The Little Way for Every Day: Thoughts from Therese of Lisieux »

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux was a Carmelite nun who'd always wished to be a missionary. Her near-constant state of ill-health prevented this and she remained cloistered for her entire (brief) religious life. She was beatified in 1923, canonized in 1925, both by Pope Pius XI, who named her the heavenly patroness of all foreign missions, and by Pope John Paul II, who named her a Doctor of the Church--the only Doctor he proclaimed during his pontificate. Along with St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avilia she makes up the trinity of Carmelite theology and mysticism. Her best-selling Story of a Soul, which emphasized her "Little Way" was a colossal success and helped stamp out the last traces of Jansenism in France.

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-97, feast day, October 1) is the latest--and among youngest--of the thirty-three "Doctors of the Church." This devotional book is made up of her sayings from her many writings (Story of a Soul, her poetry, and her letters), approximately one to two sentences for each day of the year. Each month is introduced by a quote from Scripture (NRSV). The English text was translated by the late Paulist priest, Francis Broome, whose brief foreword is also included, as are end-notes and a table of contents.

This is the perfect pocket-/purse-sized gift-book for those who have a devotion to St.Thérèse or to those who have yet to be introduced to her infectious "Little Way."