'Little way' of St. Therese gives meaning to all of life, Pope states

Oct 1, 2009 / 11:07 am

As the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of St. Therese of Lisieux today, Pope Benedict XVI offered his reflections on what her life can teach the faithful. The French saint's “little way,” he said, is the “humble path of love, capable of enveloping and giving meaning and value to all human affairs."

The Holy Father made his comments on Thursday as he bid farewell to Bishop Marcello Semeraro of Albano—the diocese in which the papal summer residence is located—as well as the numerous personnel that made the Pontiff's two month stay possible.

After thanking everyone for their service, the Pope recalled the fact that today marks the Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, a Carmelite nun of the convent of Lisieux.

"Her witness," he said, "shows that only the Word of God, accepted and understood in its concrete requirements, can become the source for renewed life.”

“To our society, often permeated by a rationalist culture and widespread materialism, St. Therese of Lisieux shows, as a response to the great questions of life, the 'little way' which looks to the essence of things. It is the humble path of love, capable of enveloping and giving meaning and value to all human affairs," Benedict XVI remarked.

Pope Benedict will depart to Vatican City on Saturday.