A Lesson from the Little Flower

Early in the course of my seeking for God, I ran across the autobiography of  Therese of Lisieux, Story of a Soul. Her simplicity and her desire to be holy in little, everyday ways rather than flashy, flamboyant ones was - and continues to be - attractive to me.

One of the most impressive examples of this is her reaction to another nun that, frankly, Therese didn't much like. She found her to be irritating, but rather than show it, Therese made up her mind to be kind and congenial whenever they needed to interact with each other. In another context, she wrote about how she was able to do this:

I see now that true charity consists in bearing with the faults of those about us, never being surprised at their weaknesses, but edified at the least sign of virtue. I see above all that charity must not remain hidden in the bottom of our hearts, for “no man lighteth a candle and putteth it in a hidden place, nor under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that they who come in may see the light.” (Luke 11:33).

– Therese of Lisieux.

I said earlier that Therese sought to be holy in "little, everyday ways", but that doesn't mean that this is easy. Perhaps one of the hardest things for me to do is to avoid focusing on the negatives but rather to "accentuate the positive".

But that's exactly what we've been instructed to do:

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

- Ephesians 4:2