Having seen the announcement of the wedding of a friend, St. Thérèse of Lisieux was inspired to write her own announcement. The announcement of her wedding to Our Divine Lord:

​“God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, Sovereign Ruler of the Universe, and the Glorious Virgin Mary, Queen of the Heavenly Court, announce to you the Spiritual Espousals of their August Son, Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, with little Thérèse Martin, now Princess and Lady of His Kingdoms of the Holy Childhood and the Passion, assigned to her as a dowry, by her Divine Spouse, from which Kingdoms she holds her titles of nobility—of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face. It was not possible to invite you to the Wedding Feast which took place on the Mountain of Carmel, September 8, 1890—the Heavenly Court was alone admitted—but you are requested to be present at the Wedding Feast which will take place to-morrow, the day of Eternity, when Jesus, the Son of God, will come in the clouds of Heaven, in the splendour of His Majesty, to judge the living and the dead. ​“The hour being still uncertain, you are asked to hold yourselves in readiness and watch.”

Her announcement reminds me of all the “if you love me” language Jesus used in John chapters 14 and 15.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)

“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. (John 14:21)

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23)

“Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.” (John 14:24)

“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” (John 15:10)

St. Thérèse’s wedding announcement could be the wedding announcement for any of us. Because we are the bride of Christ.

And in any thriving marriage relationship, the spouses are committed to aligning their wills with each other. A man who loves his wife desires to do what pleases her, and a woman who loves her husband does the same. They become students of each other. They engage in conversations about each other’s needs and dreams, and upon hearing each other’s words, because they love each other, they keep the words of their wife or their husband.

A husband who keeps the words of his wife abides in her love. A wife who keeps the words of her husband abides in his love.

Without the keeping of each other’s words, the abiding stops and the marriage dies.

Something I noticed about St. Thérèse is that, although she chose a path she called The Little Way, a path on which she served Jesus in small ways, her love for Jesus was anything but little. She was wholly committed to her groom.

She was determined to follow Jesus’ words closely.

As I listen to her story, The Story of a Soul, it’s obvious to me she, more than most, abided in Jesus’ love.

One of the reasons she gives me such hope is because although her ways were small, her relationship with Christ was so obviously deep. Deeper than most.

These days I’m feeling pretty small. About all that I’m capable of are small things.

But St. Thérèse gives me hope because in her life I see how small things done for Christ in love are better than big things done for other reasons.