St Therese of Lisieux, Our Little Flower

One discovers the essence of St Therese of the little flower by thinking of all she represented. In book of proverbs, she inspires us: "You that are simple, turn in here!" The yearning for a simple life can be heard in many who desire a simple life of solitude and quiet. Many look for relief from a violent city and world steeped in advertising full of compulsion to grasp and consume. In the midst of everyday struggles & personal ambition, there is a quest for meaning. A longing to see beyond oneself. To view the world with compassion through the eyes of the heart. Beneath the belief that we can have it all as self-made human beings, is the recognition that in the end we are weak & powerless. Wise spiritual guides like Thérèse tell us to embrace our powerlessness & surrender it to what the Buddhists call "the Ground of our being, in Thérèse's Christian language, "the loving hands of God." This path is simple but not easy. Wise guides tell us that this journey is often, a lifelong effort. She was a little flower plucked from the springtime of her life, facing the mystical cross with courage as she embraced her fears & strife.