Saint Therese of the Child Jesus

I was never particularly drawn to Saint Therese of the Child Jesus. But now, upon reading about her a couple of days after her feast day this year, this quote caught my eye:

"We all have daily opportunities of grace. Some of them may be too small to see, but the more we love God the more we will see them. If we can't advance to heaven in giant strides, we can do it in tiny little steps. Our weakness is no excuse for mediocrity." - Saint Therese of the Child Jesus (1873 - 1897)

Our weakness is no excuse for mediocrity. Wow. Hebigat. I continued reading on. I found out that even with her physical frailty, she was quite headstrong. Paano kamo? Heto:

At 15, she asked the pope (Leo XIII) herself that she be allowed to enter Carmel.

At 17, Saint Therese confided to a visiting Jesuit of her desire to be a saint of Christ. The Jesuit thought that she was quite proud to say this. Saint Therese replied, "Why Father? Since our Lord has said, "’Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.’" Boom!

Even at such a young age, Saint Therese recognized the importance of being earnest. She was audacious. Strong-willed. Zealous.

She died at 24, and I’m sure she spent every minute of her life doing good and dedicating everything she had to God. Saint Therese didn’t actually go anywhere and everywhere, but she was made co-patron saint of missionaries and the missions with Saint Francis Xavier. She was made Doctor of the Church because of her spiritual maturity and wisdom.

Taray!