Agendas

On this day in 1925 Pope Pius XI named Saint Therese of Lisieux a Saint of the Catholic Church! What a wonderful day of celebration for we who hold a special devotion to her. The popularity of this Saint and Doctor of the Church comes from the wonderful simplicity of her spirituality, but we would be wise to not miss how incredibly deep and profound the underlying principles are that rooted that seemingly simple “Little Way.” In his homily at her canonization, Pope Pius said, “Conscious of her weakness she abandoned herself entirely to God, and leaning upon Him she labored to acquire -- at the cost of every sacrifice, and of an utter yet joyous abdication of her own will -- the perfection she arrived at.” Therese’s spirituality is all too often summed up by lines from her autobiography like “doing ordinary things with extraordinary love.” She is sometimes turned into a figure of Catholic superstition through Novenas prayed with the hopes of “receiving a rose” as she fulfills her promise to spend her “time in heaven doing good on earth.” However, these words of Pope Pius do not describe a surface, saccharin love for Jesus. Nor do they describe someone who sits in heaven waiting to be our own personal favor grantor. Rather they describe the inner workings of the heart of a mystic: a Saint with a spiritual depth far more intense than we may catch at an initial glance. In the quote above, Pius is saying that in order to achieve a state of perfection she embraced every sacrifice necessary, and completely abandoned her own will in favor of the will of God: and she did it with joy. Following the way of Saint Therese involves far more than invoking her catch phrases, and repeating sweet lines from her poetry. It involves embracing her disposition of total abandonment. Part of what makes Therese so wonderfully unique and figure who stands out so prominently against the backdrop of the culture in which we live is how she lived her life with only one agenda: Jesus Christ. These days it seems like everyone has an agenda. The Presidential Election of 2016 got us talking about “agendas” didn’t it: the Republican Agenda, the Democrat Agenda, the Trump Agenda, the Clinton Agenda, etc. It’s not just in politics though. Look at the various organizations and affiliations of which we are a part. How often do well intentioned people in our churches have agendas? Different folks have different ideas about how the church should run, what ministries to participate in, and how to effect the Gospel in a contemporary age. Agendas are all around us. Abandonment to Jesus has no room for agendas: and agendas leave no room for the Gospel. Therese dedicated her entire spiritual reality to conforming her heart to that of Christ. She strove to embrace suffering when the Lord asked her to endure it: in little ways and in major ways. She desired with all her heart to become the Eucharist that she received – and that she loved so beautifully. The Opening Prayer of the Mass for her Feast Day reads: "God, our Father, you have promised your kingdom to those who are willing to become like little children. Help us to follow the way of Saint Therese with confidence, so that by her prayers we may come to know your eternal glory.” May we who profess a devotion to this Saint and Doctor of the Church indeed come to follow her way with confidence: the way that leads to the Cross of Jesus…the way that includes the Word made flesh as our only agenda.