Today, October 1, is the Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, not to be confused with our patron, St. Teresa of Avila. Both are Carmelites, but our Teresa lived in the 16ht century and Theresa lived at the end of the 19th century. These two Carmelites are powerful and beautiful Saints but with very different personalities and dispositions: Teresa was bold, direct, humorous, and somewhat intense: Therese was a bit more gentle of spirit, less direct, childlike. Therese found her purpose by praying through scriptures, particularly the letters of St. Paul and discovered her vocation and purpose through one of the letters: God was calling her to simply BE LOVE in heart of the Church. St. Paul speaks of LOVE being the highest gift and Therese surrendered to God's plan for her vocation: to BE LOVE. St. Therese teaches us through her "little way" to do small acts, kindness and servie IN LOVE. It's all about our awareness of WHY we say a kind word, smile at someone, say thank you, hold the door for someone with a physical problem, bake cookies for your lonely neighbor, shovel their snow..... It's all about your inner intention: your are doing a small act of kindness out of LOVE. God IS LOVE!!