𝘛𝘩𝘦 “𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘺” 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦́𝘳𝘦̀𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux has become one of the most popular saints in the past 100 years, and whenever her name is brought up, so too is her “Little Way.”

However, not everyone is familiar with this phrase.

What is the “Little Way”?

She wrote about this spiritual pathway in her autobiography Story of a Soul.

Throughout her life St. Thérèse wanted to become a saint. Yet, in her eyes, her life wasn’t all that extraordinary. She compared herself to other saints and thought she could never reach the same heights of sanctity.

𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘚𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵, 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘳-𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵, 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘴.

Instead of being discouraged, St. Thérèse trusted in God and believed that it was in her “littleness” that she could become a saint.

𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘐 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴; 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺—𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘸.

This “Little Way,” consisted in performing “little virtues,” not seeking grandiose sacrifices to God, but little acts of holiness.

𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦—𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.

Frequently she would recall the image of a little child and how we should be that child, trusting in our loving Father, always striving for Heaven, even when we make mistakes.

𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬. 𝘐𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘣 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴. 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥. 𝘈𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘣 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭. 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘏𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘳𝘮𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘏𝘪𝘮. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩.

St. Thérèse never left the Carmelite monastery, didn’t become a martyr, and would have been lost to history if it weren’t for her autobiography.

Her “Little Way” reminds us that anyone can become a saint, whether they are a garbage truck driver, a sales clerk at a retail store, or even a retired grandparent. All are called to holiness. What we must do is strive for holiness in our everyday lives and place our trust in God.

Source: Fear Not