St. Thérèse’s Thimble: Every Soul Full, Not Every Soul Equal

2 min read

The Little Flower’s picture of heaven’s capacity, and what it asks of you now.

Who she was

Thérèse Martin was born in Alençon, France, on January 2, 1873. She is known as the Little Flower.

Into the cloister

At 15 she entered the Carmelite convent at Lisieux in 1888, after asking Pope Leo XIII in person for permission to enter young.

A short life

She died of tuberculosis on September 30, 1897, at 24. Her memoir, Story of a Soul, was published a year later.

The question

As a girl she asked why God does not give equal glory to every saint in heaven. Her sister Pauline answered with a demonstration.

The thimble

Pauline filled a thimble and a large glass with water. Then she asked which one was fuller. Both were full.

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The answer

Each soul is filled to its own capacity. No one in heaven lacks anything. But a glass holds more than a thimble.

Full vs. large

Full and large are different measures. You can be completely full and still small. That is the quiet edge in her image.

Her little way

Thérèse taught a “little way”: doing small things with great love. She did not travel or preach. She worked on her capacity daily.

Recognized

Pope Pius XI canonized her in 1925. Pope John Paul II named her a Doctor of the Church in 1997, one of very few women given that title.

Patron of missions

She is co-patron of the missions, though she never left her convent. Her letters and memoir travelled the world for her.

Anthony’s push

Enlarge your vessel now. Your skills, your network and your cluster are the glass. Each day you either widen it or leave it a thimble.

How a vessel grows

Capacity in this life grows through work and relationships. Practice a skill. Meet people. Keep the promises you make.

Little, not small

Her way was little in size, not small in ambition. Small daily acts compounded into a name the world still repeats.

A remembered name

She lived 24 years in near obscurity. More than a century later, millions know her name because others told her story.

The takeaway

Be full where you are. Then make the vessel bigger. Both are your job, and both start today.

First principles

Full and large are different measures. Capacity is built, not given. Little acts done daily make a big vessel.

Sources

• St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Story of a Soul, Manuscript A, Project Gutenberg ebook 16772.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.”
• Vatican, Apostolic Letter Divini Amoris Scientia (1997), naming her Doctor of the Church.

Part of Is There Room for You? The Heaven Room series.

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Anthony Perlas · nightlifereport.app

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