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Chapter 3

About This Episode

On this episode, Simone Rizkallah, Director of Program Growth, is joined by Stephanie Burke and Claire Dwyer from the Avila Institute to discuss Chapter 3 from the Endow Study Guide on St. Thérèse of Lisieux. 

Show Notes

In this episode, we chat about the temptation to believe that we have to be "good" in order to be loved by God and the struggle with religious scrupulosity. We discuss the paradox of God's justice and mercy and how St. Thérèse rejected the moralistic spirit of the age because she knew God's personality from having a deep prayer life. We also discuss how Thérèse's spiritual childlikeness was the condition for her explosive spiritual motherhood and how all women are called to spiritual motherhood!

Discussion Questions

  1. Has a chance remark, perhaps one you initially regarded as unfair or in error, eventually led you to see yourself in a clearer light?
  2. Is there an incident in your life—trauma or triumph—that you consider a turning point? Does the incident emblemize something about your deepest desires—or your deepest blocks—around which you might want to do some inner work in the light of Christ’s Gospel call?
  3. What are some of the ways that you toil without needing the fruit of your labors to be seen, acknowledged, lauded? What are some of the ways you’re not quite there yet?

Quotes To Ponder

"Was not Jesus my only friend?"- St. Thérèse of Lisieux