What makes St. Therese "Doctor of the Church"?


Tuesday of the 2nd week of Lent

Matthew 23:1-12

The Immaculate Conception Cathedral rejoices for the Lord has visited his people through the holy relic of the Saint of Little Things, St. Therese of Lisieux.

Inasmuch as the readings for today, the 14th day of Lent, deal very harshly against evildoers and hypocrites and calls on everyone to repent so that we can be "whiter than snow", on a positive note, St. Therese is a true picture of a person of authority unlike the scribes and pharisees who were interested only in outward appearances.

St. Therese was proclaimed "Doctor of the Church" by St. Pope John Paul II last October 19, 1997.  The original "doctors" of the church - the scribes - have so little as compared to her.  What makes her "Doctor of the Church" and how do we imitate her?

First, her progression came very rapidly since she was beatified last 1923.  Two years later, she was canonized.  He message "the little way", which is the Gospel path of holiness for everyone, was recognized throughout the world.  This fruitfulness of the Holy Spirit can also be in us as we engage in life's challenges while remaining faithful to the Word of God;

Second, the main source of her spiritual experiences if God's word both Old and New Testament.  It shows her immense love for the Gospel.  The words “Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing” and “Holiness consists simply in doing God's will, and being just what God wants us to be” ring a bell in the New Testament especially in St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians and Mathews Gospel, saying "Be perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect."

Lastly, her messages were invoked by the Fathers of the Church.  Pope Paul VI proposed her as a teacher of prayer and theological hope, a model of communion with the Church.  Especially when she spoke on vocation and mission.  St. Therese said, “Then, overcome by joy, I cried, 'Jesus, my love. At last I have found my vocation. My vocation is love. In the heart of the Church, my mother, I will be love, and then I will be all things.”

Grant that we may learn from the wisdom of St. Therese whose spirituality is finding Jesus in the little things.

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