Feast of the Little Flower
St. Martin’s Home // Little Sisters of the Poor
Catonsville, Maryland
October 1 2026
Introduction
It is a joy, at long last, to offer Mass once again here at St. Martin’s Home, and especially to celebrate with you the feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, known to one and all as “the Little Flower”. As you know, she was a cloistered Carmelite nun who lived in France in the closing years of the 19th century. She died of tuberculosis at the tender age of twenty-four.
Her life was very different from yours and mine. Yet, she remains a beloved saint, someone we can relate to, someone who offers us encouragement on the path to holiness. Take for example, her “Little Way”. It is a spiritual path of doing ordinary things with extraordinary love. Here at St. Martin’s, the “Little Way” is lived out in a wonderfully generous way by all of you – the Little Sisters of the Poor, the residents, the staff & volunteers.
Complementary Charisms
The charism of St. Jeanne Jugan and St. Therese differ from one another. St. Jeanne Jugan founded the Little Sisters of the Poor as an active community of sisters rooted in a radical trust in Divine Providence, and dedicated to the humble service of the sick, the elderly and the poor. St. Therese was a cloistered Carmelite, dedicated to contemplative prayer, to intercessory prayer, and to fostering holiness in the Church.
Different as these charisms are, they mirror one another. Both give rise to a life of humility and care for others. Both stress the importance of doing small things with great love. Both spring from the Gospel insight that those who are least in the eyes of the world are often the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Thank you, dear sisters, for exemplifying the Little Way! In so doing, you teach the rest of us that holiness is in reach, if only we go about our daily tasks with great love and generosity. Thank you for the witness of your lives!
The Vindicator Lives in Our Midst
St. Therese’s life speaks powerfully to you, the residents. As you already heard, she was frail; she died of tuberculosis when she was only twenty-four. In a way, her sufferings mirror the sufferings of Job whom we met in today’s first reading. Job suffered, not because he had offended God, but because his righteousness was being tested. In his suffering, he cried out, “Pity me, for the hand of God has touched me!”
St. Therese, like Job, experienced great physical suffering. She too knew that the hand of God had touched her. In the midst of her suffering, she could say what Job said: “I know that my Redeemer lives!” And like Job, she was consumed in her love of the Lord. She could bear her frailty and pain because her life was rooted in Jesus Christ her Vindicator, the One whose love conquered the forces of sin and death.
This Vindicator, this Savior, is the heart and soul of St. Martin’s home. His love surrounds you, surely in this beautiful chapel where Holy Mass is celebrated & the Blessed Sacrament is reverently reserved, but also in the gentle love of the sisters and their co-workers. You find this love in the smiles of the staff, the companionship of fellow residents, and in your prayer. And dear sisters, how often do you encounter Christ in your residents! Like your foundress, St. Jeanne Jugan, you recognize the Holy Face of Jesus in each of them! That is what makes St. Martin’s home so beautiful! And that is what makes it a place where St. Therese’s Little Way is lived out!
What the Cloistered Nun Who Is the Patron of the Missions Teaches Us
In the Gospel, Jesus appoints seventy-two disciples and sends them out two by two ahead of him. He instructs them to take little with them – no purse, no sack, no sandals. And what does that remind you of? It reminds me of the Little Sisters of the Poor and their radical trust in Divine Providence. Dear sisters, you go out in total reliance on God’s Providence, living out the vow of poverty, trusting that God will provide, living in a community of prayer, shedding any vestige of self-interest. That is why your homes are so beautiful. Striving to live the Gospel, even when it is difficult to do so, is beautiful. It reflects the very beauty of God!
And you, dear residents, might wonder how today’s Gospel applies to you. “How am I being sent out?” you might ask. “I rarely, if ever, go out!” Here is where St. Therese has something else to say to you. Therese is the patroness of the missions, yet she never left the convent. She fueled the Church’s mission and changed the world by prayer! It was her ardent faith and burning love that gave missionaries the courage and strength needed to bring the Church’s faith to the ends of the earth.
You can do the same. When you pray a Rosary, offer up your sufferings, go out of your way to cheer up a fellow resident – you are being “sent out” as missionaries right here in St. Martin’s. You, like Therese, can be the hidden spiritual engines of the Church!
Conclusion
Today, let us imagine St. Therese and St. Jeanne Jugan conversing in heaven, looking down upon us with love, and praying for us before God’s Throne. And let us thank God for these two great saints who guide us in the ways of love, faith, hope, and holiness. St. Jeanne Jugan, pray for us! St. Therese of Lisieux, pray for us!