An Easy Way to Become a Saint lays out St. Therese’s Little Way to Heaven, offering readers the way to sanctity that all Christians are called to. Read on to understand the two kinds of saints the Lord calls.
There are saints and saints. Some we may call “extraordinary saints” and some “ordinary saints.”
Extraordinary saints are raised up by God for some extraordinary mission, and to these God gives extraordinary means to carry out that mission. Such were, for instance, St. Dominic, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Ignatius Loyola and a host of others.
Now these extraordinary saints, inspired by God, used extraordinary means to achieve their great ends. They labored incessantly, spent long hours in prayer, fasted rigorously and did severe penance. God favored them with supernatural visions and revelations and gave them the power of working miracles.
Ordinary Christians are not called upon to do such mighty deeds, nor are they asked or advised to imitate the long prayers, the rigorous fasts of these extraordinary saints.
There is, however, a second class of saints, ordinary saints. Bear in mind that these saints are no less saints than the others; they are true saints and have reached exalted heights of sanctity, though in a different way. They lead humble, simple lives, performing their daily duties well and using the ordinary but abundant means of sanctity given by God to all Christians.
These means we too can use, and by them we can attain a high degree of holiness.
We have a striking example in our own days of a canonized saint who was actually given to us as an example of how to become holy, by what she herself tells us is the easy, the “little way” to Heaven.
St. Therese of Lisieux never worked a miracle, never enjoyed heavenly visions, never did anything extraordinary, but she did well all that she did. She tells us that she went to Heaven in an elevator.
In the Carmelite convent in which she lived, none of the sisters remarked anything wonderful in her conduct. She was sweet and joyful and was the sunshine of the community. Possibly some of the other sisters prayed longer and did more rigorous penances than she did.
An incident which took place before her death shows how simple and unpretentious was her life.
It was the custom in the convent for the prioress to write a short account of the life of each sister after that sister’s death. During the illness of St. Therese, two sisters were heard speaking of this. One said to the other, “Poor Mother Prioress, whatever will she find to write about poor little Sister Therese?”
Yet this dear little saint began to work so many wonders after her death and obtain so many favors for those who had recourse to her that the whole world rang with her praises. She was solemnly canonized after a remarkably short time.
What a consolation she offers to those who wish to be holy! Hers was the little, the easy way, the elevator by which we, too, no matter how weak we are, can go to Heaven.
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This article is taken from a chapter in An Easy Way to Become a Saint by Fr. Paul O’Sullivan, OP which is available from TAN Books.
