Description:
St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s “Little Way” has been embraced by people of all walks of life. In Twelve Little Ways to Transform Your Heart, author Susan Muto explores twelve facets of St. Thérèse’s simple spiritual path as a way to personal holiness and the secret to being a powerful witness to Christ in the world today.
 
Though she lived only to the age of twenty-four and spent almost her entire life at her family home and in the Carmelite convent, St. Thérèse of Lisieux displayed a love for Jesus and a passion for his gospel that have made her the patroness of the missions. The “Little Flower’s” humility and childlike trust are still powerful examples of how ordinary people can grow closer to Jesus and respond to Pope Francis’s call for a new evangelization.
 
The calls to holiness and to witness to Christ can seem daunting, but as Susan Muto—renowned speaker and expert on Carmelite spirituality—explains, Thérèse shows us that they are neither difficult nor dramatic. The Little Way can be lived by any of us, even with what Thérèse called the “ministry of the smile.”
 
With deep insight and warm personal devotion, Muto explains the Little Way and will help you put twelve dimensions of it into practice, drawing others to Christ by living a simple, joyful life. These twelve ways, derived from the example of Thérèse, are:

Learn to love the hidden life

Appreciate what a treasure the ordinary is

Trust in Divine Mercy as little children do

Receive the sacraments devoutly day after day

Abandon yourself to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Foster friendship with God and others

Take up your cross and follow Jesus

Pray unceasingly

Simplify your life

Let God free you to be your best self

Commit yourself—body, mind, and spirit—to living the Gospel

Leave a legacy of evangelical virtues others want to cultivate

Muto features short quotations from the saint’s autobiography, poetry, letters, and prayers, as well as perceptive reflection questions and personal prayers to show how imitating Thérèse can make us a powerful force of love. Muto also offers practical spiritual advice for those who want to deepen their faith and are attracted to the simplicity of St. Thérèse’s Little Way.
 
Author: Susan Muto
Publisher: Ave Maria Press
Pages: 145
Publication date: 2016
ISBN: 9781594716676
No. 2082257700