Saint Thérèse of Lisieux on Humility

In her autobiography, Thérèse of Lisieux wrote: "Many of the Sisters think that you [Mother Marie de Gonzague, Prioress] spoiled me, that since my entrance into the holy ark, I have received from you nothing but caresses and compliments.  Nevertheless, it was not so.  You will see, dear Mother, in the copybook containing my childhood memories, what I think of the strong and maternal education I received from you.  From the bottom of my heart I want to thank you for not sparing me.  Jesus knew very well that His little flower stood in need of the living waters of humiliation, for she was too weak to take root without this kind of help, and it was through you, dear Mother, that this blessing was given to me." (Emphasis original) [1]

At any time when we think we are too wise to heed the teachings of Christ through the words of another, too self-sufficient, too invincible to supplicate or too proud of our own experiences and intellect is when we become weak.  We cannot "take root" in the fertile soil of Goodness when we, as living creatures that need to feed on wholesomeness which springs forth from God's plenitude of gifts, are too proud or busy to nurture and cultivate the spiritual vastness that characterizes our souls.  Without the Food of Life, our souls wither like a flower without water, and our life is without meaning like a blossom without fragrance or color.  Without the kind of help that Thérèse received from her Prioress, we are but weaklings, vulnerable to the influences of evil.

Even Thérèse of Lisieux, as saintly as she was, was not free from the sin of pride.  The "strong and maternal education" she received from her Mother was probably kind but stern.  These lessons were for Thérèse the "living waters of humiliation," lessons that were blessings from Jesus.  These lessons she learned well and she reached a point where she no longer needed them.

"For a year and a half now, Jesus has willed to change the manner of making His little flower grow.  He has no doubt found her sufficiently watered, for now it is the sun that aids her growth.  Jesus wants to give her nothing but His smile and this He does through you, dear Mother.  This gentle sun, far from causing the little flower to wilt, makes her progress in a marvelous manner.  She preserves, in the bottom of her calyx, the precious drops of dew she had received, and these serve to remind her always how little and weak she is."  (Emphasis original) [2].

I suppose only a saint can ever reach the apex of holiness where lessons of humility are no longer necessary save a few drops of "living waters of humiliation" preserved purposefully as a reminder of how precarious the grounds of holiness are, how much care needs to be exercised to avoid misstepping, for it is easy to misstep and be once again engulfed by the quicksand of evil.  For most of the rest of us, we need to be taught lessons of humility, over and over, so that we, too, can be strong and stand firm like Thérèse on the grounds of holiness and not fall into the putrid sinkholes of pride that trap us without warning, requiring much effort from those trying to extricate us and our willingness to be extricated and washed clean by the "living waters of humiliation."

The day we are able to emerge under the soft embracing rays of the warm sun smelling fresh like an unfolding blossom nurtured by the "living waters of humiliation," we must be vigilant, especially while others are looking at us, wherever we go, at how beautiful we are, as Thérèse was vigilant after she attained her state of saintliness: "All creatures can bow toward her, admire her, and shower their praises upon her.  I don't know why this is, but none of this could add one single drop of false joy she experiences in her heart.  Here she sees herself as she really is in God's eyes:  a poor little thing, nothing at all." [3], [4].

In true humility, we are nothing at all, for all the good and beauty that we have come from God.  Without God, we are but shades without light, where fulfillment of the spirit does not exist, giving way to the emptiness of attention and vapidity of earthly honors, the kinds of nourishment that do not feed but rather starve the prideful soul, that it sadly, but insatiably, craves.



[1] Thérèse, de Lisieux, Saint.  Story of a Soul The Autobiography of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux . 3rd Edition. Translated by John Clarke, O.C.D.  Washington D.C.:  Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites, Inc., 1996, p.206.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] "I say I do not know why, but [is] it because she was preserved from the water of praise all the time her little calyx [was sufficiently] filled with the dew of humiliation?  Now there is no longer any danger; on the contrary, the little flower finds the dew with which she was filled so delightful that she would be very careful not to exchange it for the insipid water of praise."  Ibid.  I used brackets in the quote because I took out the double negative in the original translated sentence: "I say I do not know why, but isn't it because she was preserved from the water of praise all the time her little calyx was not sufficiently filled with the dew of humiliation?" Emphasis added.