Walter and Amy explore the deeper aspects of St. Thérèse’s spirituality related to the problem of suffering. Whether it was losing her parents at a young age, enduring the loneliness of rejection, or her own physical suffering, Thérèse bore her crosses with equanimity and even joy. Join Walter and Amy’s discussion of this perennial mystery: Why does Christ allow us to suffer? What purpose does it serve in our sanctification? How can we redeem our experiences of pain and rejection in order to live a more Christ-like life?
Reflective Questions
Have you watched a loved one suffer? What did you experience?
Have you felt insignificant or unnoticed? What can you learn from the life of St. Thérèse?
Reading
This episode: Heather King’s Shirt of Flame, Chapters 9 and 10
Next episode: Heather King’s Shirt of Flame, Chapters 11 and 12
Prayer
Lord, when the world tells me I am nothing, help me to remember that you are not of the world.
When everything I do turns to ashes, help me to remember to turn to you.
When everywhere I turn is a blank wall, help me to see your face.
When I feel like an orphan, help me to remember that you are my Father.
When I feel like a frightened bird in a dead universe, help me to remember that love reigns eternal.
When I feel like I’m being stripped down to nothing, help me to know
that you are especially near.1
Resources
Heather King’s Shirt of Flame: A Year with St. Thérèse of Lisieux
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Novena (traditionally July 7th-16th)
Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement
Hosts: Walter Emerson and Amy Chase
Contact: podcast@heroic-hearts.com
Follow us on Instagram! heroic2hearts
King, Heather. Shirt of Flame: A Year with St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2011.
St. Thérèse on Suffering