The Little Way

Yesterday a movie opened in select theatres where enough public persuasion convinced the theatre owners to put it on. The movie is called "Therese" and it's about St. Theresa of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, the Little Flower, Therese of Lisieux, Patroness of Missions, Doctor of the Church. She preached the little way of discipleship: being a big Christian in all the small ways pleasing to the Lord. Though I have not yet seen the movie, I am already impressed with the willpower of its producers, who have funded the whole operation from its filming to its release entirely through private donations.

If you have seen it, let me know your thoughts in its regard. If you haven't yet seen it, do.

It's a momentous time of year for me. October, the best month in the calendar has arrived. Why is October the best month, you ask? Because in the first week of the month, Autumn- the best season of the year- reaches the fullness of its splendor. Autumn is the time of Advent, the time of joyful expectation, of waiting for the Lord to come in Glory. Autumn is the harvest, when the world is ripe and full. The air is crisp and the weather brilliant. The earth gives over to winter's sleep in a delirious burst of color, teaching us the Beauty of Death and Rebirth.

It is also the time when I came into the fullness of life- my birthday falls on the 10th. It is also the only month that ends in Halloween, when we celebrate that Death is only frightening for those who look not unto Heaven. All the big names are celebrated in October: St. Francis on the 4th, St. Teresa of Avila on the 15th, St. Ignatius of Antioch and St. Jude, St. Luke (who wrote my favorite Gospel), and on the 19th, the Jesuit North American Martyrs (patrons of my high school UofD Jesuit). And let's not forget the entire month is devoted to Mary! But the month begins with the feastday of St. Therese, and she provides a most excellent model for a life spent looking unto Heaven.

St. Therese teaches us that it takes so little to make such a tremendous difference. We can do some very small little things each day, make some small little choices, little concessions, little gifts. There is such a small thin line between a life lived in virtue and a life lived apart from it. Read her Story of a Soul when you get a chance, her autobiography. Dorothy Day, a woman who authentically knew what it meant to choose littleness in a very big way, wrote an engaging account of Theresa's life. The Little Flower teaches us that looking unto Heaven is something done every day, that it requires dying to self in all the little ways that make it such a monumental task. But oh! the rewards we shall reap, if merely the chance to truly look upon Heaven and see the face of God. In a poem she wrote entitled, I Thirst for Love, Therese speaks of that longing after all of our heart's desire, a longing only Christ can quench.

In this momentous time of year, I have had the opportunity to consider how vital are the little choices we make, the insignificant and usually unconscientious things we do that bring such Joy to our heavenly Father. Because in so many ways and so frequently and so easily we do all the little insignificant things that lead us so carelessly and so effortlessly into a pattern of Sin.

Similarly, the adjustment of our countenance from one of despair to one of hope requires such a finite movement on our part. I have been blessed in this momentous time to be reminded how fine and thin that difference truly is. We rarely recognize Sin with foresight. But we can always look ahead and see God. Let us ask dear Therese to pray for us, that we may grow by inches, blossom forth in Holiness, and that our death may be like a petal falling to the ground, or a leaf descending. May it carry in its descent the blessed hope of Eternal Life!