Beginning October 1, the feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, a 28-day podcast will guide listeners through “Story of a Soul,” the saint’s autobiography. The third season of the podcast “Catholic Classics” Ascensioncentered on the patron saint of the missions, will be presented by Dominican friar Jacob Bertrand Janczyk and Discalced Carmelite priest Michael-Joseph Paris.
Paris is a Carmelite friar, a member of the same religious order to which Saint Therese of Lisieux belonged at the end of the 19th century. She recently spoke with EWTN News’ CNA about her vocational story, the role St. Teresa played in it, and why this beloved saint’s story is so important to Catholics today.
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Friar Paris said that he experienced a great conversion at the age of 18. “I had really made a mess of my life and it was going in a bad direction,” he told CNA. He distanced himself from the friends he spent time with and began to pray.
“I just started asking God for help, and He had a particular way of showing me that He was answering my prayers, even though my life was a mess, and He loved me even though I was in a bad place,” she explained.
“I started reading the Bible a little, the Gospels; Christ’s words touched my heart and I realized that my biggest problem was that I did not love, that I was very selfish and trapped in myself, and his words opened me to understand that love is the only way and to follow “Jesus is the only way to live that love,” he added.
After returning to Mass and confession, within two years Paris began to seriously consider the priesthood. He thought that if Jesus had filled him with so much love and happiness, “why not make my whole life revolve around this?”
A book that helped him in his discernment process was “History of a Soul.” He said that reading the story of Saint Therese gave him confidence “that if God” “was calling him to be a priest, he could do it.”
“Before that I was like, ‘There’s no way I can be a priest’… and reading St. Teresa was like, ‘Wow, here’s this girl who has so much confidence in the power of God in her life, in what she does. He could do it for her and through her, and why couldn’t I have that trust?'” she recalled.
“So that really opened me up to the possibility of the priesthood. “I attribute much of my vocation to Saint Teresa,” he said.
Paris decided to enter the seminary and, after eight years, was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Washington, DC. Three years after being assigned to a parish, he attended a retreat at a Carmelite convent and brought with him a book on Carmelite spirituality. It was there where “everything changed.” “I thought, ‘My whole life should be about this,’” he said.
Within two years of that experience, Paris became a barefoot Carmelite novice and took his final vows in 2022 in the Province of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. She shared that St. Teresa also played a role in her discernment to become a Carmelite.
“Every time I visited a place or had a great moment of vocational discernment, there was always an image of Teresa there. Teresa simply made herself very clear, very present, showing that this was a good path,” he said.
Paris reflected on the feelings of inadequacy that St. Teresa experienced as a young woman as a reason why so many people can identify with this beloved saint.
“That sense of inadequacy, that sense of need… I think that experience is one that we can really connect with St. Teresa, and she can really teach us how to get outside of ourselves and live a life of love, no matter what. “We feel that we are not doing well or what is holding us back,” he explained.
He advised that when moments of doubt enter our minds, we should not “give in to self-pity,” but rather “turn that into trust in God.”
Regarding the podcast, Paris commented that he hopes that listeners “take away that they are deeply loved with all their limitations, that they are infinitely and totally loved, and that they can have complete confidence that God will make them great saints, however that happens.” that is seen.”
The new season of the podcast in English “Catholic Classics” by Ascension It follows season 2, which focused on another great book, “The Confessions of Saint Augustine.” The daily podcast also offers Catholic commentary and reflections.
Translated and adapted by ACI Prensa. Originally published in CNA.
Francesca Pollio Fenton
Francesca Pollio Fenton is the Social Media Manager at Catholic News Agency. He received his bachelor’s degree in Communications with an emphasis in Digital Media from the University of Colorado, Denver (United States).