God’s Plan: The Vocation of St. Therese of Lisieux in The Story of a Soul

Through vocation, God calls us to the particular path that He believes is best for us. As God is the one who truly knows us best, He personally invites us to either the married life, the single life, or the religious life. The more difficult part of vocation is sensing this invitation and choosing to follow it. If a person feels the desire to follow a vocation within their heart, God comes through in prayer to encourage them to follow what is best for them. Although God has made His ultimate plan for each of us individually, He still understands that you have the right to choose whichever vocation you would like to follow. Choosing to follow a calling from God may be strenuous, but it is then in which our spirit is entirely fulfilled. ”The Story of a Soul” follows St. Therese of Lisieux through her journey of accepting and living out her religious vocation.

Growing up, Therese was surrounded by a loving, Christian family. Because of this, she lived generously from a young age and put her all into everything she did. Unfortunately, when Therese was only four years old, her mother passed away from breast cancer. This completely changed Therese’s outlook on life. She became very timid and saddened by her mother’s death. After moving to Lisieux, her faith became the one of the only positive things in her life. For instance, her father frequently took her to visit different churches when she was upset. Sundays also held great importance for Therese, as she never wanted them to end.

Over time, Therese began to look up to her sister, Pauline, as a mother figure. The two grew to be very close over the years, until Pauline decided to leave to enter the Carmelite Monastery. Once again, Therese began to feel depressed. Not only was her sister’s absence affecting her, but she suddenly fell terribly ill with no exact cause.

One day as she was lying in bed, Therese prayed to her statue of the Virgin Mary for a cure and she suddenly got one. From that moment on, Therese decided that she wanted to join her sister and the Carmelites. She explained that she did not want to enter the Carmelite convent for own sake, but for Jesus’. When she approached a priest to ask for entry, she was obviously turned down due to being only nine years old. As time went on, Therese strengthened her faith by receiving the sacraments, praying, and going to church.

When she was fifteen years old, she requested to join the Carmelites once again. She was denied and was recommended to either wait until she turned twenty one or to see the Bishop. Determinately, she and her father went to visit the Bishop. Although the Bishop was very impressed by her request, he ultimately decided that he would write them with his decision. Because of this, Therese and her family went to Italy to visit Pope Leo XIII himself. During his jubilee, Therese knelt at the Pope’s feet and begged for him to let her be a Carmelite. Pope Leo XIII told her, ”Go, go, you will enter if God wills it”.

Her dreams of becoming a Carmelite were delayed even further, when her father became senile and eventually paralyzed. It was not until two years later, after his death, that Therese finally became a Carmelite. She spent the remainder of her life as an ordinary Carmelite nun, in which she lived in intense prayer and faith. Therese died as nothing more than a nun, as it was not until years later that she was canonized a saint.

In conclusion, St. Therese was able to recognize exactly what God was calling her to at a very young age and she spent majority of her life trying to achieve it. No matter how many hardships she faced, she did not let them deter her off of the path God had set for her. She completely trusted in God and fulfilled his plan, which is why she is such an inspirational role model to those in the Catholic faith.