“When one loves, one does not calculate.”

Today is the feast day of St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. I have always had a bit of a crush on the "Little Flower." St. Therese of Lisieux and I would have been perfect for each other. I don't mean to be flippant or sacrilegious. Look, I accept that she was a Carmelite nun and that I'm a seminarian. I accept that she is 115 years older than me. But there is some major chemistry between us. We both love Jesus. We both love to write. We both have incredible parents who cared enough to teach us the Catholic faith. We both speak French. Un peu. Sort of. St. Therese and her intercessions have made me a better man. That's incredibly attractive.

(J'aime St. Therese.)

My devotion to Therese began in first grade. I attended Shrine of the Little Flower grade school in Royal Oak, Michigan. Under her watchful gaze, I forged lifelong friendships with my classmates and with Jesus Christ. I heard romantic stories of Therese doing "little things with great love" and showering the earth with roses from Heaven after she passed into eternal life. What a beautifully accessible spirituality for a child! In third grade, the relics of St. Therese made its way to the Detroit-area. I remember the Knights of Columbus processing through the shrine with her earthly remains as faithful men and women from the around the world venerated this great saint. In fifth grade, we organized a can drive to renovate a statue of St. Therese that had fallen into disrepair (Michigan gives you a $0.10 deposit per can. Its awesome). As you can see, I grew up knowing more about St. Therese than any other saint. The more I learned about her, the more I loved her.

(The Shrine)

Therese remained with me as my faith matured. In college, I wrote my senior thesis about the connection between the "Little Way" adopted by St. Therese and Blessed Mother Theresa and the "dark night of the soul" experienced by both of these women. I won't bore you with too many details. St. Therese and Mother Theresa were small in stature and status. They possessed an insatiable love for Christ. How did they reconcile their physical and social minuteness with their passion for the Gospel? They performed the most mundane tasks with great love for Jesus. St. Therese writes about the love she sought to exhibit while folding laundry and patiently enduring the ramblings of a fellow Carmelite sister. Mother Theresa never sought the notoriety she received  I mean, her ministry began with taking the terminally ill off of the street and providing them with a roof, blanket, and meal during the last hours of their lives. I wanted to instill this spiritual simplicity in my students, many of whom were at square one in their faith journey. When we started a "house system" at St. Thomas More Catholic Academy, I named my house "The Manor of St. Therese of Lisieux." It is legitimate. We have a shield and mascot and everything. Like I said, Therese has been everywhere in my life.

(Go Eagles)

At Mass this morning, Fr. Oxley talked about the perceived friction or incongruence between the "Little Way" of St. Therese and the "masculine" spirituality that so many of us possess. He has a point. I want my faith to look something like this:

(President Reagan defending the American Way with a Velociraptor and an automatic weapon)

(Was that caption really necessary?)

(Well there's Jack, standing tough in the face of martyrdom at the Coliseum!)

As men, we want our faith to be BIG and LOUD and COURAGEOUS and LEGENDARY. I want to calculate the impact of my Christian witness. How many people will I reach? How many basilicas will I build? How many souls will I save? While waiting for an major opportunity to take a stand defending the Church's honor or loudly proclaiming the Gospel, we often miss the little chances to love Jesus. As I fantasize about jousting against Satan and storming the gates of Hell armed with a lightsaber and riding titanium Shadowfax, I can forget to wish a good morning to one of my brother seminarians or thank a professor for an enlightening lecture. This is why St. Therese is so important to me. She reminds me that 99.9% of my life will be spent loving God through small acts of faith, hope, and charity. Most of these will not be seen by others.  Therese is a "Doctor" of the Church. This means that the Church has recognized her for a significant theological contribution to the Catholic faith. The Little Flower's contribution encourages us to LOVE 24/7/365. We are to love and praise God without ceasing. You have the opportunity to do that on your lunch break. You have the opportunity to do that while brushing your teeth. You have the opportunity to do that during happy hour. You have the opportunity to do that now. 

St. Therese is the patron saint of missionaries. Please continue to remember my brother Tom in your prayers as he continues his ministry in South Sudan. You can read his latest blog post riiiiight here.