St. Therese of Lisieux, also known as the Little Flower lived her life in childlike simplicity… By surrendering herself completely to the everlasting love of God, she learned to do all things – no matter if big or small, with great love. And it is my hope that these beautiful lessons and the meaning behind them will inspire you to do the same.

24 Life-Changing Lessons to Learn from St. Therese of Lisieux

1. Let us love, since that is what our hearts were made for. ~ St. Therese of Lisieux

2. An innocent soul never loves God as much as a repentant one.

“I have often heard it said in retreats and elsewhere that an innocent soul never loves God as much as a repentant one, and how I long to prove that is not true.” ~ St. Therese of Lisieux

3. Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice…

“… here by a smiling look, there, by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love… A word or a smile is often enough to put fresh life in a despondent soul.” ~ St. Thérèse de Lisieux

4. Love can accomplish all things…

“… Things that are most impossible become easy where love is at work.” ~ St. Therese of Lisieux

5. All we accomplish, however brilliant, is worth nothing without love.

“I understood that all we accomplish, however brilliant, is worth nothing without love.” ~ St. Therese of Lisieux

6. Trust and trust alone should lead us to love. ~ St. Therese of Lisieux

7. Nothing is small in the eyes of God. Do all that you do with love.

“I understood that love comprises all vocations – that love is everything, and because it is eternal, embraces all times and places.” ~ St. Therese of Lisieux

8. God does not need years to accomplish His work of love in a soul.

“The good God does not need years to accomplish His work of love in a soul; one ray from His Heart can, in an instant, make His flower bloom for eternity.” ~ St. Therese of Lisieux

9. Cast your eyes upon a multitude of little souls.

“I implore You, cast Your eyes upon a multitude of little souls; choose from this world, I beg of You, a legion of little victims worthy of Your love.”

10. It pleases Him to create great Saints…

“… who may be compared with the lilies or the rose; but He has also created little ones, who must be content to be daisies or violets, nestling at His feet to delight His eyes when He should choose to look at them. The happier they are to be as He wills, the more perfect they are.” ~ St. Therese of Lisieux

11. Kindness is my only guiding star.

“… In its light, I sail a straight route, I have my motto written on my sail: ‘To live in love… To live in love is to sail forever, spreading seeds of joy and peace in hearts.”

12. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. ~ St. Therese of Lisieux

13. Joy does not reside in the things about us, but in the very depths of the soul.

. “I learned from experience that joy does not reside in the things about us, but in the very depths of the soul, that one can have it in the gloom of a dungeon as well as in the palace of a king.”

14. If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness.

“The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of it’s scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness.” ~ St. Therese of Lisieux

15. Holiness consists simply in doing God’s will…

“… and being just what God wants us to be.” ~ St. Thérèse de Lisieux

16. When one loves, one does not calculate. ~ St. Thérèse de Lisieux

“God would never inspire me with desires which cannot be realized; so in spite of my littleness, I can hope to be a saint.” ― St. Thérèse de Lisieux, Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux

“When I die, I will send down a shower of roses from the heavens,I will spend my heaven by doing good on earth.” ― St.Therese of Lisieux

17. Charity consists in bearing all our neighbors’ defects.

“I know now that true charity consists in bearing all our neighbors’ defects–not being surprised at their weakness, but edified at their smallest virtues.” ~ St. Therese of Lisieux

18. I can nourish myself on nothing but truth. ~ St. Therese of Lisieux

19. Simply live from one moment to another.

“If I did not simply live from one moment to another, it would be impossible for me to be patient, but I only look at the present, I forget the past, and I take good care not to forestall the future.” ~ St. Thérèse de Lisieux

20. If a little flower could speak, it would tell us quite simply all that God has done for it…

“If a little flower could speak, it seems to me that it would tell us quite simply all that God has done for it, without hiding any of its gifts. It would not, under the pretext of humility, say that it was not pretty, or that it had not a sweet scent, that the sun had withered its petals,or the storm bruised its stem, if it knew that such were not the case.” ~ St. Thérèse de Lisieux

21. My whole strength lies in prayer and sacrifice.

“… these are my invincible arms; they can move hearts far better than words, I know it by experience.”

22. It is better to leave each one in his own opinion than to enter into arguments. ~ St. Therese of Lisieux

23. The power of prayer is certainly wonderful.

“… One might liken it to a queen who always has free access to the king and can obtain everything she asks.”

“I have not the courage to force myself to seek beautiful prayers in books; not knowing which to choose I act as children do who cannot read; I say quite simply to the good God what I want to tell Him, and He always understands me.”

23. A soul in a state of grace has nothing to fear of demons who are cowards. ~ St. Therese of Lisieux

Bonus: St. Therese of Lisieux Quotes

“On each fresh occasion of combat, when the enemy desires to challenge me, I conduct myself valiantly: knowing that to fight a duel is an unworthy act, I turn my back upon the adversary without ever looking him in the face; then I run to my Jesus and tell Him I am ready to shed every drop of blood in testimony of my belief that there is a Heaven, I tell Him I am glad to be unable to contemplate, while on earth, with the eyes of the soul, the beautiful Heaven that awaits me so He will deign to open it for eternity to poor unbelievers.”

“Love proves itself by deeds.”

“I am convinced that one should tell one’s spiritual director if one has a great desire for Communion, for Our Lord does not come from Heaven every day to stay in a golden ciborium; He comes to find another heaven, the heaven of our soul in which He loves to dwell.”

“When Charity is deeply rooted in the soul it shows itself exteriorly: there is so gracious a way of refusing what we cannot give, that the refusal pleases as much as the gift.”

“He whose Heart ever watcheth, taught me, that while for a soul whose faith equals but a tiny grain of mustard seed, He works miracles, in order that this faith which is so weak may be fortified; yet for His intimate friends, for His Mother, He did not work miracles until He had put their faith to test.”

“Each prayer is more beautiful than the others. I cannot recite them all and not knowing which to choose, I do like children who do not know how to read, I say very simply to God what I wish to say, without composing beautiful sentences, and He always understands me. For me, prayer is an aspiration of the heart, it is a simple glance directed to heaven, it is something great, supernatural, which expands my soul and unites me to Jesus.”

Even now I know it: yes, all my hopes will be fulfilled… yes… the Lord will work wonders for me which will surpass infinitely my immeasurable desires.”

“Only God can see what is in the bottom of our hearts; we are half-blind.”

“I do not well see what more I shall have in Heaven than now. I shall see the good God, it is true; but as to being with Him, I am wholly with Him already upon earth.”

~love, Luminita💫

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