Do All with Love (04/29/2024)

The Catholic Community in our area is getting a new name; we are called the St. Thérèse of Lisieux Pastorate. And that shift has caused me to step back and consider the example of this saint for my own life. I already knew several things about her. Perhaps my favorite was her advice to “Do all that you do with love.”

I learned a long time ago that others who share our journey impact our journey, sometimes as blessings, sometimes as lessons, sometimes as challenges, sometimes as all three. As I think of St. Thérèse of Lisieux being part of my journey, our journey, those in our area, I see her and her life as blessing to us, full of lessons, challenging us to use our lives well.

As I said earlier, one of my favorite quotes from St. Thérèse of Lisieux is “Do all that you do with love.” What could we become as a pastorate, as a community of believers, if we lived that recognizing that it is Jesus’ desire for us, Jesus’ command for us? What a blessing it is to have direction, such clarity.

I think of St. Thérèse of Lisieux and look to her life for lessons to be learned. Perhaps her greatest is to do small things with great love. I think of how often we don’t do the small things because we don’t believe they matter one way or the other. But St. Thérèse of Lisieux reminds us that any action done out of love and with love matters. Imagine a community of thousands doing small loving things daily, day after day.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s life and example challenge us today to put down our excuses and pick up our own crosses and follow in Jesus’ footsteps. The life of this young woman who never traveled is remembered worldwide. It’s not our exterior travel that defines us as much as our interior movement to the truth woven in our very being, to the love of the LORD, the source of our being and the destination to which we journey. And every step along the way must be made in love, with love, for love and through love.

When I think of St. Thérèse of Lisieux and all the other saints and of love, I recognize it is not the love of the movie “Love Story” but rather the love demonstrated most profoundly upon a cross on Calvary. It is not trite sayings or sentimental offerings, it is the transformation of lives and souls, it is life, it is the only source of life in abundance, it is our LORD calling us into being and sharing His very being with us.

I like the idea of St. Thérèse of Lisieux being our patron saint. I like the idea of us seeking to “do all that you do with love.” Wherever you are as you read this today, I ask you to consider adopting St. Thérèse of Lisieux as a patron for your journey, an example for your journey.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.