One of my great desires is that the Gospel always be presented as

good news,

happy news,

filling our hearts with

joy and consolation.

Yes, Jesus’ teaching is demanding, but St. Therese helps us see it as genuine good news, since the Gospel is no less than the revelation of God’s tenderness, God’s mercy toward each of his children, illuminating the laws of life that lead to happiness.

“Sometimes when I read certain spiritual treatises where perfection is shown through a thousand obstacles, surrounded by a host of snares, my poor little spirit quickly tires, I shut the learned book that makes my head ache and dries up my heart, and I take up Sacred Scripture. Then everything seems luminous to me, one single word reveals infinite horizons to my soul, perfection seems easy, and I see that it is enough to recognize one’s own nothingness and abandon oneself like a child into God’s arms.

Leaving to great souls, great spirits, the beautiful books that I cannot understand and still less put into practice, I rejoice to be little, because only children and those who are like them will be admitted to the heavenly banquet.”

St. Therese of Liseux

Each of us has an absolute need for an inner transformation that makes us “as little as a child.”

In the Gospel one finds some very blunt words of Jesus: if you are not converted, if you do not change and become like little children again, you will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!

“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 18:3

What that means and how to put it into practice are exactly what Therese is teaching me in a simple, luminous way.

The Gospel is not a law that crushes us. Sometimes we may be tempted to think that people who aren’t Christians are basically better off than we. After all, they can do as they like, while we have a whole list of commandments to obey!

Giggles.

But of course, this can be a very superficial way of seeing things.

The heart of a Christian life is to receive and welcome God’s tenderness and goodness, the revelation of his merciful love, and to let oneself be transformed interiorly by that love.

St. Therese, who wisely said shortly before her death which has become well known:

“I wish to spend my Heaven in doing good on earth.”

She is indeed doing that today and will do so for each of us if we ask her to teach us her “little way” and come to know our loving God as she learned to love him.

Won’t you consider joining me?

hugs n’ blessings for all the GOOD NEWS, worth reading!