Finding God in the Ordinary: Exposition of the Little Flower‟s Spirituality

One of the most influential saints of the modern times was St. Therese of Lisieux or the Little Flower as she is known by many. This is due to her little way which emphasized that man does not need to be a spiritual master in order to connect and relate with the Divine, instead she exemplified that life in its simplicity can be a sure way towards sanctity. Such little ways was clearly reflected in her autobiography “The story of a soul”. Through the saint’s autobiography, this study aimed to explore how did the Little Flower discover and find God in the ordinary and in particular how can it address the realities and challenges of the modern day spirituality. By applying Martin Buber’ principle of “I-Thou” and “I-It” relationship and doing a thematic analysis on the saint’s autobiography the researchers were able to discover that St. Therese was able to find God in the ordinary by relating to the world in its wholeness and not as a material object. In the same way the saint was also able to address the modern day trend of spirituality of religious indifference and unbelief. Specifically this “I-Thou” relationship portrayed by St. Therese was actualized by her acceptance of the realities of her humanity, the Divine and the primacy of love.

Keywords – little way, modern day spirituality, ordinary, spirituality, St. Therese of Lisieux