01/10/2026
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HOMILY | FEAST OF ST. THÉRÈSE OF THE CHILD JESUS
Gospel: Luke 10:1–12
There is something beautiful in today’s Gospel. Jesus sends seventy-two disciples on mission. But notice how He sends them.
He does not say, “Bring plenty of money. Make yourselves powerful. Make sure people notice you.”
Instead, Jesus says: “Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals.”
In other words: Go simply. Go humbly. Go trusting in God.
And this is very close to the spirituality of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus. She called it her Little Way.
The Little Way may sound simple, but today it is actually a sign of contradiction.
1. THE WORLD SAYS: “BE GREAT.” THÉRÈSE SAYS: “BE LITTLE.”
Our world often tells us: become bigger, richer, more successful, more influential. Have more followers. Get more likes. Make sure people notice you.
But Thérèse chose another road. She wanted to become small enough to allow God to be great in her life.
The world says, “Make a name for yourself.”
Thérèse says, “Let Jesus be known.”
The world says, “Be noticed.”
Thérèse says, “Love even when nobody notices.”
The world asks, “How many people follow you?”
Jesus asks, “Are you following Me?”
Holiness begins when we stop asking, “How can I become important?” and start asking, “Lord, how can I love You today?”
2. THE WORLD SAYS: “DO SOMETHING BIG.” THÉRÈSE SAYS: “DO SMALL THINGS WITH GREAT LOVE.”
Jesus tells His disciples that when they enter a house, they should say: “Peace to this household.”
What a small thing—to enter a home and bring peace. But imagine if we lived this way.
Enter your home and bring peace instead of anger.
Enter your workplace and bring kindness instead of gossip.
Go online and bring truth instead of hatred.
Meet a difficult person and choose patience instead of revenge.
These may seem small. But nothing done with love is small in the eyes of God.
St. Thérèse never went to distant countries as a missionary. She lived behind the walls of a Carmelite monastery. Yet the Church declared her a Patroness of the Missions. Because mission is not simply about how far our feet travel. Mission is about how far our love reaches.
3. THE WORLD SAYS: “DEPEND ON YOURSELF.” THÉRÈSE SAYS: “TRUST GOD.”
Jesus sends the disciples without many securities: no money bag, no sack, no sandals.
He was teaching them: Your greatest security is God.
This may be the most difficult part of the Little Way today. We want control. We want certainty. We want everything according to our plans. And when life does not go according to plan, we become worried and afraid.
Thérèse teaches us the trust of a child. Not childishness, but childlike trust.
Sometimes the most beautiful prayer we can offer is simply: “Jesus, I do not understand. I cannot control everything.
But I trust You.”
——
Let me end with a simple story.
A little girl once saw her mother carrying a heavy basket. She wanted to help, so she reached out and tried to lift it. But the basket was too heavy.
Her mother smiled and said, “You cannot carry that.”
The little girl replied, “Then let me carry something small.”
So her mother took one little item from the basket and placed it in her hands.
The girl walked beside her mother, very happy, carrying her little part.
——
Perhaps that is the Little Way.
God does not ask us to carry the whole world. He simply asks us to carry with love the little thing He places in our hands today.
A small act of kindness.
A little sacrifice.
A word of encouragement.
A sincere apology.
A quiet prayer.
The world may not notice. But God does.
