By Sr Delphine Das, St Agnes Convent, Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Nov 8: This year, 2025, marks one hundred years since the canonization of St Therese of Lisieux, the young Carmelite nun who became one of the most beloved and influential saints of modern times.

Canonized by Pope Pius XI on May 17, 1925, St Therese, affectionately called The Little Flower of Jesus has continued to inspire hearts around the world with her simplicity, humility, and total trust in God’s love.

A Short Life that Shaped the World

Marie Françoise Therese Martin was born on January 2, 1873, in Alençon, France, as the youngest of nine children of Saints Louis and Zélie Martin, a couple later canonized for their own exemplary holiness. After the early death of her mother, Theresa’s tender and sensitive nature was shaped by both sorrow and grace. At just fifteen, moved by a deep desire to belong entirely to Jesus, she entered the Carmelite convent in Lisieux. Her life there was outwardly ordinary filled with prayer, silence, and small acts of service. But within, she was undergoing a profound spiritual transformation. She longed to love God “as He has never been loved before,” and she found her path not in grand gestures, but in doing small things with great love. Therese died of tuberculosis at the age of 24, on September 30, 1897, whispering her final words: ‘My God, I love You’. After her death, her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, was published and quickly spread across the world, touching millions of lives. Her ‘little way’ of spiritual childhood—trusting in God’s mercy and doing ordinary things with extraordinary love—became a universal call to holiness.

The Little Way: A Path for Every Heart

St Therese taught that sanctity is not reserved for the heroic few. Holiness, she said, is found in the simplicity of everyday life in patience with others, a smile offered when tired, forgiveness freely given, a prayer whispered for someone in need.

Her ‘little way’ calls us to live with love in the smallest actions, confident that God sees and treasures them all. She once wrote, ‘What matters in life is not great deeds, but great love’.

In the modern world, so often caught up in speed, achievement and comparison, her message is both countercultural and healing. She reminds that ‘we do not need to be extraordinary to be holy; we only need to love where we are, with what we have’.

Lessons for Today’s World

• Trust over fear: In an age of anxiety, Therese invites one to surrender to God’s mercy with the heart of a child who knows she is loved.
• Joy in simplicity: She teaches one to find beauty in the ordinary moments of daily life and to offer them with joy.
• Love in suffering: Therese faced illness and emotional struggles, yet transformed her pain into prayer. Her example encourages all to unite their trials with Christ’s love.
• Mission through love: Though she never left her convent, she desired to ‘be love in the heart of the Church’. Today, her spirituality continues to inspire missionaries, parents, students and all who seek meaning in humble service.

A Saint for all Generations

When Pope Pius XI canonized her in 1925, he called St Therese ‘the star of his pontificate’. Later, in 1997, Pope St John Paul II declared her a Doctor of the Church, recognizing the profound wisdom hidden in her simple writings. Her feast day, October 1, is celebrated with joy across the globe. From the quiet streets of Lisieux to bustling cities and remote villages, devotion to the Little Flower blooms everywhere—her relics have travelled across continents, her words have consoled countless souls and her intercession continues to bring hope and healing.

The Centenary: A Call to Live Her Way

As the church commemorates 100 years of her canonization, the faithful are invited not merely to admire St Therese but to imitate her. Her life serves as a reminder that holiness is not about performing spectacular deeds but about loving God in the smallest details of life.

In families, workplaces and communities, one can follow her ‘little way’ by choosing kindness over judgment, patience over irritation, forgiveness over resentment. The smallest act of love, done for God, can transform the world.

Her Words Still Echo

“I will spend my heaven doing good on earth.” And indeed, she has. For a century, her ‘shower of roses’ has fallen upon souls who seek peace, love and trust in God.

The Flower Still Blooms

A hundred years after her canonization, St Therese of Lisieux remains a living reminder that holiness is within reach for everyone. Her fragrance of love and simplicity continues to fill the world, presenting an invitation to each of us to walk the ‘little way’ of love that leads to heaven.

“Let us love, since that is what our hearts were made for.” — St Therese of Lisieux.