Part 01 - Our Call to Holiness

We all must become saints. It does not require much time to make a saint; it only requires much love. We become saints by following our station in life and relating all of our actions to our Lord: We must integrate Sanctity with whatever we are doing.

Part 02- The Path to Holiness and God

Saints are ordinary people who strive for perfection. We grow old physically; we can never grow old spiritually: The closer we get to God, the younger we become.

Part 03 - Love's Delays

We cannot be in a hurry. Patience teaches humility. Be prepared for Love's delays, but don't give up. Never lose heart. First the fast; then the Feast. First the Cross; then the Resurrection. 

Part 04 - The Mystery of Death

St. Therese wanted to be with her beloved. The Little Flower did not fear death; she said she knew she was going to heaven: I will not remain inactive in heaven. I will spend my heaven in doing good upon the earth. We celebrate the death date of canonized saints rather than their birth date because earthly death is not the end, but rather the beginning of eternal life.  

Part 05 - The Mystery of Suffering

 Our Lord uses us; He invites us to share His Cross. Our sufferings are the continuation of the Passion of Christ for the sake of His Mystical Body, the Church. Christ is in those who suffer. We bring consolation to Christ through our sufferings. 

Part 06 - Her Little Way

St. Therese's little way is the way of Love. Grow in holiness: think of Christ, not of yourself. Fall in love with Him; make Him the center of your life. Evangelize the world by following Christ.

Part 07 - Her Gift of Self to God

What does it mean to be a Saint? God continues the Incarnation through us: Will you give me your human nature? We must be willing to allow God to use us as it pleases Him. St Therese gave herself perfectly to our Lord to be His alone.

Part 08 - The Diabolic

These are days of combat: of conflict between good and evil. Three marks of the diabolic: immorality, violence, and distraught minds. If we belong completely to God we do not need to fear the devil. The Holy Name of Jesus is the greatest weapon against the devil; secondly, invoking the Precious Blood: these are the "two arms" of defense against the diabolic.

 Part 09 - Her Imitation of Christ

Our Lord transferred onto Himself our sufferings: physical, mental, and moral (or guilt). St Therese desired to be a Victim for the sins of the world, as our Lord Himself did to save the souls of others. To offer oneself as a victim to Divine Love is not to offer oneself to sweetness and to consolation but to every bitterness, for love lives only by sacrifice; and the more a soul wills to be surrendered to love, the more must she must surrendered to sacrifice.

Part 10 - The Virtue of Humility

Jesus, though being God, emptied Himself for us; He became Nothing for our sake. If we have no emptiness, there is no room for God; He can't get in. Humility is Truth. The way of Humility is the way of Nothingness: To remain little is to recognize our nothingness. We were made from nothing, and only when we become nothing again will we get back to God.

Part 11 - The Precious Blood

People think there is no such thing as guilt. Sin has been denied and rationalized as sickness. There are no penitents; there are only patients. Sin is a serious offense. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Therese was a deep theologian. She understood that the Blood of Christ is the cordial balm that will heal all sins. Let no one despair: the blood of Christ has paid all debts if we but invoke it. 



These eleven talks on St. Therese the Little Flower were given by the great Archbishop Fulton Sheen in Ireland at a Carmelite monastery in 1973, on the occasion of the Centenary of her birth. Hear the beloved Archbishop as he speaks on the spirituality of Saint Therese of Lisieux, who was called the greatest saint of the century. Listen as he presents moving and thought-provoking insights on: Our Call to Holiness, The Path to God, Love's Delays, The Mystery of Death, The Mystery of Suffering, The Little Way, The Gift of Self to God, The Diabolic, Her Imitation of Christ, The Virtue of Humility, The Precious Blood.