souls to the fountain of My mercy, that they may draw therefrom strength and refreshment and whatever grace they have need of in the hardships of life, and especially at the hour of death" (Diary, 1209).
NOVENA (Diary Reference Paragraphs)
Before Feast of Mercy, 1059, 1209-1229
Of chaplets
before Feast of Mercy, 796
to obtain Divine Mercy for Poland, 714
Of prayer, “O Blood and Water....” 33 times for Holy Father, 341
Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938)
Born in what is now west-central Poland, Helena Kowalska was the third of 10 children. Her parents tried to prevent her from entering religious life. She worked as a housekeeper in three cities before joining the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in 1925. She worked as a cook, gardener and porter in three of their houses.
In addition to carrying out her work faithfully, generously serving the needs of the sisters and the local people, Sister Faustina also had a deep interior life. This included receiving revelations from the Lord Jesus, messages that she recorded in her diary at the request of Christ and of her confessors. As a religious, she was often ridiculed and laughed at for her claim of seeing Christ. Maria Faustina experienced emotional wounds, jealousy, resentment and much more. Faustina participated in the sufferings of Christ and understood from the inside the transforming power of love and mercy. She was not of robust health and contracted tuberculosis, which led to her early death.
At a time when some Catholics had an image of God as such a strict judge that they might be tempted to despair about the possibility of being forgiven, Jesus chose to emphasize his mercy and forgiveness for sins acknowledged and confessed. “I do not want to punish aching mankind,” he once told Saint Faustina, “but I desire to heal it, pressing it to my merciful heart.” The two rays emanating from Christ’s heart, she said, represent the blood and water poured out after Jesus’ death. Sister Maria Faustina died in Krakow, Poland, on October 5, 1938.
On April 30, 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized Maria Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun and mystic. Seven years earlier, Faustina had been beatified and recognized as a woman outstanding in holiness and for her dedication to God’s mercy revealed in Jesus. Although she died at age 33, her influence has been tremendous.
One of the influences has been the publication of her diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul: The Diary of Saint Faustina. In this diary, she records her inner experiences of Jesus and of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
For some time, the diary was misinterpreted and even questioned for its orthodoxy. But when Pope John Paul II came upon the scene, Faustina was vindicated, and her writings were presented as worthy of study and prayerful reflection.
Because Sister Maria Faustina knew that the revelations she had already received did not constitute holiness itself, she wrote in her diary: “Neither graces, nor revelations, nor raptures, nor gifts granted to a soul make it perfect, but rather the intimate union of the soul with God. These gifts are merely ornaments of the soul, but constitute neither its essence nor its perfection. My sanctity and perfection consist in the close union of my will with the will of God.”
Another influence of Saint Faustina is liturgical. The Second Sunday of Easter has been designated as Divine Mercy Sunday. Now the universal Church has been asked to ponder the mystery of our merciful God. How fitting that this celebration is given to our world. In Secularity and the Gospel: Being Missionaries to Our Children, Father Ronald Rolheiser writes: “In a world and a culture that is full of wounds, anger, injustice, inequality, historical privilege, jealousy, resentment, bitterness, murder, and war, we must speak always and everywhere about forgiveness, reconciliation, and God’s healing.” Indeed, of God’s mercy!
And just as Saint Thèrése, the Little Flower, claimed that her mission of doing good on earth would continue in heaven, so Saint Faustina would write: “I feel certain that my mission will not come to an end upon my death, but will begin. O doubting souls, I will draw aside for you the veils of heaven to convince you of God’s goodness” (Diary, 281).
This Chaplet was dictated to St. Faustina by the Lord Jesus Himself in Vilnius on September 13-14, 1935, as a prayer of atonement and for the appeasement of God’s wrath (see Diary, 474-476).
Those who recite this Chaplet offer to God the Father “the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity,” of Jesus Christ in atonement for their sins, the sins of their loved ones, and those of the entire world. By uniting themselves with the sacrifice of Jesus, they appeal to the great love that our Heavenly Father has for His Son and, in Him, for all humanity.
By means of this prayer, the petitioners request “mercy on us and on the whole world,” and by so doing, they perform a work of mercy. If the faithful add to this the foundation of trust and fulfill the conditions regarding every good prayer (humility, perseverance, matters in conformity with God’s will), they can expect the fulfillment of Christ’s promises which are particularly related to the hour of death: the grace of conversion and a peaceful death.
Not only will the people who say the Chaplet receive these graces, but also the dying at whose side others will recite this prayer. The Lord said: “When this chaplet is said by the bedside of a dying person, God’s anger is placated, unfathomable mercy envelops the soul ...” (Diary, 811). The general promise says: “It pleases Me to grant everything they ask of Me by saying the chaplet” (Diary 1541) “... if what you ask for is compatible with My will” (Diary, 1731). For, anything that is not compatible with God’s will is not good for people, especially for their eternal happiness.
On a different occasion, Jesus said: “by saying the Chaplet, you are bringing humankind closer to Me” (Diary, 929), and again: “The souls that say this chaplet will be embraced by My mercy during their lifetime and especially at the hour of their death” (Diary, 754).
Sr. M. Elizabeth Siepak, ZMBM; Cracow, December of 1991
THE CHAPLET OF DIVINE MERCY (Diary Reference Paragraphs)
Assistance to the dying, 810, 811, 1035, 1565, 1798
Brings mankind closer to Jesus, 929
Conversion and, 687
Everything obtainable by, 1128, 1541
Formula for, 476
Mercy and, 848
Novena before Feast of Mercy, 796, 1059
To obtain mercy for Poland, 714
Origin of, 474
In October, 1937, in Cracow, under circumstances that are not fully described by [St.] Faustina, the Lord Jesus recommended that she honour the hour of His death: “...as often as you hear the clock strike the third hour, immerse yourself completely in My mercy, adoring and glorifying it; invoke its omnipotence for the whole world, and particularly for poor sinners; for at that moment mercy was opened wide for every soul” (Diary, 1572).
The Lord Jesus also determined the prayers that are appropriate for this form of the Divine Mercy devotion: “...try your best to make the Stations of the Cross in this hour, provided that your duties permit it; and if you are not able to make the Stations of the Cross, then at least step into the chapel for a moment and adore, in the Blessed Sacrament, My Heart, which is full of mercy; and should you be unable to step into the chapel, immerse yourself in prayer there where you happen to be, if only for a very brief instant” (Diary, 1572).
Prof. Rozycki enumerates three conditions for prayers offered in this hour to be granted:
1. They are to be addressed to Jesus.
2. They are to be said at three o’clock in the afternoon.
3. They are to appeal to the value and merits of Christ’s Passion.
The Lord Jesus promised: “In this hour you can obtain everything for yourself and for others for the asking; it was the hour of grace for the whole world - mercy triumphed over justice” (Diary, 1572)
Sr. M. Elizabeth Siepak, ZMBM; Cracow, December of 1991
HOUR OF GREAT MERCY (Diary Reference Paragraphs)
Request of Jesus
to practice daily certain devotions at, 1572
to implore mercy especially for sinners at, 1320, 1572
Promises attached to, 1320, 1572
Vision of Jesus Crucified at, 648
Written By: The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: Sep 26, 2019
St. Thérèse of Lisieux, also called St. Teresa of the Child Jesus or the Little Flower, original name Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin, (born January 2, 1873, Alençon, France—died September 30, 1897, Lisieux; canonized May 17, 1925; feast day October 1), Carmelite nun whose service to her Roman Catholic order, although outwardly unremarkable, was later recognized for its exemplary spiritual accomplishments. She was named a doctor of the church by Pope John Paul II in 1997.
Thérèse was the youngest of nine children, five of whom survived childhood. After her mother died of breast cancer in 1877, Thérèse moved with her family to Lisieux. In the deeply religious atmosphere of her home, her piety developed early and intensively. All four of her elder sisters became nuns, and at the age of 15 she entered the Carmelite convent at Lisieux, having been refused admission a year earlier. Although she suffered from depression, scruples—a causeless feeling of guilt—and, at the end, religious doubts, she kept the rule to perfection and maintained a smiling, pleasant, and unselfish manner. Before her death from tuberculosis, she acknowledged that, because of her difficult nature, not one day had ever passed without a struggle. Her burial site at Lisieux became a place of pilgrimage, and a basilica bearing her name was built there (1929–54).
The story of Thérèse’s spiritual development was related in a collection of her epistolary essays, written by order of the prioresses and published in 1898 under the title Histoire d’une âme (“Story of a Soul”). Her popularity is largely a result of this work, which conveys her loving pursuit of holiness in ordinary life. St. Thérèse defined her doctrine of the Little Way as “the way of spiritual childhood, the way of trust and absolute surrender.” She was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1925 and was the youngest person to be designated a doctor of the church.
In 2015 Thérèse’s parents, Saints Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie Guérin, were canonized by Pope Francis I; they were the first spouses to be canonized together as a couple.
Rev. John F. Russell, O.Carm.
Seton Hall University
What is the meaning of "the little way" of St. Therese? It is an image that tries to capture her understanding of being a disciple of Jesus Christ, of seeking holiness of life in the ordinary and the everyday. St. Therese based her "little way" on two fundamental convictions: 1. God shows love by mercy and forgiveness and 2. She could not be perfect in following the Lord.
Her Little Way
St. Therese believed that the people of her time lived in too great fear of Gods judgment. The fear was stifling and did not allow people to experience the freedom of the children of God. St. Therese knew from her life that God is merciful love; many scripture passages in the Old and New Testaments bore out that truth. She loved the maternal images for God in the Old Testament and the love of God for us in Jesus Christ. In fact, St. Therese once wrote that she could not understand how anyone could be afraid of a God who became a child. She also knew that she would never be perfect. Therefore, she went to God as a child approaches a parent with open arms and a profound trust.
St. Therese translated "the little way" in terms of a commitment to the tasks and to the people we meet in our everyday lives. She took her assignments in the convent of Lisieux as ways of manifesting her love for God and for others. She worked as a sacristan by taking care of the altar and the chapel; she served in the refectory and in the laundry room; she wrote plays for the entertainment of the community. Above all, she tried to show a love for all the nuns in the community. She played no favorites; she gave of herself even to the difficult members. Her life sounds so routine and ordinary, but it was steeped in a loving commitment that knew no breakdown. It is called a little way precisely by being simple, direct, yet calling for amazing fortitude and commitment.
In living out her life of faith she sensed that everything that she was able to accomplish came from a generous love of God in her life. She was convinced that at the end of her life she would go to God with empty hands. Why? Because all was accomplished in union with God.
Catholics and other Christians have been attracted to St. Therese’s style. Her "little way" seems to put holiness of life within the reach of ordinary people. Live out your days with confidence in God’s love for you. Recognize that each day is a gift in which your life can make a difference by the way you choose to live it. Put hope in a future in which God will be all and love will consume your spirit. Choose life, not the darkness of pettiness and greed. St. Therese knew the difference love makes by allowing love to be the statement she made each day of her life.
By Father James Geoghegan, O.C.D.
Thérèse is the great saint of the virtue hope in modern times. She was sent to teach the Church and the world this confidence or trust in God. It was a gift she received in Baptism as a baby, and it grew and developed to the end of her life. Shortly before she died, Thérèse was asked if she completely trusted in God. Her answer amazes us for she says she does, but it was not always so. What held her back was her final illness, not because of the suffering it caused her, but because of the expense and suffering it imposed on her community. Then she realized that her illness was a gift from God to her Carmelite Sisters, and so she was able to abandon herself completely into the loving arms of Divine Providence.
There are some lovely events in her life that reveal her trust in God’s mercy. On May 28, 1897, Thérèse was ill, feverish and very tired, but not yet confined to bed. Sister John the Baptist approached and asked her to put the finishing touches to a painting. The daughter of a jeweler and lace maker, Thérèse was expert in doing delicate work with the paintbrush. Mother Agnes (Pauline) tried to dissuade the nun from bothering Thérèse, but the nun insisted. In her weariness, Thérèse got annoyed and showed it. Mother Agnes, who by this time was aware of the holiness and wisdom of Thérèse, was writing down all the sayings of her young sister. She was shocked to see Thérèse’s impatience. That night, Thérèse wrote Mother Agnes a letter that is a classic of Christian spirituality (Letter 230).
Thérèse told Mother Agnes that she is glad Mother saw her impatience and weakness. Now she will understand what Thérèse has been saying all along – that she is a weak, human person to whom God has been infinitely merciful. Thérèse saw Mother Agnes as a mirror of God’s mercy and compassion and so expected understanding and forgiveness.
Thérèse saw Sister John the Baptist as a mirror of God’s severity and justice. When Sister John the Baptist came by Thérèse later that day, Thérèse expected a scolding but was delightfully surprised. Sister John the Baptist embraced her, saying, “I felt sorry for you. I do not want to tire you out. I was wrong.” Thérèse returned to her cell and reflected on what had happened. Thérèse saw that God’s mercy and His justice are one. Because God is just, He takes our weaknesses into account and is merciful. Her trust in God’s mercy is based on His justice. No longer does she fear His justice for He is merciful.
Thérèse realized that her infinite desires to love and trust God are genuine and based on God’s love and His promises. Her trust is based not only on her faith and on the big promises of God to his people, but on her experience of His mercy in the little moments of her life. God’s loving mercy embraces the whole span of Thérèse’s life and every moment of it.
There is another incident in the life of our saint that again reveals her trust in God (Photo Album of St. Thérèse, photos 41, 42, 43). On June 7, 1897, the nuns knew of Thérèse’s illness and that they would soon lose her. It was a month before she moved to the infirmary. Desirous of getting a good, definitive photograph of her, Sister Genevieve (Celine) brought Thérèse out to the sacristy courtyard to take her photo. Thérèse was in her habit and mantle. She held a picture of the Holy Face of Jesus and another one of the Christ Child. These were iconic symbols of her name and her spirituality.
Celine had Thérèse kneel down on the ground. Then, like any photographer, she directed her model on how she should look and hold herself. Thérèse did not like to be photographed, but even though she had a fever, she went through it for the sake of her community. She posed for two photos, holding her pose for the long exposures. Celine used a large format view camera that took two exposures with one magazine.
Letting Thérèse free, Celine went into the darkroom to develop the negatives. She was disappointed with the results. In the first photo, Thérèse looked sad. In the second photo, she had moved, which caused a blur. Celine wanted a second session. Poor Thérèse dressed up again and knelt down. A gardener heard her say, “Hurry up, I’m exhausted.” Celine once more directed Thérèse. Both got angry.
These strong women clashed and tried to control each other. It is interesting that Celine took only one photo this session instead of the usual two which used both sides of the magazine. She left somewhat angry. This photo was successful, and in it you can see Thérèse’s utter exhaustion and fatigue.
A short time later, Mother Agnes passed by and found Thérèse weeping. Was it because Celine had hurt her or because she had hurt Celine? Thérèse just pointed to a hen with its chickens. She said that she was weeping with gratitude and joy because of the way the chicks were sheltered under the mother’s wings. That was how God had sheltered her all her life. She left her experience of weakness in the hands of God and moved on with her life.
Thérèse wrote in her autobiography around this time, “I must bear with myself, such as I am with all my imperfections.” On the other hand, Celine seems to have been distressed all that day because of the way she had treated her little sister who was dying. That evening, Celine received a letter from Thérèse (Letter 243) in which Thérèse suggested that the cause of Celine’s distress is disappointment in her own lack of virtue. Her impatience was revealed, and she was disappointed with herself. Thérèse encouraged her to accept her weakness and rejoice in her failings. Through them, she will know the power and the goodness and mercy of God.
We have seen through two incidents in our saint’s life that her trust in God reaches to small, passing events. Nothing, big or small, will hinder her trust in God and in His loving mercy. She tells us that it is the blind hope that she has in His Mercy that gives her strength and courage and is what pleases God (Letter 197 to Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart, her own sister, Marie).
The last words of Thérèse’s autobiography tell us that it is not because God has saved her from serious sin that she goes to Him with confidence and love; it is because God is merciful love and loves us in our weakness.
By Jeannie Ewing
Known as “The Little Flower,” St. Therese of Lisieux is an icon of simplicity. Her faith, truly heroic, wasn’t expressed in grand ways. Everything she did in her cloister was done with magnanimity of heart rather than grandiosity. That’s quite possibly why she is one of the most beloved saints of all time – because she lived a very ordinary life, yet her soul exuded incredible fortitude, perseverance, patience, and – indeed, charity. Her love, her heart, has won over the coldest and most calloused of souls. Let us embrace her wisdom on loving with greater fervor and ardor. Here are 10 beautiful St. Therese of Lisieux quotes on love to instruct and inspire you.
1. "Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love." St. Therese was a deeply hidden treasure in her time. Everything she did was intentional and always with love. What if we stopped in our busyness of each day and made eye contact with a stranger? It’s true that a simple, but genuine smile can uplift someone’s drooping spirits. Kindness, of course, costs us nothing and often sends on its wings the spiritual charism of encouragement. Take time today to encourage someone through simple gestures – a note, a ‘thank you,’ a wave or ‘hello.’
2. "Our Lord does not so much look at the greatness of our actions, or even at their difficulty, as at the love with which we do them." I think of the Pharisees and scribes, whom Jesus often rebuked for their ostentatious flair, because they wanted to be noticed. Their pride is much like ours, isn’t it? We tend to view ourselves as bigger than we are, and we want others to acknowledge the good that we do each day, especially if it involves suffering and struggle on our part. But St. Therese reminds us that the struggle and size of our actions are entirely irrelevant if we do not do them out of love.
3. "I understood that love comprises all vocations – that love is everything, and because it is eternal, embraces all times and places." God is love. We all know this, but we seldom live this way on a daily basis – as if love should be our goal, our focal point, our reason for breathing and being. But if God truly is at the center of our lives, then we will honestly strive to imitate and honor Him by choosing to love. We do not have to be consecrated religious in order to become saints. St. Therese tells us that love is the crux of every vocation and should be our motivation for all that we think, say, and do each day.
4. "To live in love is to sail forever, spreading seeds of joy and peace in hearts." It seems that St. Therese, because she likely achieved perfect union with God on earth, understood that love was a sort of spiritual inebriation that crossed time and space. What if we sought to dwell in the heart of God, for our hearts to beat in unison with His, as St. Therese’s did? We would realize the limitlessness of love and thereby reflect God to everyone we encounter. If we did this, especially in simple ways each day, the people in our lives would carry the fruits of this love – joy and peace – within their hearts, thus spreading like wildflowers across an open meadow. Perhaps we should seek to attain to be that wildflower, that “little flower” that spreads seeds of joy and peace in everyone’s heart we know and meet along our life’s journey.
5. "Kindness is my only guiding star. In its light, I sail a straight route, I have my motto written on my sail: 'To live in love.'" I often wonder how so many of us stray from that selfless and sacrificial way that St. Therese exhibited her entire, short life on earth. It seems that distractions abound in this post-modern, Pinterest-pretty world. But St. Therese knew well how to remain grounded in what matters most, and her faith was her beacon. This image of a sailboat on the sea with a lone star in the distant sky reminds us that we must find our beacon of hope through love – in, through, and for God – so that we can sail through life’s storms without worry or anxiety, always centered on confident trust in God’s loving providence.
6. "Let us love, since that is what our hearts were made for." We forget, in our modern age, that love isn’t based on emotion. It’s not the secular notion of fantasy, romance, and chemistry. It’s not lust. Love is, indeed, what we were born to do and become, because we are reflections of the Triune God, who is Love incarnate. As a decision, rather than a feeling, love requires us to step outside of our egocentric behavior and always seek to serve the other. When we do this, our hearts expand beyond imagination, and we are then capable of loving even more than we knew possible.
7. "Love can accomplish all things. Things that are most impossible become easy where love is at work." Life as a full-time caregiver is anything but glamorous for me. I spend most of my time wiping noses, dressing and undressing, teaching a preschooler how to feed herself, and even strange things, like finger strengthening exercises so that she can hone her fine motor skills. My daughter requires above-and-beyond care, the kind that must have love at its core. And I don’t always do these tasks as if I am doing them for Jesus Himself. Sometimes I am in a hurry or flustered or impatient, but St. Therese helps me recall that the mundane daily tasks – even the most difficult and impossible ones – will become effortless with a change of my heart.
8. "Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing." I wonder if my daughters will grow up and become academic scholars. They certainly aren’t typical. In the past, I considered the world of intelligentsia to be the epitome of success. Achievement and accolades somehow became my gold stars that proudly adorned my resume and my conversations. But life has a way of humbling us all, doesn’t it? Through raising my beautiful daughters, I no longer view brilliance as the highest order of accomplishments or even inherent value. My girls know how to love with their whole hearts, a love I never knew before they came into my life. Now I seek to teach, guide, and assist them each day with the love they have reflected back to me through their laughter and innocence.
9. "I am the smallest of creatures and I recognize my worthlessness, but I also know how hearts that are generous and noble love to do good." Love cannot dwell in a miserly heart. We all struggle with selfishness and wanting to hoard our time, money, or possessions. St. Therese, through the lens of humility, learned that a heart that loves well is one where virtue lives. Generosity, then, seems to be the antidote to hoarding, hiding, and holing away our treasures. It is in giving away what we have and who we are that our hearts gain the space to love ever more graciously and gratuitously.
10. "When one loves, one does not calculate." We all know that true love is unconditional, but we still tend to keep tabs on who owes us what. Husbands and wives may informally create a mental tally of how often they have done some sacrifice for the other person, to his or her supposed detriment. Somehow we live as if the world owes us, or even as if God owes us something, anything. How often do we rebuke God for His silence when we have persisted in prayer? When we love, and especially when we love God, we do not expect anything in return. We are content with the fact that we have given of ourselves, perhaps more than we needed or what was expected. Love is always a free gift, without price or measure.
If we lived more like St. Therese did, perhaps we’d notice profound changes in our lives. I imagine we’d even be recipients of minor miracles. Why is something so simple – love – so often misunderstood and rarely lived? I wonder how many of us, if we offered every aspect of our time spent mowing the lawn, making dinner, cleaning the dishes, doing the laundry, wiping handprints off of the front door, working that desk job, or running errands with generosity, would become the change we long to see in the world? Love is that change, that interior change. It truly does begin with you and me, today.
About the author
Jeannie Ewing is a Catholic spirituality writer who writes about the moving through grief, the value of redemptive suffering, and how to wait for God’s timing fruitfully. Her books include Navigating Deep Waters, From Grief to Grace, A Sea Without A Shore , For Those Who Grieve, and Waiting with Purpose. She is a frequent guest on Catholic radio and contributes to several online and print Catholic periodicals. Jeannie, her husband, and their three daughters (plus one baby boy) live in northern Indiana. For more information, please visit her website jeannieewing.com.
https://www.coraevans.com/blog/article/10-beautidul-st-therese-of-lisieux-quotes-on-love