St. Theresa and Her Sacrifices

ST. THERESA AND HER SACRIFICES

Pope St. Pius X said that St. Theresa of Lisieux is the greatest saint of modern times. Now that's quite a statement to make. St. Therese is known for her Little Way, which is a way to get to Heaven, by doing little things for God.

When St. Theresa was preparing for her First Communion, she used the time well and made many little sacrifices. She offered these sacrifices to the Child Jesus, and by doing so, she was making Him a soft cradle to rest in, when He came to visit her at her First Holy Communion.

A few months before her First Communion, little Theresa counted these sacrifices and marked them down in a book which Pauline had given to her. Among these sacrifices there was one very hard one which she had to make every day. Now, St. Theresa's mother had died when she was only four years old, and that is why her sisters and her father had to bring her up. To continue; Theresa was very fond of reading and she could have spent the whole day reading her books, but her sisters had decided that half an hour a day, was enough for her. So as soon as the half hour was up, little Theresa would immediately shut her book, even if she was in the middle of an interesting page.

Theresa made many other sacrifices as well, to please Our Lord. Often when she was at school, during recess, she would give up her favourite games, and play those which the others liked. When it came to meals, she would eat what was given to her and she would not grumble or fuss if she was not given what she most wanted.

One day Theresa's father told Celine that he would allow her to have drawing lessons. Then turning to Theresa, who had long wanted to learn how to draw, he asked her. But before she had time to answer, Marie said that it would not be worthwhile for Theresa to take drawing lessons, as she did not have the same tastes as Celine. Theresa need only have said a word, and her wish would have been granted, but she wanted to make a big sacrifice for Jesus, so she kept silent.

It's not very often that you can do great things for God, but you can all make little sacrifices for Jesus, every day, and that will be very pleasing to Him. And all you need to do is ask Jesus and Mary and St. Theresa to help you make many little sacrifices, and before long, you too, will be doing like St. Theresa. Life is so short; as you get older the time seems to go faster and faster. If you train yourself now to make little sacrifices, then you will have a good habit, and with God's help, you should be able to continue to do so as you grow older.

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