Last Sunday was Good Shepherd Sunday, but a lifetime wouldn't be enough time to ponder the meaning of Our Lord's love for us expressed in this image. By "this image" I mean the figure He has given us of Himself as the Good Shepherd, but I suppose I also mean "this image" above! 

Our picture today is taken from the new Chapel of Christ the King on the campus of Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia (though happily it graced the old Chapel of Christ the King there too). This new chapel is a special gift to the Church because it is gloriously resplendent with art, architecture, and thoughtful, deliberate decor (from the tiles in the floor to the number of stars in the sky) that raise the heart and mind high, high up to God our loving Father, but it was also a special gift to me because the first time I saw it, this past January, was hot on the heels of my trip back to Lisieux. Back home from our pilgrimage I was a titch heart-broken that my favorite church (the Basilica of St. Therese in Lisieux) was again so very far away. But then I got to spend time in the Chapel of Christ the King at Christendom and lo and behold, Jesus had given me a new favorite chapel that was so much closer than France!

But what Marcel and I wanted to do here in this post wasn't primarily to sing the praises of our favorite chapel, but rather to expound a bit on the Little Way with the help of our sister (and its chief exponent, after Jesus), St. Therese.

I received an email recently from a man who, having read some of our musings here and also our magnum opus Something New with St. Therese, Her Eucharistic Miracle, asked, "How do I really live the Little Way, practically speaking, day by day?"

What a great question!

I answered him:

I know exactly what you mean - after we find Therese (or she finds us, or we realize she's found us!), the big question becomes "What is this little way?" And it is so elusive because it is so counterintuitive and countercultural, even as we realize it fits us perfectly.

The Little Way is recognizing our littleness and loving it, but even better is the quote that our Holy Father Francis uses to begin his apostolic exhortation on little Therese and her Little Way:

"It is confidence and nothing but confidence that must lead us to Love!"

He even says this sentence alone could have gained her the title Doctor of the Church!
So what does it mean?

The littleness we see in ourselves so constantly is a spur to do that little nothing she refers to as abandoning oneself as a little child in his Father's arms, which is inspired by not only our knowledge of our own littleness and our acceptance of it in peace, but our realization that God loves us so much and wants to care for us completely.

Her sister Celine said she wanted Therese canonized so that her Little Way would spread through the world . . . and I just read that her sister Marie (of the Sacred Heart) told the interviewers at the same Canonical Process (regarding why she thought her sister should be beatified):

"I desire it because I think the good God desires it and will be glorified by it . . . Sister Therese of the Child Jesus teaches us to go to Him with confidence and love . . . Therefore I regard Sister Therese of the Child Jesus as the apostle, the chosen messenger of the Lord in these times, who is to announce to all the infinite Love He has for us."

This infinite love He has for us has to come into our answer about the Little Way.

I think another way to express it is this:
It's a beautiful gaze between us and the Father, this Little Way. We don't want it to be just us looking at ourselves, but perhaps as the Fatima children said about one of the special graces they received, they saw themselves in God (rather than just seeing themselves) and this meant they saw His incomparable love for them too. 

So looking into the Father's (or Jesus') eyes, we see how much we are loved, or simply that we are loved just as we are, and we are grateful for our littleness (that we are so often or constantly "faced with") because it means we don't have to leave our Father's arms, or the Good Shepherd's arms, to accomplish things, but rather we need to stay right there and go with God while He accomplishes things with us along for the ride.

I think, too, of Our Lord's saying recorded in John 14: "Let not your hearts be troubled." I think that sums up the Little Way too.

*   *   *

Those are the words I wrote about the Little Way to the inquirer, but I think we can do even better than my impressions of the Little Way by going to the source. Well, maybe not going to the Source directly, exactly (which would be the Gospels and time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament), but we can take a shortcut by going to the one who brings us the living water she has found and shares so freely. Our sister Therese is a Doctor of the Church because whether she brings us a thimbleful or a tennis can full, she has the mission of helping Jesus help us drink from His overflowing torrents of love. As a girl I would get fresh, cold, clear water from the American River with a metal tennis can as my cup while my parents used the tennis balls on the old, rustic, outdoor court near Strawberry Lodge amidst the Jefferson Pines and sunshine, so I have wonderful memories of how refreshing water can be. Imagine the Living Water our Savior has promised! If we knew, we would ask, as He told the Samaritan woman. 

Here is some of that refreshing and life-giving Water flowing from the Font of Mercy and collected in  the words of our sister. I'm stealing from a post originally "published" here on October 1, 2020, Therese's feast. Along with the image of the Good Shepherd, I hope these quotations make vivid the Little Way and set your feet dancing along it.

From St. Therese:

1. Jesus does not demand great actions, but simply surrender and gratitude. 

2. He alone disposes the events of our life of exile . . . It is the hand of Jesus that guides everything.

3. I assure you that the good Lord is much kinder than you can imagine. He is satisfied with a glance, with a sigh of love.

4. In spite of all obstacles, God accomplishes what He wills. . . . The work I had been unable to do in ten years was done by Jesus in one instant . . .

5. We can never have too much confidence in the good God who is so mighty and so merciful. We obtain from Him as much as we hope for.

6. God knows our weakness. He remembers that we are but dust. As a father is tender toward his children, so is the Lord compassionate towards us.

7. God is too good, too generous to give His favors meagerly.

8. Your arms, my Jesus, are the elevator which will take me up to Heaven. There is no need for me to grow up; on the contrary, I must stay little, and become more and more so.

9. Jesus will come for us, however far away we may be from Him, and will set us afire with His love.

10. I will spend my heaven in doing good upon earth. Do not the angels take care of us while still enjoying the Beatific Vision?

*   *   *

I love these wise words, but then, too, our sister can be so funny and so very clever! Her cousin in the convent, Sister Marie (Guerin) of the Eucharist, asked the dying Therese to obtain great graces for her once Therese was in heaven. Therese responded: 

"Oh! when I am in heaven, I will do very many things, great things . . . It is impossible that it is not God who has given me this desire; I am sure He will answer me! And also, when I am up there, I will follow you closely!"

To which Marie replied that this would frighten her! But her cousin (our sister) had the perfect answer:

"Does your guardian angel frighten you? He follows you nevertheless, all the time. Well, I will follow you in the same way, and even closer! I won't let anything pass you."

And here is some advice from our little Doctor on prayer, that is, conversing with our Father about all that we need (for us and for our dear ones and the whole world). I've quoted her brilliance on this more than once over the years, and you may recognize in Therese's wisdom the words from Song of Songs with which we conclude our posts here. The passage I quote comes the last part of Story of a Soul (Manuscript C).

Therese taught us a very easy way to pray. She knew that if she tried to enumerate every need of those she loved and whom God had entrusted to her, "the days would never be long enough," and she feared she would forget something important. But she is forever reminding us that Jesus is tenderly solicitous to all our needs, and this is a prime example. She explains: 

"For simple souls there must be no complicated ways; as I am of their number, one morning during my thanksgiving, Jesus gave me a simple means of accomplishing my mission.

"He made me understand these words of the Canticle of Canticles: 'DRAW ME, WE SHALL RUN after You in the odor of Your ointments.' O Jesus, it is not even necessary to say: 'When drawing me, draw the souls whom I love!' This simple statement: 'Draw me' suffices; I understand, Lord, that when a soul allows herself to be captivated by the odor of your ointments, she cannot run alone, all the souls whom she loves follow in her train; this is done without constraint, without effort, it is a natural consequence of her attraction for You. Just as a torrent, throwing itself with impetuosity into the ocean, drags after it everything it encounters in its passage, in the same way, O Jesus, the soul who plunges into the shoreless ocean of Your Love, draws with her all the treasures she possesses."

And so, with simplicity, gratitude, and joy, we pray with Therese to our adorable Jesus that not only we, but all souls will come to know the Little Way and hasten along it:

Draw me, we will run!

P.S. Marcel wants to add a few words because after he asked Therese to be his big sister and she silently said yes, then she said yes a little more loudly and began to teach him the Little Way in person! It was on a Thursday in October 1941 when she first spoke to him, and thanks to the insistence of Fr. Anthony Boucher, his Redemptorist spiritual director and novice master, Marcel wrote them down in his Autobiography, and thanks to Fr. Boucher's twenty years of translating (from Vietnamese into French) and our friend and benefactor Jack Keogan's twenty years of translating (from French into English), voila, we get to hear more of Therese's teaching too!.

In his Autobiography (600), Marcel recounts that she told him:

"Never fear God. He is the all-loving Father. He knows only how to love, and He wishes to be loved in return. He thirsts for our poor little hearts which come from His creative hands, and where He has placed a spark of love which comes from the very hearth of His Love. His only wish is to gather these sparks of love and unite them to His infinite love, so that our love lives on forever in His. Finally, it is still the force of the attraction of Love which will draw us into the eternal fatherland of Love. Offer all of your little heart to God. Be sincere with Him in all circumstances and in all your points of view. When you feel joy, offer Him that joy which swells your heart and, by so doing, you will transmit your joy to Him. Can there be a greater happiness than a couple loving one another and exchanging all they possess? To act in this way with God is to say thank You to Him, which pleases Him more than thousands of touching canticles. If, on the other hand, you are invaded by sadness, say to Him again with an honest heart: 'O my God, I am really unhappy!' And ask Him to help you accept this sadness with patience. Really believe this: nothing gives more pleasure to the good God than to see on this earth a heart which loves Him, who is sincere with Him with each step, with each smile, as well with tears as with little momentary pleasures."

And if I wanted to sum up the Little Way or apply it to our daily lives (which I do!), I couldn't find a better little way to do so than Marcel's! 

I can only add that when all else fails, let's follow the advice of the bigger Teresa, our holy mother in Carmel and Therese's patron, Teresa of Avila, who recommends looking at Jesus (with love) Who is always looking at us (with love). And so we return to where we started, because for a good image of Our Lord and His posture toward us, just look again at the Good Shepherd holding us, His sheep.

Little Flower, in this hour, show your power!
Marcel, give Jesus a big, smacking kiss for us, one that makes a lot of noise!
And lest we forget what we've learned again:

Jesus!
​Draw me, we will run!

Marcel and I love feasts of every kind. Kind of like a homeschooled kid hoping for the day off, we're willing to celebrate just about anything! 

Interestingly, one of our birthdays is April 7, and that is the very day the historian Daniel Rops fixes on for the first Good Friday! What a beautiful conjunction of days! And mercifully, in my lifetime these two high liturgical feasts (birthday and Good Friday) had never actually coincided. Until last year!

I thought Jesus thought I was old enough to handle it as the honor and privilege it was, but like the child I am, I had a rough day . . .

Happily, the Heavenly Father had this planned from all eternity and Jesus was ready to apologize this year so the adorable Blessed Trinity put together the Solemnity of The Birthday and the Solemnity of the Octave of Easter - better known, thanks to our beloved Papa John Paul II as Divine Mercy Sunday!

So happy birthday to one of us on the day when we are all celebrating big time!

I am such a silly that in the excitement over this birthday I forgot (as we are so prone to do, but Marcel definitely remembered!) the birthday of a dear godson named John Louis. Will you join me in praying for him today to make up for my forgetfulness?

Dear Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of Love, please bless John Louis with every possible grace You have hidden in Your Mysterious Trinitarian Oneness, including health, peace, joy, love, and union with You. 

Dear Blessed Mother, watch over your own John Louis. Bless his mom and dad and sister, his grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and godparents. Send angels to be with him always, guiding and enlightening him to become the great saint the Holy Trinity has called him to be from all eternity.

St. John, beloved apostle, St. Juan Diego, faithful lover of Our Lady and Our Lord, St. Louis, King of France, friend of St. Thomas, and wise and gentle leader, obtain great graces and miracles for your namesake John Louis and help him every step of his life to Heaven.

Dear guardian angel of John, dear Padre Pio and your angel, dear Marcel and Therese and your angels, thank you for all you've done already, and with the powerful love of God that fills all your being, love John every second of every day of his life on earth and then all through eternity in Heaven.

And last but not least, good St. Joseph and St. Andre, your herald, do that amazing thing you do and shower blessings and protection and healing upon John and his loved ones to bring glory and honor to little Jesus who obeyed you, dear Joseph, on earth and so loves to continue obeying you now in Heaven.

Amen!

+  +  +

And now a word from St. Faustina, who loves this day more than any of us can!

From her Diary, 205 - 206, also marked as (99):

+The Resurrection. Today, during the [Mass of the] Resurrection, I saw the Lord Jesus in the midst of a great light. He approached me and said, Peace be to you, My children, and He lifted up His hand and gave His blessing. The wounds in His hands, feet and side were indelible and shining. When He looked at me with such kindness and love, my whole soul drowned itself in Him. And He said to me, You have taken a great part in My Passion; therefore I now give you a great share in My joy and glory. The whole time of the Resurrection [Mass] seemed like only a minute to me. A wondrous recollection filled my soul and lasted throughout the whole festal season. The kindness of Jesus is so great that I cannot express it.

The next day, after Communion, I heard the voice saying, My daughter, look into the abyss of My mercy and give praise and glory to this mercy of Mine. Do it in this way: Gather all sinners from the entire world and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. I want to give Myself to souls; I yearn for souls, My daughter. On the day of My feast, the Feast of Mercy, you will go through the whole world and bring fainting souls to the spring of My mercy. I shall heal and strengthen them.

*   *   *

I am so bowled over by this passage!
I opened Faustina's Diary (and might I recommend the leather bound, bible paper edition? It is not clunky, it fits nicely in a purse or pocket, it feels inspired, and the binding doesn't fall apart. In short, it's a winner, and I think our father St. Alphonsus would agree, since he cared a lot that his books - those he wrote, and no doubt those he read too - were of a size and shape to be easily enjoyed) . . . but when I opened the Diary at random, I was hopeful to see what Faustina herself would say. How goofy I am not to remember that what JESUS says is the really good stuff! 

No matter. He knows our goofiness, our silliness, our forgetfulness, and most of all He knows our need for Him because He created it to match His desire to give Himself to us! And here He is, giving us peace by wishing it to us (because He's God, so His words are always efficacious, which means what He says HAPPENS), and He is giving us joy and glory because hey, you can't deny it, we've all shared His Passion whether we wished that or not! And then, how sweet that He instructs us in the easy way to save all souls today:

"Gather all sinners from the entire world and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy."

If you're like me, you might wonder how to do that. I have the answer! Let's simply ask our angels to help! They know how!

Dear angels, our guardians and friends, please gather all sinners from the entire world, including us, and immerse the whole enormous all of us into the abyss of our Jesus' mercy!

And now, it's time to go eat, pray, eat, pray, eat, pray, and eat! Wow, that's a lot of eating. Maybe some will be just snacks, but don't forget to keep your strength up for the praying, and most of all don't forget to celebrate the Love of our Merciful Savior! Happy Divine Mercy Birthday!

The best way I know to celebrate (okay, besides cupcakes!) is by gaining a plenary indulgence for a soul in purgatory, and that's so easy today. It's Sunday, so we'll all be going to Mass, and when you're in church, you can say an extra prayer and viola! If you're able to go to a special Divine Mercy Holy Hour, all the better, but in a sense, due to Jesus' excessive (infinite, even!) mercy, it's actually just the same as if you can't! What in the world do I mean? I'm really looking forward to our parish's Holy Hour today, but here is the official explanation of how to get the plenary indulgence today:


. . . the Supreme Pontiff, motivated by an ardent desire to foster in Christians this devotion to Divine Mercy as much as possible in the hope of offering great spiritual fruit to the faithful, in the Audience granted on 13 June 2002, to those Responsible for the Apostolic Penitentiary, granted the following Indulgences. . .  

a plenary indulgence, granted under the usual conditions (sacramental confession [within 20 days before or after], Eucharistic Communion and prayer for the intentions of Supreme Pontiff [Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be are often suggested but any prayers will do]) to the faithful who, on the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, in any church or chapel, in a spirit that is completely detached from the affection for a sin, even a venial sin [not hard; just ask God: in this moment please grant me to be completely detached from sin so I may gain the indulgence Holy Mother Church offers] take part in the prayers and devotions held in honour of Divine Mercy, or who, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed or reserved in the tabernacle, recite the Our Father and the Creed, adding a devout prayer to the merciful Lord Jesus (e.g. "Merciful Jesus, I trust in you!").

There it is then! If you can't make it to a special holy hour, you can recite the Our Father and the Creed and "Jesus, I trust in You!" at church today in the presence of the tabernacle!

Thank You, Jesus, for Your infinite mercy and kindness!

Draw me, we will run!

p.s. The story behind the picture at the top is HERE. Thanks be to God for His Divine Mercy and all those who share it with us!