Last night I had a dream where I am with my ex and we are visiting Santa Teresita (Saint Theresa). She lives with her husband in what used to be a disco I used to frequent when I lived in Los Angeles. The building has a Spanish flare to it. Inside, the house has 3 levels and the ceiling or roof of the building is visible from every level of the house. It is a beautiful thatch ceiling much like a hut. Santa Teresita is an artisan. She has many of her own hand made Spanish artwork, sculptures, paintings and murals displayed in the house. As a matter of fact she has even painted her own face (face painting). She also makes edible delights. She has so many of these delights from which to choose from. I am hungry but can’t decide which one of the many delights I want for myself. I know I can’t possibly sample all of them. I want to choose the best one. She then presents my ex with a gift for his business achievements. The package has a beautiful deep blue wrapping. He opens it to find that it is a home made blueberry and white cheese. The blueberries in the cheese are huge. He cuts a piece off for me to sample it making sure to use a clean knife to slice it with. It is so overwhelmingly delicious. The taste sensation is out of this world. The berries are tart yet sweet at the same time and still have much of their juice. Her husband then presents me with a gift; three fragrant green bottles of shampoo presumably also naturally home made. My ex asks me quietly what is the man’s name as if he had forgotten the name of Teresita’s husband. I reply, “He doesn’t have a name but Santa Teresita does.”
Saint Thérèse de Lisieux (January 2, 1873 – September 30, 1897), or more properly Sainte Thérèse de l’Enfant-Jésus et de la Sainte Face (“Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face”), born Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin, was a Roman Catholic Carmelite nun who was canonized as a saint, and is recognized as a Doctor of the Church, one of only three women to receive that honor. She is also known by many as The Little Flower of Jesus.
Thérèse is known for her “Little Way.” In her quest for sanctity, she realized that it was not necessary to accomplish heroic acts, or “great deeds”, in order to attain holiness and to express her love of God. She wrote,
“Love proves itself by deeds, so how am I to show my love? Great deeds are forbidden me. The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love.”
I found it interesting not knowing anything about Saint Theresa that my dream would draw my attention to her litteral face painting which is something that was very much out of place in the dream and correlation to her name Sainte Thérèse de l’Enfant-Jésus et de la Sainte Face (“Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face”). Dreams like this reasure me that I have been visited by the real person. So who was the husband the man with no name? Was it Christ?
This dream came at a time when my own heart has been very depressed. I received consolation in Saint Theresa’s message “Little Ways”. Maybe it’s not about making a big splash to change the world and have people see the importance of dreams. Maybe I am making a difference …. one flower petal at a time…. one dream at a time. My heart was uplifted today by this dream. I have a renewed sense of hope.