This year marked the 100th anniversary of the canonization of St. Theresa of Lisieux – a French Carmelite nun known throughout the world as the “Little Flower of Jesus” for her devotion to Jesus and as a model of sanctity to the modern world. She died when she was only 24 from the suffocating effects of tuberculosis and oft forgotten is the fact that her parents are also saints of the Church. St. Theresa is the only saint to have both parents canonized as well.
Marking the feast on October 1, St. Theresa School, New Cumberland, gathered in the church for Holy Mass celebrated by their pastor, Father Jonathan Sawicki. In his homily, Father Sawicki spoke to St. Theresa’s “short, but very virtuous life” near Normandy, France, in the late 19th Century. “She lived in a broken world, just like we do, but the saints show us how to live and love in a broken world…. Jesus asks us to love. Our broken impulse when somebody hurts us is to get back at each other. Saints show us how to love. Through little purposeful acts for others, like St. Theresa did daily, shows us how to love. Never underestimate the value you have as a little flower,” he told the students. “Because as a little flower, you make a special bouquet.”
After Mass, Father Sawicki paid tribute to their musical director, Ed Smith, who has served the parish in that capacity for 33 years and is retiring from that position. He will continue to help the parish as he plays the piano/organ and tutors students via musical lessons.
In a short interview after receiving a gift icon of St. Theresa given to him by Father Sawicki, who had the icon specifically written for him by a friend, Mr. Smith emotionally spoke about how important this ministry has been to him these past four decades. “This has been really my whole life as I met my wife here (choir singer) and our children went to school here,” he said. “My greatest satisfaction is seeing everybody singing and the whole church filled with music. We have an alive, vibrant parish and when everybody joins in, that is a great blessing…. I have been so blessed by St. Theresa’s over all these years.”
By Chris Heisey, The Catholic Witness
