Episode Details

It's the Feast of St Therese of the Child Jesus, 3rd Class, with the color of White. In this episode: the meditation: "Acts and Fruits of Penance", today's news from the Church: "A Successful First Outing for the "O Roma Felix" Camp of the Sisters of the SSPX", and today's thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. Have feedback or questions about the DD or our other shows? podcast@sspx.org

Sources Used Today:

• "Acts and Fruits of Penance" — From the Assumption to Advent
  • https://angeluspress.org/products/from-trinity-sunday-to-the-assumption
  
  
• "A Successful First Outing for the "O Roma Felix" Camp of the Sisters of the SSPX" (FSSPX.news)
  • https://fsspx.news/en/news/rome-successful-first-outing-o-roma-felix-camp-sisters-sspx-61235
  
  
• The Spiritual Life — Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (Angelus Press)
  • https://angeluspress.org/products/spiritual-life-archbishop
  
  

Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus is famous for her "Little Way," the idea that holiness doesn't necessarily require doing spectacular things. Sometimes it means doing something very small that costs you quite a lot.

And one of my favorite examples involves a nun Thérèse simply could not stand.

Thérèse entered the Carmelite convent at Lisieux at only fifteen. Life there meant living every day with the same small group of women. You prayed together. Ate together. Worked together. Saw each other constantly.

And inevitably, there was one sister whose personality rubbed Thérèse completely the wrong way.

Thérèse never names her in Story of a Soul, which is probably the first charitable thing she did for her.

She admits that this sister had "the faculty of displeasing me in everything." Her mannerisms bothered Thérèse. Her personality bothered her. Thérèse couldn't even explain everything that irritated her.

So she made a decision.

She would treat this sister as though she were her favorite person in the convent.

Whenever they met, Thérèse gave her a warm smile.

She prayed for her.

She looked for opportunities to help her.

When the sister said something irritating, Thérèse tried not merely to suppress an annoyed response, but to answer with genuine kindness. She even tried to discover something admirable about the sister so that her charity wouldn't become completely fake.

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