‘St. Therese teaches greatness in little things’
By Beverly T. Natividad
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:57:00 03/09/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- She is known as the “Saint of the Little Way” and she has a message for the Filipino faithful.
Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, talking to Catholics who had gathered to view the relics of St. Therese of Lisieux at the Manila Cathedral yesterday, said her message was that holiness can be found in small steps and little seemingly ordinary acts offered wholeheartedly to God.
The relics of St. Therese, believed to be miraculous, were brought to the cathedral after they were kept overnight in Malacañang.
Rosales said the life of St. Therese, a French Carmelite nun who lived from 1873 to 1897, inspires people who lead simple and ordinary lives to believe that holiness can be achieved through small things.
“The accomplishment of heroic acts and great deeds are not necessary,” Rosales said, adding that St. Therese, who died of tuberculosis at the age of 24, “upturned the usual idea of holiness.”
“She has shown that in her simple life, God is there.”
The archbishop said the short and simple life of St. Therese also shows the faithful “how to reflect on the will of God and how to live in that will.”
“Many times in people’s lives they think they know what God has willed for them and then find out later that God is leading them in the other way,” said Rosales.
“Don’t insist on what you think God’s will is for you. God has a better mission for you,” he said.
The parents of St. Therese, Louis and Zelie Martin, he said, had always dreamed of having a priest for a son.
But God had a different plan, said Rosales. The Martins were instead blessed with daughters, with the youngest—Therese—eventually becoming a saint.
“They thought they would have a son that would become a priest, but God wanted them to have a daughter who would become a saint,” Rosales said.
Also known as “The Little Flower of Jesus,” St. Therese’s letter, “Story of a Soul,” has inspired millions, and she is often associated with showers of roses. She was canonized on May 17, 1925. Her feast day is Oct. 1.
The pilgrim relics of St. Therese will be at the Manila Cathedral until 10 a.m. Monday.
The youth of the Manila archdiocese will hold a vigil for the holy relics until they are brought to the Shrine of St. Therese at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.
The relics arrived in Manila on Jan. 30 after being brought to different parishes nationwide. It is the second visit to the country of the miraculous relics. The first was in 2000.
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