In honor of St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s feast day today, I wanted to explore the idea of our vulnerabilities becoming our strengths. I chose to center the Little Flower in this reflection because her place in history provides us with a closer look at her vulnerabilities and how she used them on her path to sainthood.
It is believed that Thérèse suffered from some form of anxiety, possibly an anxious attachment style. Much of her writing includes phrases and descriptions of events that are common indicators of what we understand as attachment insecurity and anxiety. This distress would become the basis for her Little Way which focused on Love (giving and receiving) as the central aspect of her spiritual life. Without these vulnerabilities, she may not have focused so much on connecting to God’s love and we wouldn’t have such a powerful and relatable example of sainthood.
I am reminded of best-selling author, Nadia Bolz-Webber who wrote (paraphrased): Authors should not write from their wounds; They should write from their scars. I believe we can not only write but actually live from our scars. Wounds are vulnerabilities that have remained hidden and protected. Scars are vulnerabilities that have been brought into the light and soothed, comforted, and shored up. So, living from our scars requires us to see our humanity not as a liability but rather the unique vehicle through which we grow and engage the world. We must learn to embrace our vulnerabilities as a way to build resilience and strength within ourselves. St. Thérèse bravely modeled this in a way that allowed her to be precisely who she is while she continued to be transformed by Love.
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* The information provided is for self-enrichment and not intended to replace any necessary mental health treatment.
Warmly,
Jonathan Dixon, LMFT
Alpha Omega Team
