The Universality of St. Thérèse of Lisieux | The Little Way of Total Love and Surrender

About this sermon

What did St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus really mean by her famous “Little Way”? “Unless you become as little children, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.” St. Thérèse of Lisieux is one of the most beloved saints of modern times, but her spirituality can easily be misunderstood. Her littleness was never an excuse for mediocrity, spiritual laziness, or giving God only part of herself. Quite the opposite. This sermon explores one of the remarkable characteristics of St. Thérèse: her universality. She desired total surrender to God. She wanted to suffer with Christ, become little in everything, rely completely upon Divine Mercy, love everyone without exception, pray for every missionary and priest, embrace every vocation through charity, labor for the salvation of the entire world—and even desired the emptying of Purgatory. Her discovery was extraordinary: “Love is the vocation which includes all others.” St. Thérèse wanted to become love in the heart of the Church. And this reveals something crucial about the Little Way. Thérèse did ordinary and seemingly insignificant things because those were the duties God placed before her in the cloister—not because she believed Catholics should settle for doing as little as possible. Her Little Way meant doing everything as well as she possibly could, entirely for the love of God. No half measures. No calculated minimum. Total surrender. May St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face teach us to become little before God while loving Him with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, pray for us! 00:00 Unless You Become as Little Children 00:17 The Universality of St. Thérèse 00:57 Giving Herself Completely to God 01:05 Total Surrender to Divine Love 01:47 Throwing Herself Into the Arms of God 01:55 St. Thérèse on Suffering 03:02 Why She Wanted to Be Little in Everything 03:35 Appearing Before God With Empty Hands 04:01 Love in the Heart of the Church 04:41 Loving Everyone Without Exception 05:22 Mercy Toward Her “Enemies” 06:04 Seeking God’s Infinite Mercy 06:20 Praying for the Salvation of the Whole World 07:00 Her Extraordinary Profession-Day Intention 07:27 St. Thérèse and Purgatory 07:41 “I Want to Do It All” 08:14 The Universal Heart of St. Thérèse 08:44 Loving God With Everything 09:08 Have We Misunderstood the Little Way? 09:26 Littleness Does NOT Mean Half Measures 09:50 Total Self-Abnegation 10:07 The True Little Way 10:23 St. Thérèse, Pray for Us #StTherese #StThereseOfLisieux #LittleWay #LittleFlower #Catholic #CatholicFaith #CatholicSaints #CatholicChurch #Catholicism #SpiritualChildhood #DivineMercy #Carmelite #CarmeliteSpirituality #StoryOfASoul #JesusChrist #CatholicHomily #CatholicSermon #TraditionalCatholic #Holiness #SensusFidelium For more please go to http://www.reginaprophetarum.org 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 ✝️ SUPPORT THE MISSION 🙏 Donate https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ 📬 Free Catholic Newsletter https://sensusfidelium.com/newsletter/ 📰 Read on Substack https://sensusfidelium.substack.com/ ──────────────────── 📺 WATCH & READ 📺 Sensus Fidelium App https://sensusfidelium.tv/ 📚 Sensus Fidelium Press https://sensusfideliumpress.com/ 👕 Official Merchandise https://sensusfidelium.com/merchandise/ ──────────────────── 🤝 PARTNER WITH US 📣 Advertise on Sensus Fidelium https://sensusfidelium.com/advertise-with-sensus-fidelium/ 🎤 Invite Steve Cunningham to Speak https://sensusfidelium.com/speaking/ ⛪ Parish Formation & Consultation https://sensusfidelium.com/for-parishes/ ──────────────────── 🌎 CATHOLIC COMMUNITY ✝️ Trusted Catholic Businesses https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴

Topics

• Love & Compassion
• Obedience